Molecular characterization, antibacterial and immunoregulatory activities of liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP-2) in black rockfish, Sebastes schlegelii.

LEAP2 (liver expression antimicrobial peptide 2), is an antimicrobial peptide widely found in vertebrates and mainly expressed in liver. LEAP2 plays a vital role in host innate immunity. In teleosts, a number of LEAP2 homologs have been reported, but their in vivo effects on host defense are still limited. In this study, a LEAP2 homolog (SsLEAP2) was identified from black rockfish, Sebastes schlegelii, and its structure, expression as well as biological functions were analyzed. The results showed that the open reading frame of SsLEAP2 is 300 bp, with a 5'- untranslated region (UTR) of 375 bp and a 3' - UTR of 238 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence of SsLEAP2 shares the highest overall identity (96.97%) with LEAP2 of Sebastes umbrosus. SsLEAP2 possesses conserved LEAP2 features, including a signal peptide sequence, a prodomain and a mature peptide, in which four well-conserved cysteines formed two intrachain disulphide domain. The expression of SsLEAP2 was highest in liver and could be induced by experimental infection with Listonella anguillarum, Edwardsiealla piscicida and Rock bream iridovirus C1 (RBIV-C1). Recombinant SsLEAP2 (rSsLEAP2) purified from Escherichia coli was able to bind with various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Further analysis showed that rSsLEAP2 could enhance the respiratory burst activity, and induce the expression of immune genes including interleukin 1-β (IL-1β) and serum amyloid A (SAA) in macrophages; additionally, rSsLEAP2 could also promote the proliferation and chemotactic of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). In vivo experiments indicated that overexpression of SsLEAP2 could inhibit bacterial infection, and increase the expression level of immune genes including IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 13B (TNF13B) and haptoglobin (HP); conversely, knock down of SsLEAP2 promoted bacterial infection and decreased the expression level of above genes. Taken together, these results suggest that SsLEAP2 is a novel LEAP2 homolog that possesses apparent antibacterial activity and immunoregulatory property, thus plays a critical role in host defense against pathogens invasion.

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