Infection and microbial molecular motifs modulate the transcription of the interferon-inducible gene ifit5 in a teleost fish

• Main Authors: Bela-ong, Dennis B., Greiner-Tollersrud, Linn, van der Wal, Yorick Andreas, Jensen, Ingvill, Seternes, Ole Morten, Jørgensen, Jorunn B.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Interferon inducers; Atlantic salmon—Infections; Salmonidae—Infections; Biology; Biotechnology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11560
• Institution: De La Salle University

Interferon-induced proteins with tetratricopeptide repeats (IFITs) are involved in antiviral defense. Members of this protein family contain distinctive multiple structural motifs comprising tetratricopeptides that are tandemly arrayed or dispersed along the polypeptide. IFIT-encoding genes are upregulated by type I interferons (IFNs) and other stimuli. IFIT proteins inhibit virus replication by binding to and regulating the functions of cellular and viral RNA and proteins. In teleost fish, knowledge about genes and functions of IFITs is currently limited. In the present work, we describe an IFIT5 orthologue in Atlantic salmon (SsaIFIT5) with characteristic tetratricopep- tide repeat motifs. We show here that the gene encoding SsaIFIT5 (SsaIfit5) was ubiquitously expressed in various salmon tissues, while bacterial and viral challenge of live fish and in vitro stimulation of cells with recombinant IFNs and pathogen mimics triggered its transcription. The profound expression in response to various immune stimulation could be ascribed to the identified IFN response elements and binding sites for various immune-relevant transcription factors in the putative promoter of the SsaIfit5 gene. Our results establish SsaIfit5 as an IFN-stimulated gene in A. salmon and strongly suggest a phylogenetically conserved role of the IFIT5 protein in antimicrobial responses in vertebrates.