Efeito do tratamento com a proteína quimérica IL-13PE sobre a inflamação pulmonar induzida por partículas de sílica em camundongos

A interleucina 13 (IL-13) tem sido apontada como um dos principais mediadores em processos de ativação de fibroblastos e indução de fibrose pulmonar, sendo, portanto, considerada como um alvo terapêutico importante. A silicose é uma doença pulmonar inflamatória crônica, de caráter ocupacional, caracterizada por uma intensa resposta fibrótica e granulomatosa. Com base nestas observações, tivemos por objetivo investigar o potencial efeito da administração da imunotoxina IL-13-PE38QQR (IL-13PE) sobre o modelo de silicose em camundongos. Camundongos Swiss-Webster foram anestesiados e instilados intranasalmente com partículas de sílica (10 mg), sendo a administração da IL-13PE (200ng/dia) realizada por via intranasal, uma vez ao dia em dias alternados no período entre 21 a 27 dias após a provocação. Analisamos o componente inflamatório, a deposição de colágeno e a área de granuloma avaliados através de técnicas clássicas de histologia, incluindo coloração com H&E e Picrus-sirius, ou ainda a quantificação do conteúdo de colágeno por Sircol. Os componentes de matriz extracelular fibronectina e laminina foram avaliados através de imunohistoquímica. Citocinas e quimiocinas foram quantificadas por sistema de ELISA. As medidas de função pulmonar e resposta de hiperreatividade foram realizadas através do sistema de pletismografia de corpo inteiro invasiva. Verificamos que o tratamento curativo com a IL-13PE inibiu de forma acentuada o comprometimento da função pulmonar nos camundongos silicóticos, incluindo tanto aumento da resistência como da elastância, assim como a resposta de hiperratividade das vias aéreas ao agente broncoconstrictor metacolina. De forma coerente, os animais silicóticos quando submetidos ao tratamento com IL-13PE apresentaram marcada redução do componente inflamatório pulmonar e da resposta fibrótica, atestado pela diminuição na produção de colágeno, laminina e fibronectina e redução importante da área de granuloma. De forma semelhante, as citocinas (TNF-α e TGF-) e quimiocinas (MIP-1α, MIP-2, TARC, IP-10, MDC) detectadas em quantidade aumentada no pulmão de animais silicóticos foram reduzidas pelo tratamento com a IL-13PE. Em conclusão, nossos resultados mostram que a administração curativa da IL-13PE foi capaz de inibir os componentes inflamatórios e fibróticos da fase crônica do quadro silicótico em camundongos, o que se refletiu de forma clara na melhora da função pulmonar. Em conjunto, nossos achados indicam que a utilização da IL13PE parece constituir uma abordagem terapêutica extremamente promissora para aplicação em casos de doenças crônicas de natureza fibrótica como a silicose.

Molecular evolution of CXCR1, a G protein-coupled receptor involved in signal transduction of neutrophils

Human neutrophils are a type of white blood cell, which forms an early line of defense against bacterial infections. Neutrophils are highly responsive to the chemokine, interleukin-8 (IL-8) due to the abundant distribution of CXCR1, one of the IL-8 receptors on the neutrophil cell surface. As a member of the GPCR family, CXCR1 plays a crucial role in the IL-8 signal transduction pathway in neutrophils. We sequenced the complete coding region of the CXCR1 gene in worldwide human populations and five representative nonhuman primate species. Our results indicate accelerated protein evolution in the human lineage, which was likely caused by Darwinian positive selection. The sliding window analysis and the codon-based neutrality test identified signatures of positive selection at the N-terminal ligand/receptor recognition domain of human CXCR1.

树鼩IL-2Rα(CD25)基因的分离、鉴定及表达分析

3%～66.4%.RT-PCR检测发现,tsCD25 mRNA分布于树鼩的外周血、脾脏和肺,并受PMA 和 ionomycin 刺激的调节.我们的结果为下一步制备tsCD25单克隆抗体,抑制CD4+CD25+Tregs功能以及开展有关的研究工作奠定了基础.

Toward an understanding of the molecular mechanism for successful blood feeding by coupling proteomics analysis with pharmacological testing of horsefly salivary glands

Horseflies are economically important blood-feeding arthropods and also a nuisance for humans and vectors for filariasis. They rely heavily on the pharmacological properties of their saliva to get a blood meal and suppress immune reactions of hosts. Little information is available on antihemostatic substances in horsefly salivary glands; especially no horsefly immune suppressants have been reported. By proteomics or peptidomics and coupling transcriptome analysis with pharmacological testing, several families of proteins or peptides, which act mainly on the hemostatic system or immune system of the host, were identified and characterized from 30,000 pairs salivary glands of the horsefly Tabanus yao (Diptera, Tabanidae). They are: (i) a novel family of inhibitors of platelet aggregation including two members, which possibly inhibit platelet aggregation by a novel mechanism and act on platelet membrane, (ii) a novel family of immunosuppressant peptides including 12 members, which can inhibit interferon-gamma production and increase interleukin-10 secretion, (iii) a serine protease inhibitor with 56 amino acid residues containing anticoagulant activity, (iv) a serine protease with anticoagulant activity, (v) a protease with fibrinogenolytic activity, (vi) three families of antimicrobial peptides including six members, (vii) a hyaluronidase, (viii) a vasodilator peptide, which is an isoform of vasotab identified from Hybomitra bimaculata, and interestingly (ix) two metallothioneins, which are the first metallothioneins reported from invertebrate salivary glands. The current work will facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the ectoparasite-host relationship and help in identifying novel vaccine targets and novel leading pharmacological compounds.

Two Immunoregulatory Peptides with Antioxidant Activity from Tick Salivary Glands

Ticks are blood-feeding arthropods that may secrete immunosuppressant molecules, which inhibit host inflammatory and immune responses and provide survival advantages to pathogens at tick bleeding sites in hosts. In the current work, two families of immunoregulatory peptides, hyalomin-A and -B, were first identified from salivary glands of hard tick Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum. Three copies of hyalomin-A are encoded by an identical gene and released from the same protein precursor. Both hyalomin-A and -B can exert significant anti-inflammatory functions, either by directly inhibiting host secretion of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, monocyte chemotectic protein-1, and interferon-gamma or by indirectly increasing the secretion of immunosuppressant cytokine of interleukin-10. Hyalomin-A and -B were both found to potently scavenge free radical in vitro in a rapid manner and inhibited adjuvant-induced inflammation in mouse models in vivo. The JNK/SAPK subgroup of the MAPK signaling pathway was involved in such immunoregulatory functions of hyalomin-A and -B. These results showed that immunoregulatory peptides of tick salivary glands suppress host inflammatory response by modulating cytokine secretion and detoxifying reactive oxygen species.

Association of early growth response-1 gene polymorphisms with total IgE and atopy in asthmatic children

Early growth response-1 (Egr-1) is expressed in human airways and found to modulate tumor necrosis factor, immunoglobulin E (IgE), airway responsiveness, and interleukin-13-induced inflammation in mice. We investigated the effects of Chinese-tagging singl

Genomic organization and expression analysis of Toll-like receptor 3 in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) participates in the innate immune response by recognizing viral pathogens. To investigate grass carp immune system responding to GCRV (grass carp reovirus) infection, the full-length cDNA sequence and genomic organization of grass carp TLR3 (CiTLR3) was identified and characterized. The full-length genome sequence of CiTLR3 is composed of 5668 nucleotides, including five exons and four introns. The full-length of CiTLR3 cDNA is 3681 bp in length and encodes a polypeptide of 904 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 102,765 Da and a predicted isoelectric point of 8.35. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence indicated that CiTLR3 has four main structural domains, including a signal peptide sequence, 14 LRR (leucine-rich repeat) motifs, a transmembrane region and a TIR (Toll/interleukin-1 receptor) domain. It is most similar to the crucian carp (Carassius auratus) TLR3 amino acid sequence with an identity of 99%. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that CiTLR3 transcripts were significantly up-regulated starting at day 1 and continued through day 7 following GCRV infection (P < 0.05). These data implied that CiTLR3 is involved in antiviral defense, provide molecular and functional information for grass carp TLR3, and implicate their role in mediating immune protection against grass carp viral diseases. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway can be triggered by grass carp reovirus and Aeromonas hydrophila infection in rare minnow Gobiocypris rarus

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is critical for LPS recognition and cellular responses. It also recognizes some viral envelope proteins. Detection mostly results in the inflammation rather than specific antiviral responses. However, it's unclear in fish. In this report, a TLR4 gene (named as GrTLR4b) was cloned and characterized from rare minnow Gobiocypris rarus. The full length of GrTLR4b cDNA consists of 2766 nucleotides and encodes a polypeptide of 818 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 94,518 Da and a predicted isoelectric point of 8.41. The predicted amino acid sequence comprises a signal peptide, six leucine-rich repeat (LRR) motifs, one leucine-rich repeat C-terminal (LRRCT) motif, followed by a transmembrane segment of 23 amino acids, and a cytoplasmic region of 167 amino acids containing one Toll - interleukin 1 - receptor (TIR) motif. It's closely similar to the zebrafish (Danio rerio) TLR4b amino acid sequence with an identity of 77%. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed GrTLR4b mRNA was constitutive expression in gill, heart, intestine, kidney, liver, muscle and spleen tissues in healthy animals and up-regulated by viruses and bacteria. After being infected by grass carp reovirus or Aeromonas hydrophila, GrTLR4b expressions were up-regulated from 24 h post-injection and lasted until the fish became moribund (P < 0.05). These data implied that TLR4 signaling pathway could be activated by both viral and bacterial infection in rare minnow. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR on the transcription levels of immune-related genes in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella

Recent studies in mammals have revealed that the cyanobacterial toxin MC-LR suppresses immune functions. Nevertheless, immunotoxic effects of microcystins have been little studied in fish. In this paper, we present the profiles of the immune modulation of MC-LR in grass carp, and quantitative real-time PCR methodology was developed for the measurement of relative transcription changes of six immune-related genes in the spleen and head kidney of the grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, which were intraperitoneally injected with 50 mu g MC-LR center dot kg(-1) body weight in a three-week period. This study was focused exclusively on gene transcription level changes at different time points after MC-LR exposure, so, only one dose was given. The investigated genes were interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), type I interferon (Type I IFN), peptidoglycan recognition protein-L (PGRP-L), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) genes. The results demonstrated that the transcription levels of the TNF-alpha, type I IFN, and PGRP-L genes in the spleen and head kidney were significantly low at all time points, and those of IL-1 beta were significantly low in the head kidney at different time points. In addition, IgM and MHC-I transcription levels were only significantly low in the spleen and head kidney at 21 d postinjection. The changes in the transcription levels of immune-related genes induced by MC-LR confirmed its effect on inhibiting immune function at the transcription level.

Comparative study and expression analysis of the interferon gamma gene locus cytokines in Xenopus tropicalis

Using bioinformatics approach, the genome locus containing interleukin (IL)-22, IL-26, and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) genes has been identified in the amphibian, Xenopus tropicalis. Like that in other vertebrates such as fish, birds, and mammals, the Xenopus IL-22, IL-26, and IFN-gamma are clustered in the same chromosome and the adjacent genes are conserved. The genomic structures of the Xenopus IL-22, IL-26, and IFN-gamma gene were identical to that of their mammalian counterparts. The Xenopus IL-22 and IL-26 genes contained five exons and four introns while the Xenopus IFN-gamma gene consisted of four exons and three introns. The Xenopus IL-22, IL-26, and IFN-gamma share 14.1-41.6%, 14.6-31.2%, and 23.7-36.5% identity to their counterparts in other species, respectively. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR analyses revealed that the expression of IL-22, IL-26, and IFN-gamma genes was significantly upregulated after simulation with bacterial polyliposaccharide and/or synthetic double-stranded poly(I:C), suggesting these cytokines like those in other vertebrates play an important role in regulating immune response in Xenopus.

白介素4-绿脓杆菌外毒素重组免疫毒素的构建与活性研究

白介素-4受体（IL-4R）在实体瘤和血癌等许多肿瘤细胞表面表达量很高构建导向IL-4R的免疫毒素，是研究肿瘤治疗的一个重要方向。天然IL-4分子N末端和C末端含有很多与受体结合的活性位点，为了降低连接蛋白毒素时对这些位点的影响，将天然IL-4分子的N端和c端用寡肚GGNGG相连，并在非活性部位形成新的开口，构建了cpIL-4；为了进一步提高cpIL-4与IL-4R的亲和力，通过重叠PCR引入13位点突变，得到cpIL-4（13D）；为了增强IL-4免疫毒素对淋巴细胞的选择性，在121位引入点突变，得到cpIL-4（13D121E）。将上述三种重组IL-4分子分别于大肠杆菌表达系统进行表达。ELISA分析表明，三种重组蛋白均可与人IL-4抗体特异性结合。由于PE的DNA序列的GC含量很高，很难用常规手段进行改造，本文采用特殊条件的PCR反应和酶切反应进行绿脓杆菌外毒素PE的改造，得到PE38KDEL，并于大肠杆菌表达系统进行表达。其特点是分子量较小，不含结合区，C末端氨基酸KDEL有利于提高其跨膜能力和细胞毒作用。将靶向分子分别与毒素分子相连，得到三种免疫毒素：cpIL4-PE38KDEL，cpIL4（13D）-PE38KDEL，cpIL4（13D121B）-PE38KDEL。将之分别于表达载体pET32a（＋）进行表达，目的蛋白表达量均约为菌体总蛋白的30％。western blotting分析表明，诱导后表达的三种IL-4免疫毒素均可与hIL-4抗体特异性结合。采用Ni-NTA亲和层析和阴离子交换层析纯化上述三种IL-4免疫毒素，纯度均在95％以上。用MTT法检测其细胞毒作用，结果显示，免疫毒素cpIL4（13D）-PE38KDEL可特异性地靶向产生IL-4R的细胞株，＿且其活性与未突变的免疫毒素cpIIL4-PE38KDEL相比有2-3倍的提高；免疫毒素cpIL4（13D121E）-PE38KDEL对表达I型IL-4R的淋巴瘤细胞结合力较强，对表达II型IL-4R的内皮细胞结合力较弱，因此对淋巴瘤具有一定的选择性，这对于提高药物疗效，降低血管渗漏症等毒副作用具有重要意义。

Early effects of low dose C-12(6+) ion or X-ray irradiation on human peripheral blood lymphocytes

The aim of this study was to estimate the acute effects of low dose C-12(6+) ions or X-ray radiation on human immune function. The human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBL) of seven healthy donors were exposed to 0.05 Gy C-12(6+) ions or X-ray radiation and cell responses were measured at 24 h after exposure. The cytotoxic activities of HPBL were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT); the percentages of T and NK cells subsets were detected by flow cytometry; mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma were examined by real time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR); and these cytokines protein levels in supematant of cultured cells were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The results showed that the cytotoxic activity of HPBL, mRNA expression of IL-2, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in HPBL and their protein levels in supernatant were significantly increased at 24 h after exposure to 0.05 Gy C-12(6+) ions radiation and the effects were stronger than observed for X-ray exposure. However, there was no significant change in the percentage of T and NK cells subsets of HPBL. These results suggested that 0.05 Gy high linear energy transfer (LET) C-12(6+) radiation was a more effective approach to host immune enhancement than that of low LET X-ray. We conclude that cytokines production might be used as sensitive indicators of acute response to LDL (C) 2009 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SNAP-23蛋白在鲈鱼巨噬细胞白细胞介素1β分泌过程中的功能

SNARE蛋白家族是所有真核细胞胞吐及分泌作用中的关键因子，由其介导的运输囊泡膜与靶膜的锚靠、融合为胞内蛋白的运出提供了一条重要途径。体外试验表明，Syntaxin6-Syntaxin7-Vti1b，SNAP-23-Syntaxin4等SNARE核心蛋白之间精确的相互作用是哺乳动物巨噬细胞肿瘤坏死因子α (TNF-α)运输和分泌的必备条件，在机体非特异性免疫应答反应过程中起重要作用。 本研究受上述启示，旨在揭示SNARE蛋白在海洋鱼类免疫细胞内重要细胞因子白细胞介素1β (IL-1β)的分泌过程中的作用。参照Percoll密度梯度离心技术，从鲈鱼头肾组织分离纯化巨噬细胞进行稳定培养；利用RT-PCR方法克隆出鲈鱼t-SNARE蛋白SNAP-23和Syntaxin3的部分cDNA序列，再结合先前克隆的VAMP2和已知的鲈鱼IL-1β，TNF-α和IL-8的基因序列，设计特异性引物。利用Real-time PCR技术在mRNA水平上精确测定鲈鱼巨噬细胞中上述6种基因在革兰氏阴性菌脂多糖(LPS)分子刺激下的表达变化，发现SNAP-23基因与三种细胞因子基因的表达正相关；通过免疫印迹检测SNAP-23蛋白表达变化，利用酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)检测IL-1β的分泌水平，在蛋白水平上验证了SNAP-23表达与IL-1β分泌的正相关性；利用5`RACE和3`RACE技术克隆出鲈鱼SNAP-23全长基因，结合定点突变策略和靶向PCR克隆手段，构建鲈鱼SNAP-23野生型融合质粒pEGFP-SNAP-23wt，Cys缺失突变融合质粒pEGFP-SNAP-23ΔCys和模拟E型肉毒神经毒素(BoNT/E)切割突变融合质粒pEGFP-SNAP-23ΔBoNT/E，以及鲈鱼IL-1β野生型融合表达质粒IL-1β-pEGFP和IL-1β-pEYFP。所有融合蛋白均在鲈鱼巨噬细胞内成功表达，结合ELISA实验结果发现，SNAP-23野生型的表达对IL-1β的分泌有促进作用，而Cys缺失突变体的表达则抑制IL-1β向胞外分泌。首次证实了鱼类巨噬细胞内SNAP-23蛋白在IL-1β分泌过程中的重要作用。此外通过与GFP共表达，定位了IL-1β分子在巨噬细胞内的分布，发现新合成的IL-1β分子很可能像TNFα一样经“内质网－胞质－伪足－胞外” 的分泌路径运出胞外。

栉孔扇贝凝集素家族基因研究

栉孔扇贝是我国北方重要的贝类养殖品种。自1997年以来爆发的栉孔扇贝大规模死亡，给地区经济造成了重大损失并且已经严重威胁扇贝养殖业的健康发展。然而，到目前为止，对扇贝免疫防御的分子机理了解还很少，深入研究扇贝免疫应答的分子机制是认识和了解病害发生和实现病害控制的关键问题之一。本研究采用了EST大规模测序结合cDNA锚定扩增的方法，从栉孔扇贝cDNA文库中克隆到五个C－型凝集素基因，并对其中部分基因进行了深入研究。 C－型凝集素CFLec－1的基因全长1785bp，其中含有5’非翻译区66bp，随后是666bp的开放阅读框；最后一条非常长的3’非翻译区1040bp，其中包含多个多聚腺甘酸加尾信号和polyA尾巴。栉孔扇贝CFLec－1编码221个氨基酸的蛋白，其N末端为15个氨基酸的信号肽。CFLec－1的成熟肽为206个氨基酸，其等电点为5.12，计算分子量为23.49kDa。SMART程序分析显示，C末端130氨基酸是一个标准的长型C－型凝集素结构域，其中四个半光胺酸（Cys104，Cys177，Cys193，Cys202）形成的两对二硫键维持了C－型凝集素的空间结构，而位于N末端的两个二硫键（Cys74，Cys85）构成了长型C－型凝集素结构域特有的一对额外二硫键。同源性分析表明，CFLec－1的C－型凝集素结构域与红原鸡的甘露糖受体中的C－型凝集素结构域有47％的相似度，与大西洋鲑的C－型凝集素受体C有31％的相似度。通过与其他同源的C－型凝集素结构域序列比对，发现了可能的糖结合位点EPD基域（Glu169-Pro170-Asp171）。通过RT－PCR研究CFLec－1在扇贝不同组织中的分布后发现，在健康扇贝中，CFLec－1在性腺中有中等程度的表达，在腮中有少量表达，在血淋巴和外套膜中有微量表达。经热处死的鳗弧菌刺激后，CFLec－1在几乎所有检测组织中的表达量都有明显的提高，其中，血淋巴中的表达量变化最为显著。这些结果说明CFLec－1是组成/诱导型基因，并且可能参与了黏膜防御。通过RT－PCR分析了CFLec－1在血淋巴中的表达特征后发现，在革兰氏阳性菌溶壁微球菌和革兰氏阴性菌鳗弧菌刺激后，CFLec－1的表达均显著高于对照组，并且成明显的随时间变化趋势。在大肠杆菌中表达的重组CFLec－1可以凝集革兰氏阴性菌大肠杆菌JM109，且凝集过程需要钙离子的参与。重组CFLec－1对大肠杆菌JM109有较弱的抑菌活性，对溶壁微球菌有明显的抑菌活性，对鳗弧菌没有抑菌活性。这一结果说明，CFLec－1可能不仅参与对入侵微生物的识别过程，而且可能作为效应分子起到了直接杀灭入侵微生物的作用。 CFLec-2的cDNA全长为708bp，其5’UTR为59bp。3’UTR为217bp。 CFLec-2的开放阅读框为432bp，编码160个氨基酸残基,其中包含5’信号肽17个残基。CFLec-2的编码区中含有一个C-型凝集素结构域。利用本研究中构建的原核表达载体，CFLec-2的成熟肽在大肠杆菌中被成功表达。 mCFLec-1的cDNA全长为2257bp，5’UTR17bp，3’UTR为713bp。mCFLec-1的开放阅读框为1527bp，编码508个氨基酸残基，其中包含17个氨基酸残基的信号肽序列。mCFLec-1的编码区含有三个串联的C-型凝集素结构域。利用本研究中构建的原核表达载体，mCFLec-2的成熟肽在大肠杆菌中被成功表达。 mCFLec-2的cDNA全长2086bp。其5’UTR长为18bp，3’UTR长为238bp。开放阅读框均为1776bp，编码609个氨基酸残基，其中包含N末端由18个氨基酸构成的信号肽。mCFLec-2的编码区包含四个C-型凝集素结构域。mCFlec-3的cDNA全长1897bp，其5’UTR和编码区与mCFLec-2几乎完全相同，只有个别碱基的差异。mCFlec-3的3’UTR为49bp。 本研究从扇贝机体本身的免疫机制入手，深入探讨其免疫机理，为进一步研究信号传导，了解扇贝先天性免疫的机制，为制定合理的研制策略提供坚实的理论基础；丰富和发展海水无脊椎动物免疫学的内容，为控制养殖生物疾病提供了新的思路；进一步通过高低等生物之间功能类似分子的同源性比对，为解释和阐明先天免疫这种已经存在数十亿年，从低等生物开始到人类仍旧保留且更加完善的免疫系统的奥秘和本质提供证据。

中国明对虾Toll样受体基因的克隆与表达分析

对虾病害在世界范围内的广泛传播，给水产养殖和沿海农村经济造成了重大损失。自1993 年对虾白斑病暴发以来，中国明对虾的养殖一直一蹶不振。引起对虾大规模死亡的原因是多方面的，其主要原因是养殖环境恶化、对虾种质退化和抗病力下降。因此，深入开展对虾免疫机制研究，并在此基础上寻找对虾疾病防治的有效方法，改良种质和培育抗病品系，已成为对虾养殖业走可持续发展之路的当务之急。 Toll 样受体（Toll-like receptors, TLRs）家族是进化保守的哺乳动物模式识别蛋白（pattern recognition receptors, PRR），在先天免疫系统中起着非常重要的作用。本研究采用同源克隆和RACE（rapid amplification of cDNA ends）技术从中国明对虾中克隆到Toll 样受体同源基因，并将其命名为FcToll。它全长4115 bp，3’UTR 包含16 个poly A 尾巴，开放阅读框编码931 个氨基酸的多肽。预测的该多肽包含典型的Toll 样受体结构，分为胞外区、跨膜区和胞内区。其中胞外区有信号肽，有16 个富含亮氨酸的重复序列eucine-rich repeats, LRR），并含有2个LRR-C 末端基序和2 个LRR-N 末端基序；跨膜区是23 个氨基酸的一次跨膜结构域；胞内区是含有139 个氨基酸的TIR 结构域（Toll/Interleukin-1R）。克隆 发现FcToll 的基因组结构包含5 个外显子和4 个内含子。系统发生分析揭示FcToll归属于“昆虫型”的无脊椎动物Toll 样受体家族。组织分布研究发现FcToll 在中国明对虾中是组成型表达的，在淋巴器官中表达量较显著。分别利用不同病原体刺激健康的中国明对虾，Real-time PCR 发现该基因在刺激后表达水平呈现不同的表达谱：灭活鳗弧菌（Vibrio anguillarum）注射后5 小时，该基因表达显著 上调；而WSSV（white spot syndrome virus）注射后该基因表达则迅速下调，感染后23 小时内其表达水平均低于对应时间点的对照组。这就表明FcToll 可能参与中国明对虾的先天免疫防御，尤其可能参与入侵弧菌的免疫应答。