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Publications
Publications (64)
Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) was initially discovered to participate in the generation of nitric oxide as a defense mechanism against pathogenic infections. In recent years, it has been found that NOS plays a pivotal role in regulating apoptosis and inflammation in mammals. However, the mechanisms underlying NOS-mediated apoptosis in invertebrates r...
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays an important role in regulating many physiological and disease processes in vertebrates, in which methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is the best-known m6A methyltransferase. However, the functional roles of invertebrate METTL3 have not yet been highlighted. In this study, we found that METTL3 from Apostichopus japonicu...
The inhibition of inflammatory response is an essential process to control the development of inflammation and is an important step to protect the organism from excessive inflammatory damage. As a pleiotropic cytokine, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) plays a regulatory role in inhibiting inflammation in vertebrates. To investigate the role...
The intestinal tract is the most important location for symbiotes and pathogens, and the microbiota plays a crucial role in affecting the health of the gut and other host organs. Dysbacteriosis in the intestinal system has been proven to be significant in skin ulceration syndrome (SUS) in sea cucumbers. This study investigates whether the gut micro...
This study aims to establish a quantitative and qualitative evaluation model of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus research. Data from 2000 to 2021 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) of Thomson Reuters. Bibliometrics and CiteSpace software were used to analyze authors, exporting countries, journals, influential articles,...
Epidermal growth factor‐like domain protein (EGFL) 6, a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) domain protein superfamily, has been reported to regulate various physiological processes, including cell adhesion, proliferation, migration and inflammation in mammals. Up to date, the study of invertebrate EGFL6 expression pattern and functional an...
N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), the most abundant epitranscriptomic modification in eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA), plays important roles in regulation of gene expression for fundamental biological processes and diverse physiological functions, including combating with pathogen infection. Here, we were first profile transcriptome-wide m⁶A sequencing in...
Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) serve as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases in vertebrates. We cloned and characterised the TIMP1 gene from Apostichopus japonicus using RACE approaches (designated as AjTIMP1). For Vibrio splendidus-challenged sea cucumbers, the peak expression of A...
In marine environments, organisms are confronted with numerous microbial challenges, although the differential regulation of xenophagy in response to different pathogenic bacterial species remains relatively unknown. Here, we addressed this issue using Apostichopus japonicus as a model. We identified 39 conserved autophagy-related genes by genome-w...
WAP domain-containing proteins are important immune effectors that play vital roles in regulating host immune response, such as anti-microbial invasion and tissue repair at mucosal surfaces. In our study, the whole-length cDNA of a protein with a single WAP domain was cloned from Apostichopus japonicus (termed AjWFDC-like), and its roles in immune...
Inflammation participates in host defenses against infectious agents and contributes to the pathophysiology of many diseases. IL-17 is a well-known proinflammatory cytokine that contributes to various aspects of inflammation in vertebrates. However, the functional role of invertebrate IL-17 in inflammatory regulation is not well understood. In this...
Sinonovacula constricta is one of the important economic bivalves in the world with high output value. However, vibriosis is a serious threat to the razor clam aquaculture industries, especially Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Molecular breeding such as marker-assisted selection or genomic selection is an efficient method for genetic improvement of diseas...
Endocytosis plays an important role in the immune defence systems of invertebrates through the interaction between the mechanical target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) and the AGC kinase family. Rictor is the most important unique subunit protein of mTORC2 and is thought to regulate almost all functions of mTORC2, including endocytosis. In the pre...
MiR-210 plays a crucial role in cell survival, migration, and regeneration in vertebrates. In our previous work, the expression of miR-210 was considerably induced in diseased Apostichopus japonicus with skin ulcer syndrome (SUS). To further explore the mechanism of miR-210 in regulating the SUS, this study identified E2F transcription factor 3 (E2...
As a member of natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) family, Nramp2 conservatively exists in the cell membrane across species and is essential for normal iron homeostasis in an H⁺-dependent manner. Withholding available iron represents an important host defense strategy. However, the function of Nramp2 in response to invading pat...
Serine protease inhibitors (SPIs, serpins) are a protein superfamily involved in almost all physiological processes in all organisms. In this study, a novel serpin was identified from Apostichopus japonicus (Ajserpin) by using high-throughput sequencing and RACE approaches. The full-length cDNA of Ajserpin was 1893 bp with a 5′-untranslated region...
Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) is a mitochondrial enzyme with the unique ability to participate in both the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the electron transport chain to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). The B subunit of SDH is required for succinate oxidation, which is critical for pro-inflammatory response. In this study, we cloned the iron–su...
As a wide distribution molecule, 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (4-HPPD) catalyzes the second step in the tyrosine catabolism pathway. This process commonly occurs in all aerobic life forms. The broad distribution of these metabolites suggests that they have an important role in many organisms. A portion of the 4-HPPD homology sequence was als...
The sedoheptulose kinase carbohydrate kinase-like protein (CARKL) is critical for immune cell activation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and cell polarization by restricting flux through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). To date, little is known about CARKL in regulating immune responses in marine invertebrates. In this study, we firs...
β-catenin, an adaptor molecule in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, is associated with different physiological processes such as intestinal immune, apoptosis, and inflammation-associated response. However, the function of β-catenin is still largely unknown in Apostichopus japonicus. In the present study, we cloned and characterized β-catenin genes f...
The immune system requires a considerable energetic cost to sense and respond to pathogen invasion. The metabolic reprogramming of the immune cells has been proved to meet the energetic demands and drive the secretion of cytokines and inflammatory mediators. However, the shift of energy metabolic pathways in response to pathogen challenge in marine...
Fas-associated death domain (FADD) is an adaptor protein that functions in transferring the apoptotic signals regulated by the death receptors. In this study, a full-length cDNA of FADD homologue in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas (AjFADD) was cloned and characterized, and its functional roles in apoptosis investigated. In healthy sea cucumbers...
As an interspecies and interkingdom signaling molecule, indole has recently received attention for its diverse effects on the physiology of both bacteria and hosts. In this study, indole increased the tetracycline resistance of Vibrio splendidus. The minimal inhibitory concentration of tetracycline was 10 μg/mL, and the OD600 of V. splendidus decre...
As a multifunctional protein, cyclophilin A (CypA) plays an important role in cell apoptosis. In our previous work, we found that CypA from Apostichopus japonicus (AjCypA), as a cofactor, could modulate nuclear translocation of NF-κB. However, the immune function of AjCypA is largely unknown. In the present study, we found that siRNA-mediated AjCyp...
Vibrio splendidus is an important opportunistic pathogen that infects many important marine animals; for example, it can cause skin ulcer syndrome in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. In this study, a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged V. splendidus was constructed by ligating GFP into the plasmid pET28a. The growth of GFP-tagged V. sple...
Myelocytomatosis viral oncogene (MYC), a multifunctional transcription factor, (TF) exerts various physiological and pathological effects on animals. AjMYC could induce coelomocyte apoptosis in Apostichopus japonicus, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains poorly understood. In this study, the promoter sequence of apoptosis regulator Bcl-2-...
The NOD-like receptor family member 4 (NLRC4) plays a crucial role in regulating the innate immune responses and cell apoptosis pathways in vertebrates. However, the function of the NLRC4 counterpart in invertebrates remains elusive. In this study, the first NLRC4-like gene was cloned and characterized from Apostichopus japonicus (designated as AjN...
As a ubiquitously expressed protein, cyclophilin A (CypA) is involved in a variety of pathological process, including immune suppression, inflammation, cell apoptosis, viral infection and stress response. However, the functional roles of CypA were largely unknown in economic marine animals. In this report, a novel CypA gene from sea cucumber Aposti...
Background:
Vibrio splendidus is an aquaculture pathogen that can cause skin ulcer syndrome (SUS) in Apostichopus japonicus. HopPmaJ is a type III system effectors (T3SEs) that has been reported to be an important virulence factor. In this study, a gene named hop, which encodes HopPmaJ in V. splendidus was cloned and its cytotoxicity on coelomocyt...
Vibrio splendidus is one of the most opportunistic marine pathogens and infects many important marine animals, including the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. In this study, two genes named DLD1 and DLD2, encoding dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD) homologues in pathogenic V. splendidus, were cloned, and conditionally expressed in Escherichia...
Outer membrane protein U (OmpU) is a major porin from Vibrio alginolyticus and has been considered a vaccine candidate against infection by V. alginolyticus. After pre-incubated with polyclonal antibody against rOmpU, V. alginolyticus showed a 78% decrease in extracellular iron level, suggesting that interruption of OmpU could increase intracellula...
Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved immune response and plays a fundamental role in many physiological processes. In this study, the important apoptosis regulator of Bcl-2 homolog from economic marine animal Apostichopus japonicus (AjBcl-2) was cloned and its roles in V. splendidus infection explored. The AjBcl-2 gene contains 3263 nucleotides...
Myelocytomatosis viral oncogene (MYC), a transcription factor in the MYC family, plays vital roles in vertebrate innate immunity by regulating related immune gene expressions. In this study, we cloned and characterized an MYC gene from sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus via RNA-seq and RACE approaches (designated as AjMYC). A 2074 bp fragment repr...
Animal gut harbors diverse microbes in the protection against pathogen invasion and the regulation of host immune responses. In our previous work, we found that environmental factors destroy hindgut intestinal flora to promote pathogen infection in sea cucumber. Midgut microbiota could protect host from pathogen infection via producing of antibioti...
Autophagy plays an important role in the immune defense systems of vertebrates through the interaction between the lethal with SEC13 protein 8 (lst8) and the mechanistic target of rapamycin. In the present study, a novel invertebrate lst8 homologue is identified from Apostichopus japonicus (designated as Ajlst8) via polymerase chain reaction. The f...
The Toll cascade plays important functions in innate immunity against infectious pathogens in animals. Toll cascade as an ancient immune defender were conserved among different species. The activation of the TLR pathway between different species often involves different interacting proteins. The core members of this pathway have been well establish...
Skin ulceration syndrome (SUS) of sea cucumber is a common and serious disease that affects the stable development of Apostichopus japonicus in the culture industry. The part of sea cucumber that suffers from major injury and is directly observed is the body wall, in which protein variations should be the most direct evidence of the disease. To und...
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a cytokine and plays critical roles in inflammatory and immune responses in vertebrates. However, its functional role in inflammation has not been well studied in invertebrates. In the present study, we cloned and characterized MIF gene from Apostichopus japonicus by RNA-seq and RACE approaches (desig...
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key conservative regulator of inflammation response by promoting cell proliferation, migration, and vascular permeability. It also induces the release of inflammatory factors in vertebrates. We previously characterized NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 and HMGB3 homology in Apostichopus japonicus, p...
Spotting disease is a common disease in the process of aquaculture and restocking of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius and leads to mass mortality. To characterize the molecular processes and candidate genes related to spotting disease in S. intermedius, we conducted next-generation sequencing to assess the key genes/pathways in spottin...
Accumulative evidence has supported the pivotal roles of gut microbiota in shaping host health in a wide range of animals. However, the relationship between gut microbiota and sea cucumber disease is poorly understood. Using the Illumina sequencing of bacterial 16 S rRNA gene, we investigated the divergence of gut bacterial communities between heal...
We have previously confirmed that β-integrin from Apostichopus japonicus (designated AjITGB) binds LPS and mediates the immune response. In this study, we found that AjITGB positively promoted the echinoderm immune cells located in the coelomic cavity (designated as coelomocyte) phagocytic activities. Flow cytometry assay indicated that the phagocy...
Microsomal glutathione transferase 2 (mGST2) is an integral membrane protein involved in detoxication of xenobiotics, and has also been suggested to catalyze the biosynthesis of pro-inflammatory mediator leukotriene C4 (LTC4) as homologous to LTC4 synthase (LTC4S) in mammals. In the present study, a novel mGST2 homology was identified from Apostich...
High mobility group box protein 3 (HMGB3) regulates proliferation and inflammatory response in vertebrates. However, its functional roles in invertebrates are largely unknown. In this study, a HMGB3 homologue molecule was identified from Apostichopus japonicus (designated as AjHMGB3) by RACE approach. The full-length cDNA of AjHMGB3 was of 2298 bp...
Cytochrome c plays crucial roles in apoptosis and the immune response. We previously demonstrated that cathepsin B from Apostichopus japonicus (AjCTSB) induces coelomocyte apoptosis. However, the mechanistic explanation and the regulation of this process have not been investigated. In the present study, we identified three cytochrome c cDNAs from A...
Microsomal glutathione transferase (mGST) is a membrane bound glutathione transferase in multifunctional detoxification isoenzymes family and also plays crucial roles in innate immunity. In the present study, a novel microsomal GST homology was identified from Apostichopus japonicus (designated as AjmGST1) by RACE approaches. The full-length cDNA o...
Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are the superfamily of multifunctional detoxification isoenzymes and play crucial roles in innate immunity. In the present study, a theta class GST homology was identified from A. japonicus (designated as AjGST-θ) by RACE approaches. The full-length cDNA of AjGST-θ was of 1013 bp encoded a cytosolic protein of 231...
Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) plays a crucial role in modulating cellular signals, mainly via TOLL cascades during the immune response. In the present study, a novel PDCD4 homologue gene (denoted as AjPDCD4) was cloned from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus using RACE. The full-length AjPDCD4 cDNA comprised a 366 bp 5ʹ-UTR, a 418 bp 3ʹ-UTR,...
In this study, three typical members representative of different arginine metabolic pathways were firstly identified from Apostichopus japonicus, including nitric oxide synthase (NOS), arginase, and agmatinase. Spatial expression analysis revealed that the AjNOS transcript presented negative expression patterns relative to those of Ajarginase or Aj...
Integrins are a family of membrane glycoproteins, which are the major receptors for extracellular matrix and cell–cell adhesion molecules. In this study, a 1038 bp sequence representing the full-length cDNA of a novel β-integrin subunit (designated as AjITGB) was cloned from Apostichopus japonicusby using combined transcriptome sequencing and RACE...
Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) transcription factors are related to several physiological processes, including innate and acquired immunity. In this study, a novel negative regulator of the Nemo-like kinase (NLK) gene was identified from Apostichopus japonicus through PCR (denoted as AjNLK). The complete AjNLK cDNA was of 2335 bp, with a 5'-UTR of...