Characterization and expression of galectin-3 after Streptococcus agalactiae and Aeromonas hydrophila challenge in GIFT strain Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

• Published in: Fish & shellfish immunology Vol. 86; pp. 974 - 980
• Main Authors: Zhu, Jiajie, Wei, Min, wang, Quanhe, Ao, Qiuwei, Tan, Yun, Luo, Yongju, Wang, Hui, Jiang, Hesheng, Hu, Qiaomu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Aeromonas hydrophila; Expression pattern; Galectin-3; Oreochromis niloticus; Streptococcus agalactiae; PBS; GIFT; Oreochromis niloticus; UTR; CRD; Expression pattern; Aeromonas hydrophila; SEM; Galectin-3; Streptococcus agalactiae
• ISSN: 1050-4648; 1095-9947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2018.12.036

In mammals, Galectin-3 has been revealed to be widely expressed in immune cells and played important role in immune reactions. However, Galectin-3 is frequently less reported in teleost. In the present study, a molecular characterization and expression analysis of galectin-3 were conducted in GIFT strain Nile tilapia. The full-length cDNA is 1034 bp with 690 bp of protein coding sequences. The result of qRT-PCR showed that the mRNA of galectin-3 was widely expressed in various tissues (heart, liver, spleen, gill, kidney, brain, intestine, skin, muscle, and ovary), and the higher expression was observed in immune-related tissues (liver and spleen). The time-course expression analysis revealed that galectin-3 was significantly up-regulated in intestine (5 h, 50 h, and 7 d), liver (5 h, 50 h, and 7 d), spleen (5 and 50 h), head-kidney (5 and 50 h), gill (5 h and 7 d) after Streptococcus agalactiae challenge, and significantly up-regulated in intestine (18, 24, 36, 72, and 96 h), liver (6, 18, 24, 96 h, and 6 d), spleen (18, 24, 36, 72, and 96 h), head-kidney (6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 72, and 96 h), and gill (12, 18, 24, and 36 h) after Aeromonas hydrophila challenge. Taken together, these data suggest that galectin-3 plays a role in immune responses in Nile tilapia after bacterial challenge. •The galectin-3 was cloned and characterized in Nile tilapia.•The high levels of galectin-3 transcription were observed in kidney, spleen, gill, and skin.•The galectin-3 transcription could be up-regulated by S. agalactiae infection in immune-related tissues.•The galectin-3 transcription could be up-regulated by A. hydrophila infection in immune-related tissues.