Molecular and functional characterization of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) in amphibian Xenopus tropicalis.

Zhen Gan, Jun Cheng, Jing Hou, Liqun Xia, Yishan Lu, Pin Nie

International journal of biological macromolecules 2021 Jan 15

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Interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) is an important regulator in controlling the transcription of type I interferon genes, and its functions have been well-characterized in mammals, birds and fish. However, little information is available regarding the function of amphibian IRF1. In this study, an IRF1 gene homolog named as Xt-IRF1 was identified in the Western clawed frog (Xenopus tropicalis), an amphibian model specie widely used for comparative immunology research. Xt-IRF1 and IRF1 in other vertebrates possess similar genomic structure and flanking genes, and were grouped together to form a separate clade in phylogenetic tree. In addition, Xt-IRF1 gene was constitutively expressed in all tissues examined, with the highest expression level observed in spleen, and was inducible after poly(I:C) stimulation. Importantly, the expression of Xt-IRF1 was markedly induced by recombinant type I interferon, and Xt-IRF1 induced a strong activation of both IFNβ and ISRE promoters. The present study opens the door to investigate the roles of IRF1 in amphibians, and thus contributes to a better understanding of the functional evolution of IRFs in lower tetrapods. Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Citation

Zhen Gan, Jun Cheng, Jing Hou, Liqun Xia, Yishan Lu, Pin Nie. Molecular and functional characterization of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) in amphibian Xenopus tropicalis. International journal of biological macromolecules. 2021 Jan 15;167:719-725