Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-2-22
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
Recent molecular and biochemical analysis has revealed the presence of an opsonic complement system in the solitary ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi, composed of at least C3, two mannan binding protein-associated serine proteases, and factor B. To elucidate further the structure and function of this apparently primitive complement system in the urochordates, we looked for the ascidian complement receptor type 3 (CR3), or type 4 (CR4), which are members of the leukocyte integrin family in mammals. Using degenerate primers, we isolated two integrin alpha subunits (alpha(Hr1) and alpha(Hr2)) from the hemocyte mRNA of H. roretzi, by RT-PCR, and the entire coding sequence of alpha(Hr1) was determined from cDNA clones. alpha(Hr1) contains an I domain, the inserted domain characteristic of a subset of mammalian alpha subunits, including the leukocyte integrin family. A phylogenetic tree constructed for the alpha subunits also supports the ancestral position of alpha(Hr1) in the monophyletic cluster of I domain-containing alpha integrins. The alpha(Hr1) gene shows hemocyte-specific expression on Northern blot analysis. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical staining of the hemocytes of H. roretzi using anti-alpha(Hr1) Ab showed that alpha(Hr1) subunits exist on the surface of a subpopulation of phagocytic hemocytes. Furthermore, anti-alpha(Hr1) Ab inhibited C3-dependent phagocytosis, but not basic phagocytosis, of yeast cells by ascidian hemocytes. These observations strongly suggest that alpha(Hr1) constitutes an integrin molecule on the hemocytes of H. roretzi that functions as an ancestral form of CR3 and CR4 and mediates phagocytosis in the primitive complement system of the ascidian.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0022-1767
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
1
pubmed:volume
166
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1710-5
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Cloning and characterization of integrin alpha subunits from the solitary ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't