Search

Type III interferons (IFN-λ1/λ2/λ3, also known as IL-29/28A/28B, and IFN-λ4) are a recently discovered interferon group. In this study, we first identified the Chinese goose IFN-λ (goIFN-λ). The full-length sequence of goIFN-λ was found to be 823 bp. There was only one open reading frame that contained 570 bp, and, encoded 189 amino acids. The predicted goIFN-λ protein showed 78%, 67%, and 40% amino acid identity with duIFN-λ, chIFN-λ, and hIFN-λ3, respectively. The tissue distribution of goIFN-λ existed as a parallel distribution with goIFNLR1 as its functional receptor, which was mainly expressed in epithelium-rich tissues, such as lung, gizzard, proventriculus, skin and pancreas, and immune tissues, such as harderian gland and thymus. Furthermore, the immunological characteristics studies of goIFN-λ showed that there was a significant increase in the mRNA at the transcriptional level of goIFN-λ after the peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with ploy (I:C) and ODN2006, and infected with Gosling plague virus (GPV). In vivo, the mRNA transcriptional level of goIFN-λ increased nearly 20 times in the lung tissue and nearly 40 times in the pancreatic tissue after being artificially infected with H9N2 AIV. It is suggested that goIFN-λ might play a pivotal role in the mucosal immune protection and antiviral defense.

As interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), interferon-inducible transmembrane proteins 1 and 3 (IFITM1 and IFITM3) can effectively inhibit the replication of multiple viruses. Here, goose IFITM1 and IFITM3 were cloned and identified for the first time. The two proteins share the same topological structure and several important sites critical for the antiviral functions in other species are conserved in the goose. Goose IFITM1 and IFITM3 are most closely related to their respective orthologs in ducks; these proteins exhibited high mRNA transcript levels in immune-related tissues, including the thymus, bursa of Fabricius, and Harderian gland, compared to other tissues. Moreover, goose IFITM1 was highly constitutively expressed in gastrointestinal tract tissues, while goose IFITM3 was expressed in respiratory organs. Furthermore, goose IFITM3 was activated in goose peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) infected with Tembusu virus (TMUV) or treated with Toll-like receptors (TLRs) agonists, while only the R848 and Poly (I:C) agonists induced significant upregulation of goose IFITM1. Furthermore, goose IFITM1 and IFITM3 were upregulated in the sampled tissues, to some extent, after TMUV infection. Notably, significant upregulation of goose IFITM1 and IFITM3 was detected in the cecum and cecal tonsil, where TMUV was primarily distributed. These data provide new insights into the immune effectors in geese and promote our understanding of the role of IFITM1 and IFITM3 in the defense against TMUV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and the RIG-I-like receptor (RLR) protein play a critical role in the interferon (IFN) response during RNA virus infection. The tripartite motif containing 25 proteins (TRIM25) was reported to modify caspase activation and RIG-I recruitment domains (CARDs) via ubiquitin. These modifications allow TRIM25 to interact with mitochondrial antiviral signaling molecules (MAVs) and form CARD-CARD tetramers. Goose TRIM25 was cloned from gosling lungs, which possess a 1662 bp open reading flame (ORF). This ORF encodes a predicted 554 amino acid protein consisting of a B-box domain, a coiled-coil domain, and a PRY/SPRY domain. The protein sequence has 89.25% sequence identity with Anas platyrhynchos TRIM25, 78.57% with Gallus gallus TRIM25, and 46.92% with Homo sapiens TRIM25. TRIM25 is expressed in all gosling and adult goose tissues examined. QRT-PCR revealed that goose TRIM25 transcription could be induced by goose IFN-α, goose IFN-γ, and goose IFN-λ, as well as a35 s polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)), oligodeoxynucleotides 2006 (ODN 2006), and resiquimod (R848) in vitro; however, it is inhibited in H9N2 infected goslings for unknown reasons. These data suggest that goose TRIM25 might play a positive role in the regulation of the antiviral immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]