Differential allele expression of host defense genes, pulmonary surfactant protein-A and Osteopontin, in rat

Zhenwu Lin, Yunhua Wang, Kangmin Zhu, Joanna Floros*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Differential allele-specific expression has been observed in several genes involved in immunity. SP-A and OPN play a role in innate host defense. To determine whether SP-A and OPN are subject to differential allele-specific regulation, we investigated their gene or allele-specific expression in various tissues. The results showed: (1) Tissue-specific expression with high levels in lung (SP-A) and kidney (OPN). (2) Differences in allele-specific expression among individuals and tissues. SP-A showed an exclusively balanced biallelic expression (BB) in lung, but both BB and imbalanced biallelic (IB) expression in colon. Allele expression of OPN was more heterogeneous, e.g. in colon BB (22%), IB (64%), and monoallelic expression (MO) (14%). (3) Differential allele-specific expression was observed in all tissues studied (OPN) or in all extrapulmonary tissues (SP-A). (4) Family studies indicated that inheritable factor(s) may be involved in the regulation of allele-specific expression. (5) Analysis of co-expression of gene-specific alleles from double heterozygous rats revealed lack of coordinate allele expression among SP-A, SP-D, and OPN. We conclude that allele-specific expression occurs among genes of innate host defense. This may yet provide another level of regulatory complexity for molecules involved in the first line of defense.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1155-1165
Number of pages11
JournalMolecular Immunology
Volume41
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • BB
  • IB
  • IB A (IB C or IB G)
  • IB with higher level of expression of allele A (C or G)
  • MO
  • MO A (MO C or MO G)
  • OPN
  • Osteopontin
  • SP-A
  • balanced biallelic expression
  • imbalanced biallelic expression
  • monoallelic expression
  • only allele A (C or G) is expressed

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Differential allele expression of host defense genes, pulmonary surfactant protein-A and Osteopontin, in rat'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this