Involvement of pore-forming molecules in immune defense and development of the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis)

15 páginas, 9 figuras, 3 tablasThe membrane attack complex and perforin (MACPF) superfamily is one of the largest families of poreforming molecules. Although MACPF proteins are able to destruct invading microbes, several MACPF proteins play roles in embryonic development, neural migration or tumor suppression. We describe two apextrin-like proteins (ApelB and ApelP) and one MACPF-domain-containing protein (Macp) in Mytilus galloprovincialis. The two apextrin-like proteins did not present any conserved domain. The Macp protein contained the membrane/attack complex domain and its signature motif. Gene expression during larval development was analyzed by RT-PCR. There was a stage-specific up-regulation of the three proteins, suggesting that they play a role in development. Apextrin-like proteins were highly expressed at blastula and trochophore stage, whereas Macp was expressed at veliger stage. RT-PCR revealed up-regulation of the three genes in tissues and hemocytes from adults treated with bacteria and pathogen-associated molecular patterns, suggesting that they may be involved in the immune response.This work has been funded by the EU Projects IMAQUANIM (CT- 2005-007103), REPROSEED (245119) and by the National project AGL2008-05111/ACU from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.Peer reviewe