The Atlantic salmon protein tyrosine kinase Tyk2: molecular cloning, modulation of expression and function

Tyk2, a member of the Janus Kinase (JAK) family of protein tyrosine kinases, is required for interferon-α/β binding and signaling in higher vertebrates. Currently, little is known about the role of the different JAKs in signaling responses to interferon (IFN) in lower vertebrates including fish. In this paper we report the identification and characterization of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) Tyk2. Four cDNA sequences, two containing an open reading frame encoding full-length Tyk protein and two with an up-stream in frame stop codon, were identified. The deduced amino acid sequences of the salmon full-length Tyk2 proteins showed highest identity with Tyk2 from other species and their transcripts were ubiquitously expressed. Like in mammals the presented data suggests that salmon Tyk2 is auto-phosporylated when ectopically expressed in cells. In our experiments, full-length salmon Tyk2 overexpressed in CHSE-cells phosphorylated itself, while both a kinase-deficient mutant and the truncated Tyk2 (Tyk-short) were inactive. Interestingly, the overexpression of full length Tyk2 was shown to up-regulate the transcript levels of the IFN induced gene Mx, thus indicating the involvement of salmon Tyk2 in the salmon IFN I pathway.

Impaired lung homeostasis in neonatal mice exposed to cigarette smoke

In infants, smoke exposure is associated with more respiratory illnesses and decreased lung function. We hypothesized that perinatal lung is particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of cigarette smoke (CS) and that exposure to CS during this period may alter expression of immune response genes and adversely affect lung growth. To test this, we exposed neonatal mice to 14 days of CS. Immediately after exposure to CS, pulmonary gene expression profiling was performed on 2-week-old CS-exposed lung and age-matched control lung. Nitrotyrosine, TUNEL, MAC3, and phospho-SMAD-2 (p-SMAD2) staining was also performed. At 8 weeks of age, lung volume measurements were determined and mean linear intercept measurements were calculated. Pulmonary gene expression profiling revealed that CS exposure significantly inhibited type 1 and type 2 interferon pathway genes in neonatal lung, compared with age-matched control lung. Neonatal CS-exposed lung also had a significant increase in n-tyrosine, TUNEL, and p-SMAD2 staining when compared with adult CS-exposed lung and age-matched control lung. Lung volumes at 8 weeks of age were modestly but significantly decreased in mice exposed to CS in the neonatal period compared with age-matched controls, consistent with impaired lung growth. The results of this study indicate that exposure to CS during the neonatal period inhibits expression of genes involved in innate immunity and mildly impairs postnatal lung growth. These findings may in part explain the increased incidence of respiratory symptoms in infants and children exposed to CS.