Detection of gene expression and sequence analysis of chicken class II trans activator (CIITA)

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Class II transactivator (CIITA) is a dominant<br />transcriptional element, controlling numerous genes in the<br />immune system. CIITA is expressed in a constitutive pattern in<br />antigen presenting cells although its expression can occur in<br />other cell types. Since the revelation of CIITA, there have been<br />considerable advances toward understanding its role as an<br />activator of MHC II genes in humans and mice; nonetheless,<br />there is a lack of published data for this gene in other animals such<br />as chickens. OBJECTIVES: The goals of this study were to<br />determine the expression of class II transactivator (CIITA) in<br />chicken and analysis of the CIITA gene sequence between four<br />Iranian indigenous chicken ecotypes. METHODS:After securing<br />the research accuracy and optimization of reaction conditions,<br />cDNA and DNA samples of gene were obtained from four<br />Iranian indigenous chicken ecotypes. The PCR and RT-PCR<br />products were sequenced and the data were analyzed by<br />bioinformatics software. RESULTS: Comparison of the<br />sequencing results with the reference sequence of the red jungle<br />fowl revealed that these sequences belonged to the predicted<br />CIITA gene. There was a high conservation rate in the sequence<br />of CIITA. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that like other<br />species, CIITA is transcripted in chickens' immune system cells.<br />Further studies on chickens must be done to reveal CIITAroles in<br />immune responses of chickens.