The first evidence of four transcripts from two Interleukin 18 genes in animal and their involvement in immune responses in the largest amphibian Andrias davidianus

Abstract Interleukin 18 (IL-18), a member of IL-1 cytokine superfamily, is an important proinflammatory cytokine with multiple functions in both innate immunity and acquired immunity. However, the characteristics and functional roles of IL-18 remain largely unknown in amphibians, which were classed as major group of vertebrates. In the present study, two IL-18 genes (AdIL-18A and AdIL-18B) and four transcripts (AdIL-18A1, AdIL-18A2, AdIL-18B1 and AdIL-18B2) were firstly identified and characterized from Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of more than one gene copy or two transcripts of IL-18 in one species. The complete open reading frames of AdIL-18A1, AdIL-18A2, AdIL-18B1 and AdIL-18B2 were 588 bp, 603 bp, 591 bp and 606 bp, respectively. The putative AdIL-18 proteins possessed the typical IL-1 domains and phylogenetic analysis indicated that AdIL-18s grouped together with other vertebrate IL-18 proteins. The expression profiles of AdIL-18s were investigated under the challenges of Aeromonas hydrophila, Staphylococcus ureae and Poly (I:C) respectively, and the results suggested that AdIL-18s were involved in the immune responses against both bacterial and viral infections. Moreover, the expression levels of two NF-κBs (P100 and P105) and four proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ) were inhibited in AdIL-18A1/A2-silenced cells when treated with bacteria and viral RNA analog. Additionally, the transcription levels of these immune-related cytokine genes were markedly induced when the lymphocytes were treated with recombinant AdIL-18A1 or AdIL-18A2 proteins, implying the involvement of AdIL-18s in triggering NF-κB signaling and proinflammatory responses. These results might provide new insights into the origin or evolution of IL-18 in amphibians and even in vertebrates.