Molecular cloning and expression analysis of common carp Cyprinus carpio tumor necrosis factor-α

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a pleiotropic and potent inflammatory cytokine produced during inflammation. In this study, we cloned the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) complementary DNA (cDNA) gene from common carp Cyprinus carpio. The TNFα4 cDNA was 1318 bp in length and contained a 768-bp open reading frame, which putatively encoded 255 amino acids. The cloned sequences have several polymorphisms in the 3′ untranslated regions. The TNFα putative protein retains the TNFα family signature and consists of a four-exon, three-intron structure similar to other known TNFα4 genes. Aeromonas hydrophila Ahcs01 induced expression of TNFα4 in carp; differential expression was observed at different times. Our results indicate that TNFα4 is a central regulatory and effector cytokine of carp inflammatory and antimicrobial responses.