Complete cDNA Sequences and Phylogenetic Analyses of the Th1 and Th2 Cytokines of the Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus)

The complementary DNAs of the Th1 (IL-2, IL-12p35, and IFN-γ) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13) cytokine genes of the bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) were cloned, sequenced, and analyzed. IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12p35, IL-13, and IFN-γ were found to have 465, 402, 537, 669, 411, and 501 bp length open reading frames with 154, 133, 178, 222, 136, and 166 amino acid encodings, respectively. The homology ranged from 58.8% to 100% between the nucleotide sequences of the camel cytokine genes and the published sequences of other mammalian genes, including the llama, pig, cow, horse, human, and mouse. The cDNA had highest homology with orders Artiodactyla (pigs and cattle) and Perissodactyla (horses), especially to the recently cloned llama sequences.