Molecular cloning and sequencing of the banded dogfish (Triakis scyllia) interleukin-8 cDNA

Abstract The dogfish ( Triakis scyllia ) interleukin-8 (IL-8) cDNA was isolated from mitogen-stimulated peripheral white blood cells (WBCs) utilising the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The cDNA sequence showed that the dogfish IL-8 clones contained an open reading frame encoding 101 amino acids. A short 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of 70 nucleotides and a long 3′ UTR of 893 nucleotides were also present in this 1·2-kb cDNA. Furthermore, the 3′ UTR of the mRNA contained the AUUUA sequence that has been implicated in shortening of the half-life of several cytokines and growth factors. The predicted IL-8 peptide had one potential N-linked glycosylation site (Asn-72–Thr-74) that is not conserved in other vertebrates. It also contained four cysteine residues (Cys-34, 36, 61 and 77), which are characteristic of CXC subfamily cytokines and found in all vertebrates, to date. The dogfish IL-8 lacked an ELR motif as found in the lamprey and trout. Comparison of the deduced amino acids showed that the dogfish IL-8 sequence shared 50·5, 41·2, 37·1 and 40·4–45·5% identity with the chicken, lamprey, trout and mammalian IL-8 sequences, respectively.