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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #64155
Title: CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BOVINE FAS

Author
item Yoo, Jak
item Stone, Roger
item Beattie, Craig

Submitted to: DNA and Cell Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/23/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Fas (APO-1, CD95), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily, is a cell membrane protein which mediates programmed cell death (apoptosis). Its expression is abundant in peripheral blood lymphocytes, lung, spleen, thymus and ovary, but minimal in heart, liver and brain. The cloning of the message and gene for bFAS will allow us to investigate programmed cell death in the (peripheral) immune system of cattle and sheep during development and in response to disease challenge.

Technical Abstract: Fas (APO-1, CD95), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily, is a cell membrane protein which mediates programmed cell death (apoptosis). In an effort to characterize the possible role of Fas-mediated apoptosis in some important physiological processes in livestock, bovine Fas (bFas) cDNA was isolated and its nucleotide sequence determined. The predicted amino acid sequence encodes 323 amino acid protein which contains a leader peptide, a transmembrane domain, and three domains of cysteine-rich motif within the extracellular region. At the amino acid level, bFas is 57% and 50% identical to human (hFas) and mouse (mFas), respectively. Its expression is abundant in peripheral blood lymphocytes, lung, spleen, thymus and ovary, but minimal in heart, liver and brain. A polyclonal anti-bFas serum raised against the C-terminal half of cysteine-rich motif I recognized a single 46 kDa protein in bovine MDBK cells by Western blot analysis. To investigate the apoptotic activity of bFas, MDBK and bFas transfected L929 cells were exposed to a monoclonal anti-hFas IgM. Unlike other cell culture systems, the antibody failed to trigger cell death in MDBK and bFas transfected L929 cells.