Identification of a C-reactive protein like homologue from XXXX ( @entity61494 ) evidencing its potent anti-microbial properties at molecular level.

@entity1522 @entity61494 @entity1735 @entity141 @entity3689 @entity526
UNASSIGNED: Pentraxins are a family of evolutionary conserved proteins that contains two main members, namely c-reactive proteins (CRPs) and serum amyloid P (SAP), which are involved in acute phase responses in animals. In this study, a cDNA sequence of a CRP-like molecule was identified from a previously constructed @entity61494 cDNA database (RfCRP) and subsequently characterized at its molecular level. The complete coding region of RfCRP is 672  bp in length, and encodes a protein containing 224 @entity1522 with a predicted molecular mass of 25.19  kDa. Analysis of its derived @entity3689 sequence enabled typical features of pentraxin family members to be identified, including the pentraxin family signature in RfCRP. Results from multiple sequence alignment suggest the conservation of functionally important residues in RfCRP. According to the phylogenetic reconstruction that was generated using different pentraxin counterparts from different taxa, RfCRP shares a common vertebrate ancestral origin and most closely clusters with marine teleostan CRP. Furthermore, recombinant RfCRP demonstrated @entity141 -dependent agglutination activity against @entity526 , which could be completely inhibited in the presence of @entity1735 based ligands. Moreover, recombinant RfCRP also exhibited anti-bacterial activity against both @entity526 and Streptococcus iniae. In addition, qPCR analysis indicated that RfCRP is ubiquitously expressed in physiologically important tissues, with pronounced expression in the spleen. After healthy fish were treated with polysaccharides or live S.  iniae, basal expression of RfCRP was significantly upregulated in spleen and head kidney tissues. Collectively, our results suggest that RfCRP may be important in host anti-bacterial defense, and it might potentially participate in the acute phase of infection.
