Cg‐TIMP, an inducible tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas with a potential role in wound healing and defense mechanisms 1

• Published in: FEBS Letters
• Main Authors: Montagnani, Caroline, Le Roux, Frédérique, Berthe, Franck, Escoubas, Jean-Michel
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2001
• Subjects: Pacific; Crassostrea gigas; Pacific oyster
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0014-5793(01)02559-5; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1016%2FS0014-5793%2801%2902559-5; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1016%2FS0014-5793(01)02559-5; https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0014-5793%2801%2902559-5

We have cloned and characterized a cDNA encoding Cg ‐TIMP, the first tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase identified in mollusks. The isolated cDNA encodes a protein of 221 residues that has a domain organization similar to that of vertebrate TIMPs including a signal sequence, and the 12 cysteines characteristic of the TIMP signature. Analysis of Cg‐TIMP expression in adult oyster tissues, by Northern blot and in situ hybridization, indicates that Cg‐TIMP was only expressed in hemocytes which are the key components of defense mechanisms in mollusks. We also observed that Cg‐TIMP mRNA accumulated during shell damage and bacterial challenge. This pattern of expression suggests that Cg ‐TIMP may be an important factor in wound healing and defense mechanisms.