CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF THE GENE ENCODING THE PORCINE NADPH OXIDASE LIGHT-CHAIN SUBUNIT (P22-PHOX)

In previous studies, we showed that interleukin-4 (IL-4) suppressed porcine (p) macrophage superoxide production and that the mechanism of suppression involved down-regulation of the superoxide-generating enzyme NADPH oxidase heavy-chain 91-kDa subunit mRNA (gp91-phox) expression. In order to examine the effect of IL-4 on expression of the gene encoding the porcine NADPH oxidase light-chain 22-kDa subunit (p22-phox), we cloned the p22-phox cDNA from a macrophage library. The p22-phox cDNA is 786 bp in length and contains a 576-bp open reading frame which predicts a primary translation product of 192 amino acids (aa). Comparison of the porcine and human 22-phox cDNAs showed a high degree of similarity between the two species in their nucleotide (85%) and deduced aa (83%) sequences, as well as in their hydropathy profiles. Notable features, including a high proline content and an iron-coordinating His(94), are conserved in both the porcine and human 22-Phox. A single species of mRNA of about 1 kb was detected in macrophages. The mRNA levels remained unchanged in cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or with IL-4 at various concentrations from 0-50 ng/ml. Prolonged treatment with LPS or IL-4 did not enhance the effect of these substances on p22-phox mRNA expression. The effect of IL-4 on p22-phox mRNA expression was also compared with another immunosuppressive cytokine, transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF beta 1). No change in mRNA expression was found in the cells with or without TGF beta 1 treatment. The results indicated that the heavy and light chains of NADPH oxidase are independently regulated by IL-4 in macrophages.