Functional characterization of the NF-kappa B transcription factor gene REL2 from Anopheles gambiae

The REL2 gene plays an important role in innate immunity against both Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria and malaria parasites in Anopheles gambiae, the main vector of malaria in Africa. Through alternative splicing, REL2 produces two protein products, REL2F (with a Rel-homology domain as well as an inhibitory ankyrin repeat region) and REL2S (without the ankyrin repeats). In the immune-competent cell line Sua1B from An. gambiae, REL2 has been shown to be a key regulator for cecropin A (or CEC1). The high level expression of CEC1 in Sua1B was postulated to be the result of constitutive activation of REL2F. Here we showed that REL2F is indeed processed, albeit at a low level, in the Sua1B cell line. The primary cleavage requires residue 678 (an aspartic acid). Proteolytic cleavage of REL2Fcan be enhanced by challenge with bacteria Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, but not with fungus Deauveria bassiana. The inducible cleavage can be substantially reduced by RNA interference against PGRP-LC and CASPL1. Over-expression of REL2S or a constitutively active form of REL2F (REL2F380C or REL2F678) in An. gambiae cell line can further increase expression of CECI and other antimicrobial peptide genes. Over-expression of these constitutive active proteins in an immune naive cell line, MSQ43, from Anopheles stephensi, results in even more dramatic increased expression of antimicrobial peptides. © Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.