02214nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002400058653001200082653001500094653002000109653002100129653002000150653001100170653001100181653001800192653002800210653002500238653002300263653002200286100001400308700001400322700001500336700001700351700001400368700001500382245008900397300001100486490000700497520134600504022001401850       2005                            d  c2005 Dec 0710aAmino Acid Sequence10aAnimals10aArmadillos10aCells, Cultured10aEscherichia coli10aGene Expression10aGenome10aHumans10aInterleukin-210aMolecular Sequence Data10aRecombinant Proteins10aSequence Alignment10aSequence Homology1 aAdams J E1 aPeña M T1 aGillis T P1 aWilliams D L1 aAdams L B1 aTruman R W00aExpression of nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) interleukin-2 in E. coli.  a219-250 v323 a<p>The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is the only immunologically intact animal that regularly develops lepromatous-type leprosy when inoculated with Mycobacterium leprae. However, the ability to exploit this model for understanding the pathogenesis of leprosy has been limited by a lack of suitable immunological reagents. Recently, efforts began to sequence the entire armadillo genome, and this sequence information will help make possible the development of a wide array of new immunological reagents suitable for use with armadillos. Using the available sequence data, a region of high homology to interleukin-2 of other mammals was identified. Primers were designed to amplify the coding region corresponding to the mature peptide and its exact sequence was confirmed. cDNA was made from ConA-stimulated armadillo PBMC. The amplified coding region was sub-cloned into a pET expression vector and transformed into Escherichia coli for over-expression. The subsequent product was characterized by SDS-PAGE and bioassays. Tritiated thymidine incorporation by CTLL-2 and armadillo lymphoblasts confirmed functionality of the recombinant product. The advent of the D. novemcinctus genome sequence and subsequent generation of immunological tools will assist in advancing the armadillo as a translational model for leprosy.</p>  a1043-4666