Two Types of TNF-α Exist in Teleost Fish: Phylogeny, Expression, and Bioactivity Analysis of Type-II TNF-α3 in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

TNF-α is a cytokine involved in systemic inflammation and regulation of immune cells. It is produced chiefly by activated macrophages as a membrane or secreted form. In rainbow trout, two TNF-α molecules were described previously. In this article, we report a third TNF-α (TNF-α3) that has only low identities to known trout molecules. Phylogenetic tree and synteny analyses of trout and other fish species suggest that two types (named I and II) of TNF-α exist in teleost fish. The fish type-II TNF-α has a short stalk that may impact on its enzymatic release or restrict it to a membrane-bound form. The constitutive expression of trout TNF-α3 was generally lower than the other two genes in tissues and cell lines, with the exception of the macrophage RTS-11 cell line, in which expression was higher. Expression of all three TNF-α isoforms could be modulated by crude LPS, peptidoglycan, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, and rIFN-γ in cell lines and primary macrophages, as well as by bacterial and viral infections. TNF-α3 is the most responsive gene at early time points post-LPS stimulation and can be highly induced by the T cell-stimulant PHA, suggesting it is a particularly important TNF-α isoform. rTNF-α3 produced in CHO cells was bioactive in different cell lines and primary macrophages. In the latter, it induced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17C, and TNF-αs), negative regulators (SOCS1-3, TGF-β1b), antimicrobial peptides (cathelicidin-1 and hepcidin), and the macrophage growth factor IL-34, verifying its key role in the inflammatory cytokine network and macrophage biology of fish.