Molecular Characterization of Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus gag Genes from Pigs in Korea

ABSTRACT

Xenotransplantation, as a potential solution to the shortage of human organs, is associated with a number of concerns including immunologic rejection and xenogenic infection. While the pigs are considered the most suitable organ source for xenotransplantation, there is a potential public health risk due to zoonosis. Among the known porcine zoonotic microbes, Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus (PERV) is the most considerable virus. PERV belongs to the Gammaretrovirus and has been divided into three groups (A, B, and C). To characterize the gag of PERVs, we isolated the genomic DNAs from three pig breeds (Birkshire, Duroc, and Yorkshire) and two types of SPF miniature pigs. About 1.5 kb fragments covering full length of gag were amplified and cloned into T-vector. A total of 38 clones were obtained and sequenced. Nucleotide sequences were analyzed and phylogenetic trees were constructed from the nucleotide and deduced amino acids. PERV-A, -B and -C were present in the proportion of 47, 19 and 34%, respectively. Regardless of origin or subgroups, gag clones showed highly homology in nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences. Deduced amino acids sequence alignments showed typical conserve sequences, Cys-His box and processing sites. Among analyzed clones, about 28% of isolates had the correct open reading frame. To test the functional expression of Gag protein, gag was subcloned into expression vector and confirmed its expression in HeLa cell. This research provides the fundamental information about molecular characteristics of gag gene and functional Gag protein related xenotropic PERVs.