Identification and molecular profiling of DC-SIGN-like from big belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) inferring its potential relevancy in host immunity.

Dendritic-cell-specific ICAM-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN) is a C-type lectin that functions as a pattern recognition receptor by recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). It is also involved in various events of the dendritic cell (DC) life cycle, such as DC migration, antigen capture and presentation, and T cell priming. In this study, a DC-SIGN-like gene from the big belly seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis (designated as ShDCS-like) was identified and molecularly characterized. The putative, complete ORF was found to be 1368 bp in length, encoding a protein of 462 amino acids with a molecular mass of 52.6 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 8.26. The deduced amino acid sequence contains a single carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD), in which six conserved cysteine residues and two Ca