Ling-Zhi Immunomodulatory Protein

A large amount of the novelimmunomodulatory protein Ling Zhi-8 (LZ-8) is synthesized in the mycelia of Ganoderma lucidum (Kino, K., Yamashita, A., Yamaoka, K., Watanabe, J., Tanaka, S., Ko, K., Shimizu, K., and Tsunoo, H. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 472-478). A cDNA and a gene for LZ-8 were isolated and characterized. The mixed oligonucleotide probes for LZ-8 cDNA were designed from the results of protein sequencing (Tanaka, S., Ko, K., Kino, K., Tsuchiya, K., Yamashita, A., Murasugi, A., Sakuma, S., and Tsunoo, H. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 16372-16377) and were used for screening the mycelial cDNA library. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned cDNA confirms the amino acid sequence of LZ-8 that was previously determined by protein sequencing. The clones containing the LZ-8 gene (lz-8) were obtained from the mycelial genomic DNA library using the cDNA probe. Two CCAAT-like sequences and one TATA box were found at the upstream region of the postulated transcription initiation site of lz-8. A small intron (61 nucleotides long) divided lz-8 into two exons at the 5'-untranslated region. The other characteristic sequences were also found around the postulated transcription initiation site and around the poly(A) additional site.