A single nucleotide polymorphism of the porcine CXCL8 gene is associated with serum CXCL8 level

Abstract C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) gene, a crucial cytokine with roles in the immune system, functions in the inflammatory response by promoting the activation and migration of neutrophils. Previous studies have reported that the CXCL8 gene resides within the quantitative trait locus (QTL). In this report, the porcine CXCL8 gene was selected to investigate its effect on serum immune traits. CXCL8 mRNA expression was also detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A SNP (NC_010450.4:g.69934997T？>？C, rs81218904) of the CXCL8 gene was identified by direct nucleotide sequencing and the SNP was genotyped by MALDI-TOF MS in the three pig populations, which consisted of 300 piglets distributed in three pig breeds, Landrace (68 piglets), Large White (158 piglets) and Songliao Black (74 piglets). An in-depth analysis indicated that there was a significant correlation between the SNP and the serum CXCL8 level (20 days) (14 days after vaccination) (p？<？.05). Our results suggest that the CXCL8 gene may be served as a genetic marker with effects on serum CXCL8 level in the pig disease resistance breeding. Highlights Genomic variant identification and tissues expression analysis of porcine CXCL8 gene. The SNP in porcine CXCL8 gene was significantly associated with serum CXCL8 level in three pig populations. SNP genotyping and association analysis results provided significant evidence for association on serum cytokine trait of porcine CXCL8 gene