BACKGROUND Growth hormone inducible transmembrane protein (GHITM) is a highly conserved transmembrane protein. This study was conducted to investigate the role of GHITM gene in the apoptosis and growth of the golden apple snail Pomacea canaliculate. RESULTS The complete cDNA of this gene was cloned using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method and subjected to bioinformatics analysis. The full-length cDNA was 2242 bp, including an open reading frame of 1021 bp that encoded a protein of 342 amino acid residues. The mRNA expression profiles of GHITM gene in different tissues (liver, kidney, gonad and foot) and different growth phases (6-months old and 2-years old) showed that it was expressed in various tissues and different growth phases. Silencing of the GHITM gene by RNAi (RNA interference) experiments revealed that the GHITM gene possibly plays a role in inhibiting apoptosis through detecting the Caspase (Cysteine-requiring Aspartate Protease)-3 activity. In addition, the aperture width and body whorl length of the snail was significantly affected by RNAi, suggesting that this gene plays a significant role in promoting the growth of the organism. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrated that the GHITM gene was involved in apoptosis and growth in golden apple snail.

中文翻译：

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初步研究表明GHITM基因可能与金苹果蜗牛（Pomacea canaliculata）的凋亡和生长有关。

背景技术生长激素诱导的跨膜蛋白（GHITM）是高度保守的跨膜蛋白。进行了这项研究以调查GHITM基因在金苹果蜗牛Pomacea canaliculate的凋亡和生长中的作用。结果采用cDNA末端快速扩增（RACE）方法克隆了该基因的完整cDNA，并进行了生物信息学分析。全长cDNA为2242bp，包括1021bp的开放阅读框，其编码342个氨基酸残基的蛋白质。GHITM基因在不同组织（肝，肾，性腺和足）和不同生长阶段（6个月大和2岁大）的mRNA表达谱表明，它在各种组织和不同生长阶段表达。通过RNAi（RNA干扰）实验沉默GHITM基因表明，GHITM基因可能通过检测Caspase（需要半胱氨酸的天冬氨酸蛋白酶）-3活性来抑制细胞凋亡。另外，蜗牛的孔径宽度和体螺纹长度受RNAi的显着影响，表明该基因在促进生物体生长方面起着重要作用。结论这些结果表明，GHITM基因参与了金苹果蜗牛的凋亡和生长。