title: Toll and Toll-9 in Drosophila innate immune response.
abstract: In both insects and mammals, members of the Toll receptor family play important roles in the initial events leading to the activation of immunity genes. The prototypic Toll in Drosophila appears to be activated by a host protein ligand after microbial stimulation. The cellular events and the biological response after Toll activation, however, require further investigation. We used transgenic Drosophila strains expressing NF-kappaB and Toll proteins to investigate innate immune response in whole larvae and dissected larval fat bodies. Substantial activation of antimicrobial peptide genes was observed after septic injury. To circumvent the contribution of injury-induced response, we used dissected larval fat bodies to show that commercially available microbial compounds were able to alter the cellular distribution of Toll. The results also demonstrate that complex cellular events, including receptor trafficking, likely take place after stimulation of the larval immune tissue. By genome-wide expression analysis, we further show that Toll and Toll-9 may utilize the same signaling pathway in activating many immunity genes. Thus, the innate immune response in Drosophila is regulated by complex mechanisms, which involve Toll and other Toll-related proteins.
authors.affiliation: Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA. Tony.Ip@umassmed.edu
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bettencourt
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanji
authors.forename: Yoshimasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: Y Tony
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Ip
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000276:immunology*; D005216:Fat Body / Q000276:immunology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology; D007814:Larva; D008024:Ligands; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000494:pharmacology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051217:Toll-Like Receptor 9; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D016328:NF-kappa B; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D051217:Toll-Like Receptor 9; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors