A conserved PMK-1/p38 MAPK is required in caenorhabditis elegans tissue-specific immune response to Yersinia pestis infection.
Yersinia pestis has acquired a variety of complex strategies that enable the bacterium to overcome defenses in different hosts and ensure its survival and successful transmission. A full-genome microarray analysis on Caenorhabditis elegans infected with Y. pestis shows enrichment in genes that are markers of innate immune responses and regulated by a conserved PMK-1/p38 MAPK. Consistent with a role in regulating expression of immune effectors, inhibition of PMK-1/p38 by mutation or RNA interference enhances susceptibility to Y. pestis. Further studies of mosaic animals where PMK-1/p38 is exclusively inhibited or overexpressed in a tissue-specific manner indicate that PMK-1/p38 controls expression of a CUB-like family of immune genes at the cell-autonomous level. Given the conserved nature of PMK-1/p38 MAPK-mediated signaling and innate immune responses, PMK-1/p38 MAPK may play a role in the immune response against Y. pestis in natural hosts.
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Devin D
DD
Bolz
Jennifer L
JL
Tenor
Alejandro
A
Aballay
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010930:Plague / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D015415:Biomarkers; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C463460:Pmk-1 protein, C elegans; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases