title: Activation of Imd pathway in hemocyte confers infection resistance through humoral response in Drosophila.
abstract: Upon microbial invasion the innate immune system of Drosophila melanogaster mounts a response that comes in two distinct but complimentary forms, humoral and cellular. A screen to find genes capable of conferring resistance to the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus upon ectopic expression in immune response tissues uncovered imd gene. This resistance was not dependent on cellular defenses but rather likely a result of upregulation of the humoral response through increased expression of antimicrobial peptides, including a Toll pathway reporter gene drosomycin. Taken together it appears that Imd pathway is capable of playing a role in resistance to the Gram-positive S. aureus, counter to notions of traditional roles of the Imd pathway thought largely to responsible for resistance to Gram-negative bacteria.
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Bryce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Freisinger
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okado
authors.forename: Naoaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shinzawa
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukumoto
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanuka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: C054756:DptA protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C439909:imd protein, Drosophila; C091227:DRS protein, Drosophila