title: The Drosophila Prosecretory Transcription Factor dimmed Is Dynamically Regulated in Adult Enteroendocrine Cells and Protects Against Gram-Negative Infection.
abstract: The endocrine system employs peptide hormone signals to translate environmental changes into physiological responses. The diffuse endocrine system embedded in the gastrointestinal barrier epithelium is one of the largest and most diverse endocrine tissues. Furthermore, it is the only endocrine tissue in direct physical contact with the microbial environment of the gut lumen. However, it remains unclear how this sensory epithelium responds to specific pathogenic challenges in a dynamic and regulated manner. We demonstrate that the enteroendocrine cells of the adult Drosophila melanogaster midgut display a transient, sensitive, and systemic induction of the prosecretory factor dimmed (dimm) in response to the Gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas entomophila (Pe). In enteroendocrine cells, dimm controls the levels of the targets Phm, dcat-4, and the peptide hormone, Allatostatin A. Finally, we identify dimm as a host factor that protects against Pe infection and controls the expression of antimicrobial peptides. We propose that dimm provides "gain" in enteroendocrine output during the adaptive response to episodic pathogen exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beebe
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
authors.forename: Dongkook
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
authors.forename: Paul H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Taghert
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 micchelli@wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Micchelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019858:Enteroendocrine Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000502:physiology; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; D009479:Neuropeptides; C491313:dimm protein, Drosophila; C076523:allatostatin; C496261:Phm protein, Drosophila
keywords: Drosophila; dimmed; enteroendocrine; immunity; midgut