title: Functional characterisation of the Drosophila cg6568 gene in host defence against Mycobacterium marinum.
abstract: Mycobacterium marinum is a pathogenic mycobacterial species closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, we established a mycobacterial infection model of Drosophila melanogaster to characterize the role played by cg6568, a homolog of the human cathelicidin gene, in the innate defense against infection. Drosophila cg6568 was expressed at various levels during all developmental stages, and the expression levels were modulated by M. marinum in a time-dependent manner. 20-hydroxyecdysone induced Drosophila cg6568 transcription both in vitro and in vivo. Using flies expressing cg6568 RNAi, we found that cg6568 was essential both for D. melanogaster survival and the exertion of antimicrobial effects during M. marinum infection. Thus, we named the gene product a cathelicidin-like antimicrobial protein of D. melanogaster (dCAMP). Our results indicate that dCAMP is crucial in terms of the innate D. melanogaster defense during M. marinum infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea; Biomedical Research Institute, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Da-Hye
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Infection Biology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Guang-Ho
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung Sang
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea; Molecular Mechanism of Antibiotics, Division of Life Science, Research Institute of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam, South Korea. Electronic address: jichanjang@gnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jichan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea. Electronic address: hayoungj@cnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eun-Kyeong
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Jo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*; D004441:Ecdysterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008297:Male; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000276:immunology; D019910:Mycobacterium marinum; D034622:RNA Interference; D054804:Cathelicidins
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004441:Ecdysterone; D054804:Cathelicidins
keywords: Antimicrobial peptide; Cathelicidin; Innate immunity; Mycobacterium marinum