phagocytosis-assay-for-apoptotic-cells-in-drosophila-embryos

Phagocytosis Assay for Apoptotic Cells in <em>Drosophila</em> Embryos

The molecular mechanisms underlying the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells need to be elucidated in more detail because of its role in immune and ...

Kanazawa University

Many insect species subsist on decaying and contaminated matter and are thus exposed to large quantities of microorganisms. To control beneficial commensals and combat infectious pathogens, insects must be armed with efficient systems for microbial recognition, signaling pathways, and effector molecules. The molecular mechanisms regulating these host-microbe interactions in insects have been largely clarified in Drosophila melanogaster with its powerful genetic and genomic tools. Here we review recent advances in this field, focusing mainly on the relationships between microbes and epithelial cells in the intestinal tract where the host exposure to the external environment is most frequent.

Host-microbe interactions in the gut of Drosophila melanogaster.

Drosophila adults have been utilized as a genetically tractable model organism to decipher the molecular mechanisms of humoral innate immune responses. In an effort to promote the utility of Drosophila larvae as an additional model system, in this study, we describe a novel aspect of an induction mechanism for innate immunity in these larvae. By using a fine tungsten needle created for manipulating semi-conductor devices, larvae were subjected to septic injury. However, although Toll pathway mutants were susceptible to infection with Gram-positive bacteria as had been shown for Drosophila adults, microbe clearance was not affected in the mutants. In addition, Drosophila larvae were found to be sensitive to mechanical stimuli with respect to the activation of a sterile humoral response. In particular, pinching with forceps to a degree that might cause minor damage to larval tissues could induce the expression of the antifungal peptide gene Drosomycin; notably, this induction was partially independent of the Toll and immune deficiency pathways. We therefore propose that Drosophila larvae might serve as a useful model to analyze the infectious and non-infectious inflammation that underlies various inflammatory diseases such as ischemia, atherosclerosis and cancer.

Aki Hori

Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Kanazawa University

Phagocytosis Assay for Apoptotic Cells in Drosophila Embryos

Aki Hori

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Kanazawa University

Phagocytosis Assay for Apoptotic Cells in Drosophila Embryos

Graduate School of Medical Sciences