Development of the Cellular Immune System of Drosophila Requires the Membrane Attack Complex/Perforin-Like Protein Torso-Like

作者：Forbes Beadle Lauren; Crossman Tova; Johnson Travis K; Burke Richard; Warr Coral G^*; Whisstock James C^*

来源：GENETICS, 2016, 204(2): 675-U1161.

DOI：10.1534/genetics.115.185462

• genetics of immunity
• membrane attack complex/perforin-like proteins
• Torso-like
• cellular immunity
• Drosophila melanogaster
• phagocytosis

Pore-forming members of the membrane attack complex/perforin-like (MACPF) protein superfamily perform well-characterized roles as mammalian immune effectors. For example, complement component 9 and perforin function to directly form pores in the membrane of Gram-negative pathogens or virally infected/transformed cells, respectively. In contrast, the only known MACPF protein in Drosophila melanogaster, Torso-like, plays crucial roles during development in embryo patterning and larval growth. Here, we report that in addition to these functions, Torso-like plays an important role in Drosophila immunity. However, in contrast to a hypothesized effector function in, for example, elimination of Gram-negative pathogens, we find that torso-like null mutants instead show increased susceptibility to certain Gram-positive pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. We further show that this deficit is due to a severely reduced number of circulating immune cells and, as a consequence, an impaired ability to phagocytose bacterial particles. Together these data suggest that Torso-like plays an important role in controlling the development of the Drosophila cellular immune system.

• 出版日期2016-10