Serpin-4 Negatively Regulates Prophenoloxidase Activation and Antimicrobial Peptide Synthesis in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori.

ABSTRACT: The prophenoloxidase (PPO) activation and Toll antimicrobial peptide synthesis pathways are two critical immune responses in the insect immune system. The activation of these pathways is mediated by the cascade of serine proteases, which is negatively regulated by serpins. In this study, we identified a typical serpin, BmSerpin-4, in silkworms, whose expression was dramatically up-regulated in the fat body and hemocytes after bacterial infections. The pre-injection of recombinant BmSerpin-4 remarkably decreased the antibacterial activity of the hemolymph and the expression of the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) gloverin-3, cecropin-D, cecropin-E, and moricin in the fat body under Micrococcus luteus and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype O: 3 (YP

SUBMITTER: Qie X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10778760 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature