The evolutionarily conserved mediator subunit MDT-15/MED15 links protective innate immune responses and xenobiotic detoxification.

ABSTRACT: Metazoans protect themselves from environmental toxins and virulent pathogens through detoxification and immune responses. We previously identified a small molecule xenobiotic toxin that extends survival of Caenorhabditis elegans infected with human bacterial pathogens by activating the conserved p38 MAP kinase PMK-1 host defense pathway. Here we investigate the cellular mechanisms that couple activation of a detoxification response to innate immunity. From an RNAi screen of 1,420 genes expressed in the C. elegans intestine, we identified the conserved Mediator subunit MDT-15/MED15 and 28 other gene inactivations that abrogate the induction of PMK-1-dependent immune effectors by this small molecule. We demonstrate that MDT-15/MED15 is required for the xenobiotic-induced expression of p38 M

SUBMITTER: Pukkila-Worley R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4038581 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature