Eat Prey, Live: Dictyostelium discoideum As a Model for Cell-Autonomous Defenses.

ABSTRACT: The soil-dwelling social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum feeds on bacteria. Each meal is a potential infection because some bacteria have evolved mechanisms to resist predation. To survive such a hostile environment, D. discoideum has in turn evolved efficient antimicrobial responses that are intertwined with phagocytosis and autophagy, its nutrient acquisition pathways. The core machinery and antimicrobial functions of these pathways are conserved in the mononuclear phagocytes of mammals, which mediate the initial, innate-immune response to infection. In this review, we discuss the advantages and relevance of D. discoideum as a model phagocyte to study cell-autonomous defenses. We cover the antimicrobial functions of phagocytosis and autophagy and describe the process

SUBMITTER: Dunn JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5758549 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature