Drosophila DNA/RNA methyltransferase contributes to robust host defense in aging animals by regulating sphingolipid metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Drosophila methyltransferase (Mt2) has been implicated in the methylation of both DNA and tRNA. In this study, we demonstrate that loss of Mt2 activity leads to an age-dependent decline of immune function in the adult fly. A newly eclosed adult has mild immune defects that are exacerbated in a 15 day old Mt2^-/- fly. The age-dependent effects appear to be systemic, including disturbances in lipid metabolism, changes in cell shape of hemocytes and significant fold-changes in levels of transcripts related to host defense. Lipid imbalance, as measured by quantitative lipidomics, correlates with immune dysfunction, with high levels of immunomodulatory lipids, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramides, along with low levels of storage lipids. Activity ass

SUBMITTER: Abhyankar V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6258898 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature