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Mitochondrial perturbations in immune cells enhance cell-mediated innate immunity in Drosophila

ABSTRACT: Mitochondria participate in various cellular processes including energy metabolism, apoptosis, autophagy, ROS production, stress responses, inflammation and immunity. We investigated the effects of immune tissue specific mitochondrial perturbations on immune responses at the organismal level. Drosophila melanogaster model was utilized to knockdown genes from oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes cI-V, by targeting the two main immune tissues of Drosophila, the fat body and the immune cells (hemocytes). While fat body targeted OXPHOS perturbations caused detrimental effects on the viability and immunity, hemocyte specific perturbations led to enhanced immunocompetence of the host. This was accompanied by the formation of melanized hemocyte aggregates (melanotic nodules), a sign of activated cell-mediated innate immunity. Furthermore, hemocyte specific OXPHOS perturbations caused proliferation and immune activation of the hemocytes, resulting to a similar hemocyte profile as seen upon infection, and the animals ultimately had an enhanced immune response when infected with a parasitoid. Our data shows that hemocyte targeted OXPHOS perturbations cause mitochondrial membrane depolarization and upregulation of genes associated with mitochondrial unfolded protein response, including aerobic glycolysis and reactive oxygen species. Overall, we show that while the effects of mitochondrial perturbations on immune responses are highly tissue specific, mild mitochondrial dysfunction can be beneficial in immune-challenged individuals and is causing variation in infection outcomes between individuals.

ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster

PROVIDER: GSE237367 | GEO | 2024/03/15

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: The mosquito Anopheles gambiae is a major vector of human malaria. Increasing evidence indicates that blood cells (hemocytes) comprise an essential arm of the mosquito innate immune response against both bacteria and malaria parasites. To further characterize the role of hemocytes in mosquito immunity, we undertook the first genome-wide transcriptomic analyses of adult female An. gambiae hemocytes following infection by two species of bacteria and a malaria parasite. Results: We identified 4047 genes expressed in hemocytes, using An. gambiae genome-wide microarrays. While 279 transcripts were significantly enriched in hemocytes relative to whole adult female mosquitoes, 959 transcripts exhibited immune challenge-related regulation. The global transcriptomic responses of hemocytes to challenge with different species of bacteria and/or different stages of malaria parasite infection revealed discrete, minimally overlapping, pathogen-specific signatures of infection-responsive gene expression; 105 of these represented putative immunity-related genes including anti-Plasmodium factors. Of particular interest was the specific co-regulation of various members of the Imd and JNK immune signaling pathways during malaria parasite invasion of the mosquito midgut epithelium. Conclusion: Our genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of adult mosquito hemocytes reveals pathogen-specific signatures of gene regulation and identifies several novel candidate genes for future functional studies. In order to identify hemocyte-specific and immune-responsive transcripts, we first compared transcripts expressed in hemocytes from one day old sugar-fed mosquitoes to transcripts detected in whole mosquitoes of the same age and feeding status. This resulted in identification of the hemocyte-enriched transcriptome. We then compared hemocytes from 1 day old mosquitoes, 1 hour after immune challenge with heat-killed Escherichia coli or Micrococcus luteus, to control female mosquitoes injected with sterile PBS to determine the bacteria challenge responsive transcriptomes. We used heat-killed bacteria in these assays, because our primary interest was in identifying the bacterial responsive transcriptome and to avoid the potentially confounding effects of altered gene expression due to the lethal effects of a systemic infection associated with injection of living bacteria. Lastly, we compared hemocytes from mosquitoes at 24 hours and 19 days after ingestion of a blood meal infected with Plasmodium berghei to mosquitoes of the same age fed a non-infected blood meal to determine the ookinete and sporozoite infection responsive transcriptomes, respectively. This design resulted in a total of five experimental treatments. The following samples are not included in this submission: Hemo E coli vs. hemo unchallenged A Hemo E coli vs. hemo unchallenged B Hemo m luteus vs. hemo unchallenged A Hemo m luteus vs. hemo unchallenged B

Project description:Coupling immunity and development is essential to ensure survival despite changing internal conditions in the organism. The metamorphosis of the fruit fly represents a striking example of drastic and systemic physiological changes that need to be integrated with the innate immune system. However, the mechanisms that coordinate development and immune cell activity in the transition from larva to adult in Drosophila remain to elucidate. The steroid hormone ecdysone is known to act as a key coordinator of metamorphosis. This hormone activates a nuclear receptor, the Ecdysone Receptor (EcR), which acts as a heterodimer with its partner Ultraspiracle (USP). Together, they activate the transcription of primary response genes, which in turn activate the transcription of a battery of late response genes. We have revealed that regulation of macrophage-like cells (hemocytes) by the steroid hormone ecdysone is essential for an effective innate immune response over metamorphosis. We have shown that in response to ecdysone signalling, hemocytes rapidly up regulate actin dynamics, motility and phagocytosis of apoptotic corpses, and acquire the ability to chemotax to damaged epithelia. Most importantly, individuals lacking ecdysone-activated hemocytes are defective in bacterial phagocytosis and are fatally susceptible to infection by bacteria ingested at larval stages, despite the normal systemic production of antimicrobial peptides. This decrease in survival is comparable to the one observed in pupae lacking immune cells altogether, indicating that ecdysone-regulation is essential to hemocyte immune functions and survival after infection. To better understand the ecdysone regulation of hemocyte activities, we have performed gene expression analysis. In order to identify the genes which expression change at the onset of metamorphosis, we have sorted hemocytes from 3rd instar larvae and from young prepupae and compared their gene expression. Moreover, and in order to identify which genes are regulated by the ecdysone signalling, we have used individuals expressing a dominant negative form of the Ecdysone Receptor specifically in their hemocytes. We have sorted hemocytes from 3rd instar and young prepupae of this genotype to compare their gene expression to the gene expression in larvae and prepupae from the control individuals. Hemocytes were isolated by FACS from selected 3rd instar larvae (at the late feeding stage) and prepupae (from 1h to 2h after puparium formation - APF) corresponding to two different genotypes: individuals w;HmlDeltaGal4, UAS-GFP/+ that express GFP specifically in hemocytes (genotype control), and individuals w;HmlDeltaGal4; UAS-GFP/UAS-EcRB1DN W650A which hemocytes express an Ecdysone Receptor Dominant Negative construct in addition to the GFP (EcRDN). For each of the four conditions we performed three biological replicates.

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Mitochondrial perturbations in immune cells enhance cell-mediated innate immunity in Drosophila

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