We identified a rhodol bearing a hydroxymethyl group (HMDER) as a suitable scaffold for designing fluorescence probes for various hydrolases. HMDER shows strong fluorescence at physiological pH, but phenolic O-alkylation of HMDER results in a strong preference for the spirocyclic form, which has weak fluorescence. As a proof of concept, we utilized this finding to develop a new fluorescence probe for β-galactosidase. This probe has favorable characteristics for imaging in biological samples: it has good cellular permeability, and its hydrolysis product is well-retained intracellularly. It could rapidly and clearly visualize β-galactosidase activity in cultured cells and in Drosophila melanogaster tissue, which has rarely been achieved with previously reported fluorescence probes.
SUMMARY Thermosensation is critical for optimal regulation of physiology and behavior. C. elegans acclimates to its cultivation temperature (Tc), and exhibits thermosensitive behaviors at temperatures relative to Tc. These behaviors are mediated primarily by the AFD sensory neurons which are extraordinarily thermosensitive, and respond to thermal fluctuations at temperatures above a Tc-determined threshold. Although cGMP signaling is necessary for thermotransduction, the thermosensors in AFD are unknown. Here we show that AFD-specific receptor guanylyl cyclases (rGCs) are instructive for thermosensation. In addition to being necessary for thermotransduction, ectopic expression of these rGCs confers highly temperature-dependent responses onto diverse cell types. We find that the temperature response threshold is determined by the rGC and cellular context, and that multiple domains contribute to their thermosensory properties. Identification of thermosensory rGCs in C. elegans provides insight into mechanisms of thermosensation and thermal acclimation, and suggests that rGCs may represent a new family of molecular thermosensors.
Sterile inflammation triggered by endogenous factors is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Here, we demonstrate that apoptosis-deficient mutants spontaneously develop a necrosis-driven systemic immune response in Drosophila and provide an in vivo model for studying the organismal response to sterile inflammation. Metabolomic analysis of hemolymph from apoptosis-deficient mutants revealed increased sarcosine and reduced S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) levels due to glycine N-methyltransferase (Gnmt) upregulation. We showed that Gnmt was elevated in response to Toll activation induced by the local necrosis of wing epidermal cells. Necrosis-driven inflammatory conditions induced dFoxO hyperactivation, leading to an energy-wasting phenotype. Gnmt was cell-autonomously upregulated by dFoxO in the fat body as a possible rheostat for controlling energy loss, which functioned during fasting as well as inflammatory conditions. We propose that the dFoxO-Gnmt axis is essential for the maintenance of organismal SAM metabolism and energy homeostasis.
Information about nutrient availability is assessed via largely unknown mechanisms to drive developmental decisions, including the choice of Caenorhabditis elegans larvae to enter into the reproductive cycle or the dauer stage. In this study, we show that CMK-1 CaMKI regulates the dauer decision as a function of feeding state. CMK-1 acts cell-autonomously in the ASI, and non cell-autonomously in the AWC, sensory neurons to regulate expression of the growth promoting daf-7 TGF-β and daf-28 insulin-like peptide (ILP) genes, respectively. Feeding state regulates dynamic subcellular localization of CMK-1, and CMK-1-dependent expression of anti-dauer ILP genes, in AWC. A food-regulated balance between anti-dauer ILP signals from AWC and pro-dauer signals regulates neuroendocrine signaling and dauer entry; disruption of this balance in cmk-1 mutants drives inappropriate dauer formation under well-fed conditions. These results identify mechanisms by which nutrient information is integrated in a small neuronal network to modulate neuroendocrine signaling and developmental plasticity.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10110.001
Effective defense responses involve the entire organism. To maintain body homeostasis after tissue damage, a systemic wound response is induced in which the response of each tissue is tightly orchestrated to avoid incomplete recovery or an excessive, damaging response. Here, we provide evidence that in the systemic response to wounding, an apoptotic caspase pathway is activated downstream of reactive oxygen species in the midgut enterocytes (ECs), cells distant from the wound site, in Drosophila. We show that a caspase-pathway mutant has defects in homeostatic gut cell renewal and that inhibiting caspase activity in fly ECs results in the production of systemic lethal factors after wounding. Our results indicate that wounding remotely controls caspase activity in ECs, which activates the tissue stem cell regeneration pathway in the gut to dampen the dangerous systemic wound reaction.
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