Interactions between the cellular and humoral immune responses in Drosophila

Elrod-Erickson, Monicia; Mishra, Smita; Schneider, David

doi:10.1016/s0960-9822(00)00569-8

Cited by 304 publications

(268 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Disruption of either the cellular or humoral response lowers the insect's ability to counteract invading pathogens. Interestingly, inhibition of the ability of plasmatocytes to engulf bacteria by the prior application of polystyrene beads into the body cavity results in a significant loss of viability in flies carrying a mutation in the humoral response [40]. Interestingly the negative effect mediated by bead accumulation in plasmatocytes resembled the deleterious effect of accumulation of apoptotic nuclei in macrophages of dnase II -/-mice [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNase II deficiency impairs innate immune function in Drosophila

Seong

Varela-Ramı́rez

Aguilera

2006

Cellular Immunology

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DNase II enzymes are highly conserved proteins that are required for the degradation of DNA within phagolysosomes. Engulfment of apoptotic cells and/or bacteria by phagocytic cells requires the function of DNase II to completely destroy ingested DNA. Mutation of the dnase II gene results in an increase of undegraded apoptotic DNA within phagocytic cells in mice and nematodes. Additionally, reduction of DNase II enzymatic activity in Drosophila melanogaster has been shown to lead to increased accumulation of DNA in the ovaries. Due to the importance of DNA clearance during infection, we hypothesized that a severe reduction of DNase II activity would result in diminished immune function and viability. To test this hypothesis, we knocked down DNase II activity in flies using RNAi. As expected, expression of a dnase II-RNAi construct in flies resulted in a dramatic reduction of DNase II activity and a significant decrease in total hemocyte numbers. Furthermore, infection of dnase II-RNAi flies with Gram negative or positive bacteria resulted in a severe reduction in fly viability. These results confirm that DNase II and the ability to clear macromolecular DNA is essential for maintaining proper immune function in Drosophila.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNase II deficiency impairs innate immune function in Drosophila

Seong

Varela-Ramı́rez

Aguilera

2006

Cellular Immunology

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“…Bacterial clearance assays in insects are widely performed using Escherischia coli to challenge the host's immune response (e.g., Castillo, Brown, & Strand, 2011; Elrod‐Erickson, Mishra, & Schneider, 2000). E. coli are mesophilic bacteria with a temperature growth range of 25–40°C and an optimal growth temperature of 37°C (Nguyen, 2006; Sutherland, Bayliss, & Braxton, 1995).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses to a warming world: Integrating life history, immune investment, and pathogen resistance in a model insect species

Laughton

O'Connor

Knell

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Environmental temperature has important effects on the physiology and life history of ectothermic animals, including investment in the immune system and the infectious capacity of pathogens. Numerous studies have examined individual components of these complex systems, but little is known about how they integrate when animals are exposed to different temperatures. Here, we use the Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) to understand how immune investment and disease resistance react and potentially trade‐off with other life‐history traits. We recorded life‐history (development time, survival, fecundity, and body size) and immunity (hemocyte counts, phenoloxidase activity) measures and tested resistance to bacterial (E. coli) and viral (Plodia interpunctella granulosis virus) infection at five temperatures (20–30°C). While development time, lifespan, and size decreased with temperature as expected, moths exhibited different reproductive strategies in response to small changes in temperature. At cooler temperatures, oviposition rates were low but tended to increase toward the end of life, whereas warmer temperatures promoted initially high oviposition rates that rapidly declined after the first few days of adult life. Although warmer temperatures were associated with strong investment in early reproduction, there was no evidence of an associated trade‐off with immune investment. Phenoloxidase activity increased most at cooler temperatures before plateauing, while hemocyte counts increased linearly with temperature. Resistance to bacterial challenge displayed a complex pattern, whereas survival after a viral challenge increased with rearing temperature. These results demonstrate that different immune system components and different pathogens can respond in distinct ways to changes in temperature. Overall, these data highlight the scope for significant changes in immunity, disease resistance, and host–parasite population dynamics to arise from small, biologically relevant changes to environmental temperature. In light of global warming, understanding these complex interactions is vital for predicting the potential impact of insect disease vectors and crop pests on public health and food security.

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“…In this protocol, larval hemocytes are collected and mixed with fluorescent heat-killed bacteria, incubated and then run on a flow cytometer to measure the fraction of cells phagocytosing and the intensity of phagocytic uptake. Phagocytosis can be reduced by injecting beads in the body cavities [105]. Recently, assays to monitor phagosome maturation have been developed [106].…”

Section: Phagocytosis Assaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods to study Drosophila immunity

Neyen

Bretscher

Binggeli

et al. 2014

Methods

127

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a b s t r a c tInnate immune mechanisms are well conserved throughout evolution, and many theoretical concepts, molecular pathways and gene networks are applicable to invertebrate model organisms as much as vertebrate ones. Drosophila immunity research benefits from an easily manipulated genome, a fantastic international resource of transgenic tools and over a quarter century of accumulated techniques and approaches to study innate immunity. Here we present a short collection of ways to challenge the fruit fly immune system with various pathogens and parasites, as well as read-outs to assess its functions, including cellular and humoral immune responses. Our review covers techniques for assessing the kinetics and efficiency of immune responses quantitatively and qualitatively, such as survival analysis, bacterial persistence, antimicrobial peptide gene expression, phagocytosis and melanisation assays. Finally, we offer a toolkit of Drosophila strains available to the research community for current and future research.

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Interactions between the cellular and humoral immune responses in Drosophila

Cited by 304 publications

References 17 publications

DNase II deficiency impairs innate immune function in Drosophila

DNase II deficiency impairs innate immune function in Drosophila

Responses to a warming world: Integrating life history, immune investment, and pathogen resistance in a model insect species

Methods to study Drosophila immunity

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