Genetic Screen Reveals Link between the Maternal Effect Sterile Gene mes-1 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced Neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Increasing evidence indicates that immune responses to microbial infections may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection of Caenorhabditis elegans causes a number of neural changes that are hallmarks of neurodegeneration. Using an unbiased genetic screen to identify genes involved in the control of P. aeruginosa-induced neurodegeneration, we identified mes-1, which encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase-like protein that is required for unequal cell divisions in the early embryonic germ line. We showed that sterile but not fertile mes-1 animals were resistant to neurodegeneration induced by P. aeruginosa infection. Similar results were observed using animals carrying a mutation in the maternal effect gene pgl-1, which is required for postembryonic germ line development, and the germ line-deficient strains glp-1 and glp-4. Additional studies indicated that the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16 is required for resistance to P. aeruginosa-induced neurodegeneration in germ line-deficient strains. Thus, our results demonstrate that P. aeruginosa infection results in neurodegeneration phenotypes in C. elegans that are controlled by the germ line in a cell-nonautonomous manner.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Wu, Q; Cao, X; Yan, D; Wang, D; Aballay, A
Published Date
- December 4, 2015
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 290 / 49
Start / End Page
- 29231 - 29239
PubMed ID
- 26475858
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC4705928
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1083-351X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1074/jbc.M115.674259
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States