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Review
. 2008 Jun;11(3):251-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2008.05.014. Epub 2008 Jun 21.

Transcriptional responses to pathogens in Caenorhabditis elegans

Robert P Shivers  1 , Matthew J Youngman, Dennis H Kim
Affiliations
Review

Transcriptional responses to pathogens in Caenorhabditis elegans

Robert P Shivers et al. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways, such as the p38 and ERK MAPK pathways, the TGF-beta pathway, and the insulin-signaling pathway are required for resistance to pathogens in Caenorhabditis elegans. Recent microarray expression profiling studies have identified both candidate immune effector genes which may recognize and eliminate microbial pathogens as well as uncharacterized gene classes that are broadly induced in response to pathogen. Comparative analysis of these microarray studies is suggestive of basal versus induced components of the ancient innate immune response in C. elegans. In particular, whereas the PMK-1 p38 MAPK pathway regulates genes that are induced by pathogen, the Forkhead family transcription factor DAF-16 confers pathogen resistance through the regulation of genes that are non-overlapping with pathogen-induced genes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Regulation of pathogen defense in C. elegans
Recent studies are suggestive of both pathogen-induced and basal or constitutively-expressed components of the C. elegans pathogen defense. Microarray studies are also suggestive of distinct responses to different pathogens. The PMK-1 p38 MAPK pathway regulates both pathogen-induced and constitutively expressed genes, and pathogen-induced genes are also regulated by PMK-1-independent mechanisms. The set of genes regulated by the DAF-16 transcription factor appears to overlap minimally with pathogen-induced genes, suggestive of a role for DAF-16 in the regulation of basal or constitutively-expressed antimicrobial genes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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