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. 2021:2:60-65.
doi: 10.1016/j.crimmu.2021.04.002. Epub 2021 May 12.

Neuro-immune communication in C. elegans defense against pathogen infection

Phillip Wibisono  1 , Jingru Sun  1
Affiliations

Neuro-immune communication in C. elegans defense against pathogen infection

Phillip Wibisono et al. Curr Res Immunol. 2021.

Abstract

The innate immune system is a complex collection of physical barriers and physiological defense responses to internal and external environmental assaults. Recent studies in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans have highlighted how the nervous system interacts with the innate immune system to generate coordinated protective responses. Indeed, studies on neuro-immune interaction pathways have provided mechanistic insights into the roles of neuro-immune communication in modulating both immune and behavioral responses to pathogen attacks. The nervous system releases a variety of neurotransmitters, peptides, and hormones that regulate the innate immune response, while the innate immune system also relays information to the nervous system to affect learning and behavioral responses. Although these interactions still need further investigation, the knowledge that we have gained thus far has improved our understanding of how separate biological systems can act collectively for the survival and well-being of an organism. Here, we review recent studies on neuro-immune communication related to the survival and defense of C. elegans against pathogens.

Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; G protein-coupled receptor; Innate immunity; Neuro-immune communication; Neurotransmitter; Pathogen avoidance; Pathogen infection; The nervous system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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