Ex vivo genome-wide RNAi screening of the Drosophila Toll signaling pathway elicited by a larva-derived tissue extract

Citation:

Hirotaka Kanoh, Takayuki Kuraishi, Li-Li Tong, Ryo Watanabe, Shinji Nagata, and Shoichiro Kurata. 2015. “Ex vivo genome-wide RNAi screening of the Drosophila Toll signaling pathway elicited by a larva-derived tissue extract.” Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 467, 2, Pp. 400-6.

Abstract:

Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), so-called "danger signals," play important roles in host defense and pathophysiology in mammals and insects. In Drosophila, the Toll pathway confers damage responses during bacterial infection and improper cell-fate control. However, the intrinsic ligands and signaling mechanisms that potentiate innate immune responses remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that a Drosophila larva-derived tissue extract strongly elicits Toll pathway activation via the Toll receptor. Using this extract, we performed ex vivo genome-wide RNAi screening in Drosophila cultured cells, and identified several signaling factors that are required for host defense and antimicrobial-peptide expression in Drosophila adults. These results suggest that our larva-derived tissue extract contains active ingredients that mediate Toll pathway activation, and the screening data will shed light on the mechanisms of damage-related Toll pathway signaling in Drosophila.
Last updated on 08/31/2018