Antifungal innate immunity in C. elegans: PKCdelta links G protein signaling and a conserved p38 MAPK cascade

Cell Host Microbe. 2009 Apr 23;5(4):341-52. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2009.03.006.

Abstract

Like other multicellular organisms, the model nematode C. elegans responds to infection by inducing the expression of defense genes. Among the genes upregulated in response to a natural fungal pathogen is nlp-29, encoding an antimicrobial peptide. In a screen for mutants that fail to express nlp-29 following fungal infection, we isolated alleles of tpa-1, homologous to the mammalian protein kinase C (PKC) delta. Through epistasis analyses, we demonstrate that C. elegans PKC acts through the p38 MAPK pathway to regulate nlp-29. This involves G protein signaling and specific C-type phospholipases acting upstream of PKCdelta. Unexpectedly and unlike in mammals, tpa-1 does not act via D-type protein kinases, but another C. elegans PKC gene, pkc-3, functions nonredundantly with tpa-1 to control nlp-29 expression. Finally, the tribbles-like kinase nipi-3 acts upstream of PKCdelta in this antifungal immune signaling cascade. These findings greatly expand our understanding of the pathways involved in C. elegans innate immunity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / enzymology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / immunology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / immunology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Fungi / immunology*
  • GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
  • Immunity, Innate*
  • Models, Biological
  • Protein Kinase C / metabolism
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / immunology*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Type C Phospholipases / metabolism
  • p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / immunology

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • TPA-1 protein, C elegans
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • PKC-3 protein
  • Protein Kinase C
  • p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
  • Type C Phospholipases
  • GTP-Binding Proteins