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Hereditas(Beijing) ›› 2018, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (12): 1066-1074.doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.18-133

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Progress in the mechanisms of neural modulation of innate immunity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Xiumei Zhang1,Jie Gao1,Chunhong Chen1,2,Haijun Tu1,2()   

  1. 1. Institute of Neuroscience, College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
    2. Shenzhen Research Institute, Hunan University, Shenzhen 518000, China
  • Received:2018-05-15 Revised:2018-06-26 Online:2018-12-20 Published:2018-09-11
  • Contact: Tu Haijun E-mail:haijuntu@hnu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31540020);Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31671048);the Free Exploration Foundation of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee(JCYJ20160530192506314);the Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province(2017JJ2041)

Abstract:

The innate immune system is an important defense barrier against invasive microbial threats in plants and animals. The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a classic model to investigate the genetic and cellular mechanisms of the interaction between host and pathogens. In the past years, many studies have elucidated the machinery of host-pathogen interactions using C. elegans. Neurons secrete/release neuropeptides and neurotransmitters such as NLP-20 and dopamine, which in turn mediate microbial recognition, promote pathogen avoidance, activate innate immune response signaling to stimulate antimicrobial peptide expression and kill microbes, and ultimately protect organisms from pathogen infection. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the mechanisms of neural modulation of innate immunity in C. elegans, which provide important knowledge not only for machinery of functional interaction between nervous and immune system, but also for pathological mechanisms of nervous and immune system related diseases.

Key words: Caenorhabditis elegans, neuron, innate immunity, neurotransmitter, antimicrobial peptide