固有免疫系统是动植物个体应对外来微生物侵入感染时非常重要的抵御防线。秀丽隐杆线虫(Caenorhabditis elegans,简称线虫)作为研究宿主与病原菌之间相互作用的经典模式动物,近年来在神经和免疫之间相互作用的分子与遗传机制等方面的研究取得了长足进展。研究表明,线虫神经元通过释放神经递质与神经多肽(如多巴胺、NLP-20)等,激活相关信号通路途经,参与线虫对病原菌的识别、逃避、调节物理屏障防御能力和激活固有免疫反应,并表达分泌抗菌肽以清除病原菌等的调控进程。本文综述了线虫神经系统调控固有免疫功能机制的最新研究进展,为人们深入了解神经与免疫系统间相互作用的功能分子及其调控机制和揭示人类神经与免疫系统相关疾病的病理机理提供了重要信息。

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.