Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioresources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China.
Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.
Dev Comp Immunol. 2022 Dec;137:104527. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2022.104527. Epub 2022 Sep 1.
MEK activates the phosphorylation of downstream molecules involved in various immune responses. In this study, an MEK homologue gene in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis (designated as EsMEK) was investigated. EsMEK mRNA was constitutively expressed in all tissues with higher expression in hepatopancreas, hemocytes, and gills. EsMEK protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Aeromonas hydrophila challenge significantly increased the mRNA levels of EsMEK in hemocytes. In addition, the mRNA expression level of some antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including EsWAP, EsDWD1, and EsALF decreased significantly due to the inhibition of EsMEK by specific dsRNA in LPS-challenged crabs. Downstream pathway analysis revealed that the phosphorylation of EsERK decreased prominently after EsMEK inhibition. These results suggested that EsMEK played an important role in regulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides in E. sinensis through MEK-ERK pathway.
MEK 激活参与各种免疫反应的下游分子的磷酸化。在这项研究中，研究了中华绒螯蟹（Eriocheir sinensis）中的一个 MEK 同源基因（命名为 EsMEK）。EsMEK mRNA 在所有组织中均持续表达，在肝胰腺、血细胞和鳃中表达水平较高。EsMEK 蛋白主要定位于细胞质中。脂多糖（LPS）和嗜水气单胞菌刺激显著增加了血细胞中 EsMEK 的 mRNA 水平。此外，由于特定 dsRNA 抑制 EsMEK，一些抗菌肽（AMPs），包括 EsWAP、EsDWD1 和 EsALF 的 mRNA 表达水平在 LPS 刺激的螃蟹中显著降低。下游通路分析表明，EsMEK 抑制后 EsERK 的磷酸化明显降低。这些结果表明，EsMEK 通过 MEK-ERK 通路在调控中华绒螯蟹抗菌肽的表达中发挥重要作用。
