School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Institute of Biosciences and Applications, National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, Athens, Greece.
Arch Insect Biochem Physiol. 2024 Feb;115(2):e22093. doi: 10.1002/arch.22093.
Toll, immune deficiency and prophenoloxidase cascade represent vital immune signaling pathways in insects. Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are innate immune receptors that activate and regulate the immune signaling pathways. Previously, we reported that BmPGPR-L4 was induced in the silkworm Bombyx mori larvae by bacteria and peptidoglycan challenges. Here, we focused on the function of BmPGRP-L4 in regulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The hemolymph from BmPGRP-L4-silenced larvae exhibited an enhanced inhibitory effect on the growth of Escherichia coli, either by growth curve or inhibitory zone experiments. Coincidentally, most of the AMP genes were upregulated after RNAi of BmPGRP-L4. Oral administration of heat-inactivated E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus after RNAi of BmPGRP-L4 resulted in the increased expression of BmPGRP-L4 in different tissues of the silkworm larvae, revealing an auto-regulatory mechanism. By contrast, the expression of most AMP genes was downregulated by oral bacterial administration after RNAi of BmPGRP-L4. The above results demonstrate that BmPGRP-L4 recognizes bacterial pathogen-associated molecular patterns and negatively regulates AMP expression to achieve immunological homeostasis. As a negative regulator, BmPGPR-L4 is proposed to be involved in the feedback regulation of the immune signaling pathways of the silkworm to prevent excessive activation of the immune response.
Toll、免疫缺陷和酚氧化酶原激活系统代表昆虫重要的免疫信号通路。肽聚糖识别蛋白(PGRPs)是先天免疫受体,可激活和调节免疫信号通路。先前,我们报道了细菌和肽聚糖挑战诱导家蚕幼虫 BmPGPR-L4 的表达。在这里,我们专注于 BmPGRP-L4 调节抗菌肽(AMPs)表达的功能。沉默 BmPGRP-L4 的家蚕幼虫的血淋巴对大肠杆菌的生长表现出增强的抑制作用,无论是通过生长曲线还是抑菌圈实验。巧合的是,沉默 BmPGRP-L4 后大多数 AMP 基因上调。沉默 BmPGRP-L4 后口服热灭活的大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌导致家蚕幼虫不同组织中 BmPGRP-L4 的表达增加,揭示了一种自调节机制。相比之下,沉默 BmPGRP-L4 后口服细菌会导致大多数 AMP 基因的表达下调。上述结果表明,BmPGRP-L4 识别细菌病原体相关分子模式,并负调控 AMP 表达以实现免疫稳态。作为负调节剂,BmPGPR-L4 可能参与家蚕免疫信号通路的反馈调节,以防止免疫反应过度激活。