Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, Poland.
Dioscuri Centre for RNA-Protein Interactions in Human Health and Disease, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Front Immunol. 2024 May 7;15:1385863. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1385863. eCollection 2024.
In response to the replace mammal research models with insects in preliminary immunological studies, interest has grown in invertebrate defense systems. The immunological response is regulated by cytokines; however, while their role in mammals is well understood, little is known of their function in insects. A suitable target for studies into insect immunology is (Lepidoptera), the wax moth: a common host for human fungal and bacterial pathogens. is also a perfect subject for studies into the presence of cytokine-like proteins.
The main goal of present research was detection in insect immunocompetent cells the 18 mammalian cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, IL-19, IFN-γ, TNF-α, TNF-β, GM-CSF, M-CSF, G-CSF), which play important role in immunological response and indication how their level change after fungal infection.
The changes of cytokine-like proteins level were detected in hemocytes taken from G larvae infected with entomopathogenic fungus, . The presence of cytokine-proteins was confirmed with using fluorescence microscopy (in cultured hemocytes) and flow cytometry (in freshly collected hemolymph). The ELISA test was used to detect changes in concentration of examined cytokine-like proteins.
Our findings indicated the presence of eighteen cytokine-like molecules in hemocytes during infection with . The hemocytes taken from infected larvae demonstrated higher fluorescence intensity for six cytokine-like proteins (GM-CSF, M-CSF, IL-3, IL-15, IL-1β and IL-19) compared to untreated controls. ELISA test indicated significantly higher IL-3 and IL-15. M-CSF, IL-1α and IL-19 concentration in the hemolymph after fungal infection, and significantly lower TNF-β and G-CSF.
Our findings confirm that the selected cytokine-like molecules are present in insect hemocytes and that their concentrations change after fungal infection, which might suggest that they play a role in the anti-fungal immunological response.
为了在初步免疫研究中用昆虫替代哺乳动物研究模型，人们对无脊椎动物防御系统的兴趣日益浓厚。细胞因子调节免疫反应；然而，尽管它们在哺乳动物中的作用已被充分了解，但对它们在昆虫中的功能知之甚少。（鳞翅目）的黄粉虫是一种常见的人类真菌和细菌病原体宿主，是昆虫免疫学研究的理想对象。黄粉虫也是研究细胞因子样蛋白存在的理想对象。
本研究的主要目的是在昆虫免疫活性细胞中检测 18 种哺乳动物细胞因子（IL-1α、IL-1β、IL-2、IL-3、IL-6、IL-7、IL-8、IL-12、IL-13、IL-15、IL-17、IL-19、IFN-γ、TNF-α、TNF-β、GM-CSF、M-CSF、G-CSF），这些细胞因子在免疫反应中发挥重要作用，并表明它们在真菌感染后的水平变化。
用昆虫病原真菌感染 G 期幼虫的血淋巴检测细胞因子样蛋白水平的变化。用荧光显微镜（在培养的血淋巴细胞中）和流式细胞术（在新鲜采集的血淋巴中）证实细胞因子蛋白的存在。用 ELISA 试验检测检测到的细胞因子样蛋白浓度的变化。
我们的研究结果表明，在感染 时，十八种细胞因子样分子存在于 血淋巴中。与未处理的对照相比，从感染幼虫中提取的血淋巴中，六种细胞因子样蛋白（GM-CSF、M-CSF、IL-3、IL-15、IL-1β和 IL-19）的荧光强度更高。ELISA 试验表明，感染真菌后，IL-3 和 IL-15 的浓度显著升高，M-CSF、IL-1α 和 IL-19 的浓度在血淋巴中显著降低，而 TNF-β 和 G-CSF 的浓度则显著降低。
我们的研究结果证实，所选细胞因子样分子存在于昆虫血淋巴中，并且在真菌感染后其浓度发生变化，这可能表明它们在抗真菌免疫反应中发挥作用。
