Dushay M S, Asling B, Hultmark D
Department of Developmental Biology, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Sep 17;93(19):10343-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.19.10343.
NF-kappa B/Rel transcription factors are central regulators of mammalian immunity and are also implicated in the induction of cecropins and other antibacterial peptides in insects. We identified the gene for Relish, a compound Drosophila protein that, like mammalian p105 and p100, contains both a Rel homology domain and an I kappa B-like domain. Relish is strongly induced in infected flies, and it can activate transcription from the Cecropin A1 promoter. A Relish transcript is also detected in early embryos, suggesting that it acts in both immunity and embryogenesis. The presence of a compound Rel protein in Drosophila indicates that similar proteins were likely present in primordial immune systems and may serve unique signaling functions.
核因子-κB/Rel转录因子是哺乳动物免疫的核心调节因子，在昆虫中也参与杀菌肽和其他抗菌肽的诱导。我们鉴定出了Relish基因，它是一种复合果蝇蛋白，与哺乳动物的p105和p100一样，既含有Rel同源结构域，又含有一个IκB样结构域。Relish在受感染的果蝇中被强烈诱导，并且它可以激活杀菌肽A1启动子的转录。在早期胚胎中也检测到Relish转录本，这表明它在免疫和胚胎发育中都发挥作用。果蝇中存在复合Rel蛋白表明，类似的蛋白可能存在于原始免疫系统中，并可能发挥独特的信号功能。
