Ubiquitin-related processes and innate immunity in C. elegans

Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021 Feb 25. doi: 10.1007/s00018-021-03787-w. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTInnate immunity is an evolutionary ancient defence strategy that serves to eliminate infectious agents while maintaining host health. It involves a complex network of sensors, signaling proteins and immune effectors that detect the danger, then relay and execute the immune programme. Post-translational modifications relying on conserved ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins are an integral part of the system. Studies using invertebrate models of infection, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, have greatly contributed to our understanding of how ubiquitin-related processes act in immune sensing, regulate immune signaling pathways, and participate to host defence responses. This review highlights the interest of working with a genetically tractable model organism and illustrates how C. elegans has been used to identify ubiquitin-dependent immune mechanisms, discover novel ubiquitin-based resistance strategies that mediate pathogen clearance, and unravel the role of ubiquitin-related processes in tolerance, preserving host fitness during pathogen attack. Special emphasis is placed on processes that are conserved in mammals.PMID:33630111 | DOI:10.1007/s00018-021-03787-w
Source: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS - Category: Cytology Authors: Source Type: research