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. 2012 Dec 5;4(1):53–61. doi: 10.1007/s13238-012-2080-z

Caenorhabditis elegans mom-4 is required for the activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway in the response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

Ajing Xu 1,3, Guojun Shi 3,4, Feng Liu 3,4, Baoxue Ge 2,3,✉
PMCID: PMC4875442  PMID: 23212155

Abstract

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) plays an evolutionarily conserved role in the cellular response to microbial infection and environmental stress. Activation of p38 is mediated through phosphorylation by upstream MAPKK, which in turn is activated by MAPKKK. In the Caenorhabditis elegans, the p38 MAPK (also called PMK-1) signaling pathway has been shown to be required in its resistance to bacterial infection. However, how different upstream MAP2Ks and MAP3Ks specifically contribute to the activation of PMK-1 in response to bacterial infection still is not clearly understood. By using double-stranded RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) and genetic mutants of C. elegans, we demonstrate that C. elegans MOM-4, a mammalian TAK1 homolog, is required for the resistance of C. elegans to a P. aeruginosa infection. We have also found that the MKK-4 of C. elegans is required for P. aeruginosa resistance, but not through the regulation of DLK-1. In summary, our results indicate that different upstream MAPKKKs or MAPKKs regulate the activation of PMK-1 in response to P. Aeruginosa.

Electronic Supplementary Material

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Keywords: C. elegans, MAPK, innate immunity, p38, P. aeruginosa PA-14, MOM-4

Electronic supplementary material

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Supplementary material, approximately 413 KB.

Footnotes

These authors contributed equally to the work.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/s13238-012-2080-z and is accessible for authorized users.

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