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Quantifying Levels of Dopaminergic Neuron Morphological Alteration and Degeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 20, 2021
Parkinson's disease-associated DJ-1 modulates innate immunity signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans
Elena M Cornejo Castro1, Jens Waak, Stephanie S Weber
1Laboratory of Functional Neurogenetics, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
DJ-1 is a neuroprotective gene mutated in recessive Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition to direct protective functions in neurons, DJ-1 regulates neuroinflammatory signaling in primary mouse brain astrocytes. To assess the influence of DJ-1 on innate immunity signaling in vivo, we have generated djr-1 knockout Caenorhabditis elegans. When grown on pathogenic gram-negative bacteria, djr-1 (-/-) worms showed stronger phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (PMK-1) and hyper-induction of PMK-1 target genes. Thus, PD-associated DJ-1 contributes to regulation of innate immunity.
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