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Innate immunity. A Spaetzle-like role for nerve growth factor β in vertebrate immunity to Staphylococcus aureus

  • Lucy Hepburn
  • , Tomasz K Prajsnar
  • , Catherine Klapholz
  • , Pablo Moreno
  • , Catherine A Loynes
  • , Nikolay V Ogryzko
  • , Karen Brown
  • , Mark Schiebler
  • , Krisztina Hegyi
  • , Robin Antrobus
  • , Katherine L Hammond
  • , John Connolly
  • , Bernardo Ochoa
  • , Clare Bryant
  • , Michael Otto
  • , Bas Surewaard
  • , Suranjith L Seneviratne
  • , Dorothy M Grogono
  • , Julien Cachat
  • , Tor Ny
  • Arthur Kaser, M Estée Török, Sharon J Peacock, Matthew Holden, Tom Blundell, Lihui Wang, Petros Ligoxygakis, Liliana Minichiello, C Geoff Woods, Simon J Foster, Stephen A Renshaw, R Andres Floto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Many key components of innate immunity to infection are shared between Drosophila and humans. However, the fly Toll ligand Spaetzle is not thought to have a vertebrate equivalent. We have found that the structurally related cystine-knot protein, nerve growth factor β (NGFβ), plays an unexpected Spaetzle-like role in immunity to Staphylococcus aureus infection in chordates. Deleterious mutations of either human NGFβ or its high-affinity receptor tropomyosin-related kinase receptor A (TRKA) were associated with severe S. aureus infections. NGFβ was released by macrophages in response to S. aureus exoproteins through activation of the NOD-like receptors NLRP3 and NLRP4 and enhanced phagocytosis and superoxide-dependent killing, stimulated proinflammatory cytokine production, and promoted calcium-dependent neutrophil recruitment. TrkA knockdown in zebrafish increased susceptibility to S. aureus infection, confirming an evolutionarily conserved role for NGFβ-TRKA signaling in pathogen-specific host immunity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)641-6
Number of pages6
JournalScience
Volume346
Issue number6209
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Oct 2014

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