RRC ID 88038
Author Yamamoto KK, Wan M, Penkar RS, Savage-Dunn C.
Title BMP-dependent mobilization of fatty acid metabolism promotes Caenorhabditis elegans survival on a bacterial pathogen.
Journal Dis Model Mech
Abstract The bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are secreted peptide ligands of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) family, initially identified for their roles in development and differentiation across animal species. They are now increasingly recognized for their roles in physiology and infectious disease. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the BMP ligand DBL-1 controls fat metabolism and immune response, in addition to its roles in body size regulation and development. DBL-1 regulates classical aspects of innate immunity, including the induction of anti-microbial peptides. We theorized that BMP-dependent regulation of fat metabolism could also promote resilience against microbial pathogens. We found that exposure to a bacterial pathogen alters total fat stores, lipid droplet dynamics and lipid metabolism gene expression in a BMP-dependent manner. We further showed that fatty acid desaturation plays a major role in survival on a bacterial pathogen, whereas fatty acid β-oxidation plays a more minor role. We conclude that C. elegans mobilizes fatty acid metabolism in response to pathogen exposure to promote survival. Our investigation provides a framework to study potential metabolic interventions that could support therapeutics that are complementary to antibiotic strategies.
Volume 18(11)
Published 2025-11-1
DOI 10.1242/dmm.052357
PII 369938
PMID 41048044
PMC PMC12690539
MeSH Animals Bone Morphogenetic Proteins* / metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans* / genetics Caenorhabditis elegans* / metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans* / microbiology Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / metabolism Fatty Acids* / metabolism Gene Expression Regulation Lipid Droplets / metabolism Lipid Metabolism / genetics Neuropeptides Oxidation-Reduction Survival Analysis Transforming Growth Factor beta
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The most frequently cited source Bluesky
Total number of mentions 12
Altmetric score changes over past 6months 0.2
Resource
C.elegans tm331