Comparative RNA-Seq analyses of Drosophila plasmatocytes reveal gene specific signatures in response to clean injury and septic injury

PLoS One. 2020 Jun 29;15(6):e0235294. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235294. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster's blood cells (hemocytes) play essential roles in wound healing and are involved in clearing microbial infections. Here, we report the transcriptional changes of larval plasmatocytes after clean injury or infection with the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli or the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus compared to hemocytes recovered from unchallenged larvae via RNA-Sequencing. This study reveals 676 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in hemocytes from clean injury samples compared to unchallenged samples, and 235 and 184 DEGs in E. coli and S. aureus samples respectively compared to clean injury samples. The clean injury samples showed enriched DEGs for immunity, clotting, cytoskeleton, cell migration, hemocyte differentiation, and indicated a metabolic reprogramming to aerobic glycolysis, a well-defined metabolic adaptation observed in mammalian macrophages. Microbial infections trigger significant transcription of immune genes, with significant differences between the E. coli and S. aureus samples suggesting that hemocytes have the ability to engage various programs upon infection. Collectively, our data bring new insights on Drosophila hemocyte function and open the route to post-genomic functional analysis of the cellular immune response.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / growth & development
  • Drosophila melanogaster / microbiology
  • Escherichia coli / isolation & purification
  • Escherichia coli Infections / complications*
  • Escherichia coli Infections / microbiology
  • Female
  • Hemocytes / metabolism*
  • Hemocytes / microbiology
  • Incidence
  • Larva / genetics
  • Larva / microbiology
  • Male
  • RNA-Seq / methods
  • Sepsis / epidemiology
  • Sepsis / genetics*
  • Sepsis / microbiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / complications*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification
  • Wound Infection / epidemiology
  • Wound Infection / genetics*
  • Wound Infection / microbiology

Substances

  • Drosophila Proteins

Grants and funding

ER, JPD and BL were supported by the SNF (Swiss National Science Foundations) sinergia grant CRSII5 186397.