After separation on gel zymography, Drosophila melanogaster hemolymph displays gelatinase and caseinase bands of varying sizes, ranging from over 140 to 25 kDa. Qualitative and quantitative variations in these bands were observed during larval development and between different D. melanogaster strains and Drosophila species. The activities of these Drosophila hemolymph gelatinase and caseinase were strongly inhibited by serine protease inhibitors, but not by EDTA. Mass spectrometry identified over 60 serine proteases (SPs) in gel bands corresponding to the major D. melanogaster gelatinases and caseinases, but no matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were found. The most abundant proteases were tequila and members of the Jonah and trypsin families. However, the gelatinase bands did not show any change in the tequila null mutant. Additionally, no clear changes could be observed in D. melanogaster gel bands 24 h after injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or after oviposition by Leptopilina boulardi endoparasitoid wasps. It can be concluded that the primary gelatinases and caseinases in Drosophila larval hemolymph are serine proteases (SPs) rather than matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Furthermore, the gelatinase pattern remains relatively stable even after short-term exposure to pathogenic challenges.
Keywords: Drosophila; caseinase; gelatinase; hemolymph; immunity; proteases; zymography.