Evidence for an immune function of lepidopteran silk proteins

Autor: Christine Lesch, Thomas Hauling, Marco Fabbri, Mitchell S. Dushay, Ulrich Theopold, Ahmed M. Korayem, Olga Loseva, Otto Schmidt, Malin Lindgren
Rok vydání: 2007
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 352:317-322
ISSN: 0006-291X
Popis: Hemolymph coagulation stops bleeding and protects against infection. Clotting factors include both proteins that are conserved during evolution as well as more divergent proteins in different species. Here we show that several silk proteins also appear in the clot of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella. RT-PCR analysis reveals that silk proteins are expressed in immune tissues and induced upon wounding in both Galleria and Ephestia kuehniella, a second pyralid moth. Our results support the idea that silk proteins were co-opted for immunity and coagulation during evolution.
Databáze: OpenAIRE