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

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1258705
• Publication Date: 2014-10-30T18:19:29Z
• Authors: 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. Sene...; 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
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; 3. Good health

Overcoming staph infections is hardwired Several evolutionarily conserved components of antistaphylococcal immunity have been identified, using Drosophila as a model organism. However, no vertebrate ortholog has identified for the Toll ligand Spaetzle, which plays key role in controlling gram-positive infection flies. Hepburn et al. now NGF-β functional equivalent to Spaetzle vertebrates. acts paracrine “alarmin” orchestrating macrophage and neutrophil responses S. aureus infection. People with deleterious mutations genes encoding or its high-affinity receptor TRKA are predisposed recurrent severe infections. proteins selectively trigger production NGF-β, enhances uptake superoxide-dependent killing , stimulates proinflammatory cytokine production, promotes recruitment. Moreover, TrkA silencing vivo increases susceptibility . Thus, NGF-β–TRKA pathway critical, component Science this issue p. 641