Dataset Information

Increased sleep promotes survival during a bacterial infection in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT:

Study objectives

The relationship between sleep and immune function is not well understood at a functional or molecular level. We therefore used a genetic approach in Drosophila to manipulate sleep and evaluated effects on the ability of flies to fight bacterial infection.

Setting

Laboratory.

Participants

Drosophila melanogaster.

Methods and results

We used a genetic approach to transiently alter neuronal excitability in the mushroom body, a region in the central brain that is known to regulate sleep. Flies with increased sleep for up to two days prior to a bacterial infection showed increased resistance to the infection and improved survival. These flies also had increased expression levels of a subset of anti-microbial peptide mRNA prior to infection, as well as increased NF?B activity during infection as indicated by in vivo luciferase reporter activity. In contrast, flies that experienced reduced sleep for up to two days prior to infection had no effect on survival or on NF?B activity during infection. However, flies with reduced sleep showed an altered defense mechanism, such that resistance to infection was increased, but at the expense of reduced tolerance. This effect was dependent on environmental condition.

Conclusions

Increasing sleep enhanced activity of an NF?B transcription factor, increased resistance to infection, and strongly promoted survival. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that sleep is beneficial to the host by maintaining a robust immune system.

SUBMITTER: Kuo TH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4015381 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Increased sleep promotes survival during a bacterial infection in Drosophila.

Kuo Tzu-Hsing TH Williams Julie A JA

Sleep 20140601 6

<h4>Study objectives</h4>The relationship between sleep and immune function is not well understood at a functional or molecular level. We therefore used a genetic approach in Drosophila to manipulate sleep and evaluated effects on the ability of flies to fight bacterial infection.<h4>Setting</h4>Laboratory.<h4>Participants</h4>Drosophila melanogaster.<h4>Methods and results</h4>We used a genetic approach to transiently alter neuronal excitability in the mushroom body, a region in the central bra ...[more]

PMID: 24882902

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Project description:Acinetobacter baumannii is emerging as a leading global multiple-antibiotic-resistant nosocomial pathogen. The identity of genes essential for pathogenesis in a mammalian host remains largely unknown. Using transposon-directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS), we identified A. baumannii genes involved in bacterial survival in a leukopenic mouse model of bloodstream infection. Mice were inoculated with a pooled transposon mutant library derived from 109,000 mutants, and TraDIS was used to map transposon insertion sites in the genomes of bacteria in the inoculum and of bacteria recovered from mouse spleens. Unique transposon insertion sites were mapped and used to calculate a fitness factor for every insertion site based on its relative abundance in the inoculum and postinfection libraries. Eighty-nine transposon insertion mutants that were underrepresented after experimental infection in mice compared to their presence in the inocula were delineated as candidates for further evaluation. Genetically defined mutants lacking feoB (ferrous iron import), ddc (d-ala-d-ala-carboxypeptidase), and pntB (pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase subunit) exhibited a fitness defect during systemic infection resulting from bacteremia. In vitro, these mutants, as well as a fepA (ferric enterobactin receptor) mutant, are defective in survival in human serum and within macrophages and are hypersensitive to killing by antimicrobial peptides compared to the survival of the parental strain under these conditions. Our data demonstrate that FepA is involved in the uptake of exogenous enterobactin in A. baumannii. Genetic complementation rescues the phenotypes of mutants in assays that emulate conditions encountered during infection. In summary, we have determined novel A. baumannii fitness genes involved in the pathogenesis of mammalian infection. IMPORTANCE A. baumannii is a significant cause of bacterial bloodstream infection in humans. Since multiple antibiotic resistance is becoming more common among strains of A. baumannii, there is an urgent need to develop novel tools to treat infections caused by this dangerous pathogen. To develop knowledge-guided treatment approaches for A. baumannii, a thorough understanding of the mechanism by which this pathogen causes bloodstream infection is required. Here, using a mouse model of infection, we report the identification of A. baumannii genes that are critical for the ability of this pathogen to cause bloodstream infections. This study lays the foundation for future research on A. baumannii genes that can be targeted to develop novel therapeutics against this emerging human pathogen.

Dataset Information

Increased sleep promotes survival during a bacterial infection in Drosophila.

Study objectives

Setting

Participants

Methods and results

Conclusions

Publications

Increased sleep promotes survival during a bacterial infection in Drosophila.

Similar Datasets

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