Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Qi YX
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4829436 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Qi Yi-Xiang YX Huang Jia J Li Meng-Qi MQ Wu Ya-Su YS Xia Ren-Ying RY Ye Gong-Yin GY
eLife 20160314
Serotonin (5-HT) modulates both neural and immune responses in vertebrates, but its role in insect immunity remains uncertain. We report that hemocytes in the caterpillar, Pieris rapae are able to synthesize 5-HT following activation by lipopolysaccharide. The inhibition of a serotonin-generating enzyme with either pharmacological blockade or RNAi knock-down impaired hemocyte phagocytosis. Biochemical and functional experiments showed that naive hemocytes primarily express 5-HT1B and 5-HT2B rece ...[more]