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IL-17 is a neuromodulator of Caenorhabditis elegans sensory responses
Open accessAbstract
Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a major pro-inflammatory cytokine: it mediates responses to pathogens or tissue damage, and drives autoimmune diseases. Little is known about its role in the nervous system. Here we show that IL-17 has neuromodulator-like properties in Caenorhabditis elegans. IL-17 can act directly on neurons to alter their response properties and contribution to behaviour. Using unbiased genetic screens, we delineate an IL-17 signalling pathway and show that it acts in the RMG hub interneurons. Disrupting IL-17 signalling reduces RMG responsiveness to input from oxygen sensors, and renders sustained escape from 21% oxygen transient and contingent on additional stimuli. Over-activating IL-17 receptors abnormally heightens responses to 21% oxygen in RMG neurons and whole animals. IL-17 deficiency can be bypassed by optogenetic stimulation of RMG. Inducing IL-17 expression in adults can rescue mutant defects within 6 h. These findings reveal a non-immunological role of IL-17 modulating circuit function and behaviour.
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“Previously described non-immune properties of IL-17 included (i) the regulation of social behavior in MIA models1,23, (ii) body temperature24,25, and (iii) neuromodulation in Caenorhabditis elegans2.”
From Meningeal γδ T cells regulate anxiety-like behavior via IL-17a signaling in neurons (2020) · cites this paper as [24]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Chen, C., Itakura, E., Nelson, G. M., Sheng, M., Laurent, P., Fenk, L. A., Butcher, R. A., Hegde, R. S., & de Bono, M.
- Affiliations
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (GB)
- University of Florida (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2017-01-18
- Volume
- 542
- Issue
- 7639
- Pages
- 43-48
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC5503128
- OpenAlex
- W2576526246
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 11
- FWCI
- 7.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (P40OD010440)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (16H06167, 16H01194)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Keywords
- IL-17, neuromodulation, Caenorhabditis elegans, oxygen sensing, escape behavior, social aggregation, IL-17 signaling, optogenetic stimulation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Humans, Interneurons, Oxygen, Sensation, Signal Transduction, Caenorhabditis elegans, Interleukin-17, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Receptors, Interleukin-17, HEK293 Cells
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