Cited by 469Immune Response and InflammationInvertebrate Immune Response MechanismsNeurobiology and Insect Physiology Research

Binding of the Drosophila cytokine Spätzle to Toll is direct and establishes signaling

Weber, Alexander N R, Tauszig-Delamasure, Servane, Hoffmann, Jules A, Lelièvre, Eric, Gascan, Hugues, Ray, Keith P, Morse, Mary A, Imler, Jean-Luc +1 more·2003·Nature Immunology

Abstract

The extracellular protein Spätzle is required for activation of the Toll signaling pathway in the embryonic development and innate immune defense of Drosophila. Spätzle is synthesized as a pro-protein and is processed to a functional form by a serine protease. We show here that the mature form of Spätzle triggers a Toll-dependent immune response after injection into the hemolymph of flies. Spätzle specifically bound to Drosophila cells and to Cos-7 cells expressing Toll. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that the mature form of Spätzle bound to the Toll ectodomain with high affinity and with a stoichiometry of one Spätzle dimer to two receptors. The Spätzle pro-protein was inactive in all these assays, indicating that the pro-domain sequence, which is natively unstructured, acts to prevent interaction of the cytokine and its receptor Toll. These results show that, in contrast to the human Toll-like receptors, Drosophila Toll requires only an endogenous protein ligand for activation and signaling.

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Crossref · 10.1038/ni955

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  • The possibility that mammalian TLRs recognize non-microbial structures is not unexpected because the evolutionarily conserved Toll receptor originally identified in Drosophila melanogaster binds to the endogenous ligand Spätzle.

    “The possibility that mammalian TLRs recognize non-microbial structures is not unexpected, because the evolutionarily conserved Toll receptor originally identified in Drosophila melanogaster binds to the endogenous ligand Spätzle24.”

    From Sterile inflammation: sensing and reacting to damage (2010) · cites this paper as [24]

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Authors
Weber, A. N. R., Tauszig-Delamasure, S., Hoffmann, J. A., Lelièvre, E., Gascan, H., Ray, K. P., Morse, M. A., Imler, J.-L., & Gay, N. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Inserm (FR)
  • GlaxoSmithKline (United Kingdom) (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Imler, Jean-Luc
  • Gay, Nicholas J
Venue
Nature Immunology
Published
2003-07-20
Volume
4
Issue
8
Pages
794-800
ISSN
  • 1529-2908 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2916
OpenAlex
W2032056947
Cited by
469
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 17
FWCI
9.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature Immunology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5P01AI44220-02, P01AI044220)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune Response and Inflammation
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
Keywords
Spätzle, Toll receptor, Drosophila innate immunity, Toll pathway, cytokine receptor binding, receptor activation, hemolymph injection, Drosophila embryogenesis, innate immune defense
MeSH terms
Animals, Drosophila, Protein Binding, Receptors, Cell Surface, Signal Transduction, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Insect Proteins, Drosophila Proteins, Toll-Like Receptors

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