Programmed cell death mediated by ced-3 and ced-4 protects Caenorhabditis elegans from Salmonella typhimurium-mediated killing
Abstract
Programmed cell death (PCD) in mammals has been implicated in several disease states including cancer, autoimmune disease, and neurodegenerative disease. In Caenorhabditis elegans, PCD is a normal component of development. We find that Salmonella typhimurium colonization of the C. elegans intestine leads to an increased level of cell death in the worm gonad. S. typhimurium-mediated germ-line cell death is not observed in C. elegans ced-3 and ced-4 mutants in which developmentally regulated cell death is blocked, and ced-3 and ced-4 mutants are hypersensitive to S. typhimurium-mediated killing. These results suggest that PCD may be involved in the C. elegans defense response to pathogen attack.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- February 2001
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.041613098
- Bibcode:
- 2001PNAS...98.2735A
- Keywords:
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- Microbiology