Mitochondrial aconitase inhibits immunity via reducing mitochondrial unfolded protein response

We show that mitochondrial aconitase, ACO-2, a Krebs cycle enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of citrate to isocitrate, inhibits immunity against pathogenic bacteria in C. elegans. We found that genetic inhibition of aco-2 enhanced mitochondrial unfolded protein response, subsequently upregulating ATFS-1 transcription factor, which contributed to enhanced immunity against pathogenic bacteria. Overall design: The investigation of the changes of gene expression upon knockdown of aco-2 or infection with PA14.

本研究证实，线粒体顺乌头酸酶ACO-2——一种催化柠檬酸转化为异柠檬酸的三羧酸循环（Krebs cycle）酶——可抑制秀丽隐杆线虫（C. elegans）对病原菌的免疫防御能力。研究发现，敲低aco-2可增强线粒体未折叠蛋白反应（mitochondrial unfolded protein response），随后上调转录因子ATFS-1的表达，该过程有助于提升秀丽隐杆线虫的抗病原菌免疫能力。整体实验设计：本研究考察了敲低aco-2基因，或用PA14菌株感染秀丽隐杆线虫时的基因表达变化。