US-France Cooperative Research: Cell Adhesion and Innate Immunity in C. Elegans

0351728奇泽姆生物体在发育过程中发生的结构变化，称为形态发生，涉及细胞粘附的调节。细胞可以粘附到表达类似蛋白质或不同蛋白质的其他细胞。一些细胞表面分子是抗粘附的。细胞粘附的机制显示出与先天免疫的相似性，先天免疫是一种古老而保守的自我-非自我识别系统。这三年的美国-圣克鲁斯的加州大学的Andrew奇泽姆与马赛免疫学中心的Jonathan Ewbank和Nathalie Pujol合作开展的一项法国合作研究项目探索了线虫C.优雅 奇泽姆实验室在C.优雅位于马赛的尤班克实验室利用C.优雅的模特在研究Toll受体的线虫同源物的功能时，已知Toll受体在其他生物体中对抵抗感染很重要，他们已经确定该受体在与细胞粘附相关的胚胎形态发生中起作用。 在这个项目中，他们将确定与C.使用自动分类器分配蠕虫和分类动物，以及法国Ewbank实验室提供的全基因组RNA干扰文库，研究线虫的形态发生。这些研究的细胞粘附和先天免疫途径在简单的有机体C。elegans的研究将促进对其他动物中相同途径的更复杂版本的理解，并进一步了解细胞粘附在先天免疫中的作用。本科生和研究生将接受跨学科和后基因组方法的培训，以研究复杂的生物过程。国家科学基金会（NSF）和国家科学研究中心（CNRS）共同支持该项目。 NSF将支付美国调查人员和学生访问法国的费用。 CNRS为法国调查人员访问美国提供资金。

0351728ChisholmThe structural changes occurring in an organism during its development, known as morphogenesis, involves the modulation of cell adhesion. Cells can adhere to other cells expressing similar proteins or different proteins. Some cell surface molecules are anti-adhesive. The mechanisms of cell adhesion show similarities with innate immunity, an ancient and conserved system of self-nonself recognition. This three-year U.S.-France cooperative research project, between Andrew Chisholm of the University of California at Santa Cruz and Jonathan Ewbank and Nathalie Pujol of the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille, explores connections between these two basic processes in the nematode C. elegans. The Chisholm lab has expertise in molecular genetics of morphogenesis in C. elegans. The Ewbank lab in Marseille studies innate immunity using C. elegans as a model. While investigating the function of the nematode homologue of the receptor Toll, known to be important in other organisms for resistance to infection, they have determined that the receptor has a role in embryonic morphogenesis linked to cell adhesion. In this project they will identify genes that interact with known cell adhesion pathways in C. elegans morphogenesis using an automated sorter to dispense worms and sort animals and a whole genome RNA interference library available at the Ewbank lab in France. These studies of cell adhesion and innate immunity pathways in the simple organism C. elegans will advance understanding of more complex versions of the same pathways in other animals and further our knowledge about cell adhesion's role in innate immunity. Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in interdisciplinary and post-genomic approaches for studying complex biological processes. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) jointly support this project. NSF will cover the costs of visits to France by the U.S. investigators and students. The CNRS provides funding to the French investigators for their visits to the United States.