PUBLICATION

CRISPR/Cas9-Induced Knockout of Sting Increases Susceptibility of Zebrafish to Bacterial Infection

Authors
Sellaththurai, S., Jung, S., Kim, M.J., Nadarajapillai, K., Ganeshalingam, S., Jeong, J.B., Lee, J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-230226-48
Date
2023
Source
Biomolecules   13(2): (Journal)
Registered Authors
Kim, Myoung-Jin
Keywords
CRISPR/Cas9, Edwardsiella piscicida, stimulator of interferon gene, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Infections*/genetics
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Immunity, Innate
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • NF-kappa B/metabolism
  • Nucleotidyltransferases/genetics
  • Nucleotidyltransferases/metabolism
  • Zebrafish*/metabolism
PubMed
36830693 Full text @ Biomolecules
Abstract
Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is an adapter protein that is activated when cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) are present. CDNs originate from the cytosolic DNA of both pathogens and hosts. STING activation promotes efficient immune responses against viral infections; however, its impact in bacterial infections is unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of Sting in bacterial infections by successfully creating a sting-deficient (sting(-/-) with a 4-bp deletion) knockout zebrafish model using CRISPR/Cas9. The transcriptional modulation of genes downstream of cGAS (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase)-Sting pathway-related genes was analyzed in seven-day-old wild-type (WT) and sting(-/-) embryos, as well as in four-day-old LPS-stimulated embryos. The expression of downstream genes was higher in sting(-/-) than in healthy WT fish. The late response was observed in sting(-/-) larvae following LPS treatment, demonstrating the importance of Sting-induced immunity during bacterial infection by activating the cGAS-STING pathway. Furthermore, adult sting(-/-) fish had a high mortality rate and significantly downregulated cGAS-STING pathway-related genes during Edwardsiella piscicida (E. piscicida) infection. In addition, we assessed NF-κB pathway genes following E. piscicida infection. Our results show fluctuating patterns of interleukin-6 (il6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (tnfα) expression, which is likely due to the influence of other NF-κB pathway-related immune genes. In summary, this study demonstrates the important role of Sting against bacterial infection.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping