Journal article
Unzipping the defense: a comprehensive review on bZIP transcription factors in Caenorhabditis elegans
Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, Vol.15, 1673469
10/01/2025
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1673469
PMCID: PMC12521169
PMID: 41104136
Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans is a simple yet powerful host model organism for exploring how animals mount defenses against infection. In the absence of an adaptive immune system, it relies solely on innate immunity, making it an ideal model for studying pathogen-induced innate immune responses, which are often conserved across higher eukaryotic organisms. Among the numerous transcription factors encoded in the C. elegans genome, the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) family is particularly notable for its pivotal role in regulating immune and stress responses. Of the 29 major bZIP proteins identified in C. elegans, this review focuses on 12 that play a direct role in pathogen response and innate immunity. In this review, we summarize the basic structure and processing of bZIP proteins, explore their potential involvement in various pathways that regulate innate immune and stress responses, and highlight key scientific questions for future investigation. By shedding light on the complex yet coordinated immune strategies employed by C. elegans this review offers insights to enhance our understanding of innate immunity in more complex organisms, including humans.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Unzipping the defense: a comprehensive review on bZIP transcription factors in Caenorhabditis elegans
- Creators
- Boopathi Balasubramaniam - Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research, University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Iowa City, IA, United StatesAshley V. Veatch - The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonRansome van der Hoeven - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, Vol.15, 1673469
- DOI
- 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1673469
- PMID
- 41104136
- PMCID
- PMC12521169
- NLM abbreviation
- Front Cell Infect Microbiol
- ISSN
- 2235-2988
- eISSN
- 2235-2988
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A
- Grant note
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH): R01AI158429 University of Iowa, College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics
The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This review is supported by R01AI158429 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication, as defined by NIH. Additional support was provided by startup funds from the University of Iowa, College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics.
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/01/2025
- Academic Unit
- Dental Research; Periodontics
- Record Identifier
- 9984969245502771
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