Analysis of the Contribution of Hemocytes and Autophagy to Drosophila Antiviral Immunity.

Unlabelled: Antiviral immunity in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster involves the broadly active intrinsic mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) and virus-specific inducible responses. Here, using a panel of six viruses, we investigated the role of hemocytes and autophagy in the control of viral infections. Injection of latex beads to saturate phagocytosis, or genetic depletion of hemocytes, resulted in decreased survival and increased viral titers following infection with Cricket paralysis virus (CrPV), Flock House virus (FHV), and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) but had no impact on Drosophila C virus (DCV), Sindbis virus (SINV), and Invertebrate iridescent virus 6 (IIV6) infection.

Structural and Mechanistic Insights into the Latrophilin3-FLRT3 Complex that Mediates Glutamatergic Synapse Development.

Latrophilins (LPHNs) are adhesion-like G-protein-coupled receptors implicated in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Recently, LPHN3 was found to regulate excitatory synapse number through trans interactions with fibronectin leucine-rich repeat transmembrane 3 (FLRT3). By isothermal titration calorimetry, we determined that only the olfactomedin (OLF) domain of LPHN3 is necessary for FLRT3 association.