The global obesity epidemic is a major contributor to chronic disease and disability in the
world today. Since the discovery of leptin in 1994, a multitude of studies have characterized …

Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease and is transmitted to vertebrate
hosts by Ixodes spp. ticks. The spirochaete relies heavily on its arthropod host for basic …

Insect guts present distinctive environments for microbial colonization, and bacteria in the
gut potentially provide many beneficial services to their hosts. Insects display a wide range …

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has helped us to understand how innate immunity is
activated. In addition to the Toll receptor and the Toll signaling pathway, the Drosophila …

The innate immune system is a universal and ancient form of host defense against infection.
Innate immune recognition relies on a limited number of germline-encoded receptors. These …

The innate immune system in drosophila and mammals senses the invasion of
microorganisms using the family of Toll receptors, stimulation of which initiates a range of …

The cytokine-induced activation cascade of NF-κB in mammals and the activation of the
morphogen dorsal in Drosophila embryos show striking structural and functional similarities …

Toll-like receptors have a crucial role in the detection of microbial infection in mammals and
insects. In mammals, these receptors have evolved to recognize conserved products unique …

Immunity in higher organisms can be broadly categorized into adaptive immunity and innate
immunity. Adaptive immunity is mediated by clonally distributed T and B lymphocytes which …

To combat infection, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster relies on multiple innate defense
reactions, many of which are shared with higher organisms. These reactions include the use …