Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

Sec. Microbes and Innate Immunity

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1686758

This article is part of the Research TopicMechanistic Insights into Host–Pathogen Interactions and Immune Responses: From Discovery to Therapeutic PotentialView all articles

Natterin Bridges IFN-φ1 and Non-canonical Inflammasome Pathways via CRFB1/Gbp4 to License Caspy2-Mediated Antibacterial Immunity

Provisionally accepted
Darlan  GussoDarlan Gusso1,2Felipe  PintoFelipe Pinto1,2Aline  Ingrid Andrade-BarrosAline Ingrid Andrade-Barros1,2Jefferson  Thiago Gonçalves BernardoJefferson Thiago Gonçalves Bernardo1,2Carlos  DeOcesano-PereiraCarlos DeOcesano-Pereira3Mônica  Lopes-FerreiraMônica Lopes-Ferreira1,2Carla  LimaCarla Lima1,2*
  • 1Immunoregulation Unit, Laboratory of Applied Toxinology, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 2Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 3Centre of Excellence in New Target Discovery (CENTD), Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The Natterin protein family represents an evolutionarily conserved group of immune effectors in teleosts, yet its broader regulatory role in host defense remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that Natterin functions as a master upstream regulator, orchestrating a critical immune network that integrates type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling with non-canonical inflammasome activation during Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) challenge. Using wild-type embryos treated with IFN-I neutralizing antibody followed by the use of natterin (loc795232) knockout (KO) embryos generated by CRISPR/Cas9 and integrated approaches—including RT-qPCR, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and behavioral assays—we found that its absence completely abrogates the ST-induced IFN-I response, including the ablation of the interferon regulatory factors irf3 and irf7 and the IFN-φ1 receptor crfb1. Consequently, Natterin deficiency prevented the expression of the LPS sensor gbp4 and the proteolytic maturation of the inflammatory caspases Caspy and Caspy2. This disruption abolished downstream gsdme-a/b expression which may result in the non-formation of pores. The critical role of IFN-I signaling was independently confirmed by its neutralization in wild-type embryos, which abolished the protein-level localization of IL-1β and IFN-β and mirrored the KO phenotype. Functionally, this disruption led to a six-fold increase in mortality and exacerbated ST-induced pathogenesis. Our results establish Natterin not merely as an effector molecule but as a pivotal regulator that integrates IFN-I and inflammasome signaling, orchestrating a coordinated immune response essential for host survival. This work reveals a previously unrecognized level of regulation in teleost innate immunity with significant evolutionary parallels to mammalian defense mechanisms.

Keywords: Natterin, IFN-I, Caspy2, Gbp4/GSDME, Inflammasome, Salmonella typhimurium, Transcriptional regulation, Host defense

Received: 20 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Gusso, Pinto, Andrade-Barros, Bernardo, DeOcesano-Pereira, Lopes-Ferreira and Lima. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Carla Lima, carla.lima@butantan.gov.br

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.