Role of scavenger receptor from Octopus ocellatus as a co-receptor of Toll-like receptor in initiation of TLR-NF-κB signaling during anti-bacterial response

Scavenger receptors are crucial for innate immunity owing to their prominent role in clearance of harmful endogenous factors, immune recognition, and more importantly, as co-receptors of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) to initiate downstream responses. At present, invertebrate scavenger receptors, especially their role in immune mechanisms, are largely unknown. We report here that scavenger receptors form a diverse superfamily in Octopus ocellatus, including at least five different members with distinct tissue expression patterns. Two members, OoSR-B and OoSR-I, are grouped into class B and I scavenger receptors, respectively. OoSR-B and OoSR-I are located on the hemocyte membrane, and both recombinant scavenger receptors could serve as pattern recognition receptors to bind a broad range of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Although OoSR-B and OoSR-I expression was induced by bacterial stimulation, only OoSR-B promoted hemocyte phagocytosis. Moreover, OoSR-B, but not OoSR-I, could act as a co-receptor of TLR to activate TLR-NF-κB signaling and initiate TNF-α production during anti-bacterial response. As the first report on an invertebrate scavenger receptor acting as a co-receptor of TLR, our study reveals the immune mechanism mediated by scavenger receptors in O. ocellatus, and provides new insight into the evolution of this important receptor family.