Constitutive expression and alternative splicing of the exons encoding SCRs in Sp152, the sea urc... more Constitutive expression and alternative splicing of the exons encoding SCRs in Sp152, the sea urchin homologue of complement factor B. Implications on the evolution of the Bf/ C2 gene family
A survey for immune genes in the genome for the purple sea urchin has shown that the immune syste... more A survey for immune genes in the genome for the purple sea urchin has shown that the immune system is complex and sophisticated. By inference, immune responses of all echinoderms may be similar. The immune system is mediated by several types of coelomocytes that are also useful as sensors of environmental stresses. There are a number of large gene families in the purple sea urchin genome that function in immunity and of which at least one appears to employ novel approaches for sequence diversification. Echinoderms have a simpler complement system, a large set of lectin genes and a number of antimicrobial peptides. Profiling the immune genes expressed by coelomocytes and the proteins in the coelomic fluid provide detailed information about immune functions in the sea urchin. The importance of echinoderms in maintaining marine ecosystem stability and the disastrous effects of their removal due to disease will require future collaborations between ecologists and immunologists working towards understanding and preserving marine habitats.
SUMMARYThe purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus expresses a homologue of complement co... more SUMMARYThe purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus expresses a homologue of complement component C3 (SpC3), which acts as a humoral opsonin. Significantly increased phagocytic activity was evident when yeast target cells were opsonized after incubation with coelomic fluid containing SpC3. SpC3 could be detected on the surface of yeast, and phagocytic activity could be inhibited by an anti-SpC3 antibody. This indicates that SpC3 promotes phagocytosis by physically tagging target cells for ingestion. Confocal microscopy showed that opsonized yeast were phagocytosed by a single coelomocyte type (polygonal phagocytes), presumably because these cells express SpC3 receptors. Overall, these data indicate that SpC3 is a major humoral opsonin in S. purpuratus coelomic fluid.
Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the... more Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the ancestral RAG genes in the ancestral jawed vertebrate; however, the innate immune system is more ancient. A central subsystem within innate immunity is the complement system, which has been identified throughout and seems to be restricted to the deuterostomes. The evolutionary history of complement can be traced from the sea urchins (members of the echinoderm phylum), which have a simplified system homologous to the alternative pathway, through the agnathans (hagfish and lamprey) and the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) to the teleosts (bony fish) and tetrapods, with increases in the numbers of complement components and duplications in complement pathways. Increasing complexity in the complement system parallels increasing complexity in the deuterostome animals. This review focuses on the simplest of the complement systems that is present in the sea urchin. Two components have been ident...
Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the... more Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the ancestral RAG genes in the ancestral jawed vertebrate; however, the innate immune system is more ancient. A central subsystem within innate immunity is the complement system, which has been identified throughout and seems to be restricted to the deuterostomes. The evolutionary history of complement can be traced from the sea urchins (members of the echinoderm phylum), which have a simplified system homologous to the alternative pathway, through the agnathans (hagfish and lamprey) and the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) to the teleosts (bony fish) and tetrapods, with increases in the numbers of complement components and duplications in complement pathways. Increasing complexity in the complement system parallels increasing complexity in the deuterostome animals. This review focuses on the simplest of the complement systems that is present in the sea urchin. Two components have been ident...
Constitutive expression and alternative splicing of the exons encoding SCRs in Sp152, the sea urc... more Constitutive expression and alternative splicing of the exons encoding SCRs in Sp152, the sea urchin homologue of complement factor B. Implications on the evolution of the Bf/ C2 gene family
A survey for immune genes in the genome for the purple sea urchin has shown that the immune syste... more A survey for immune genes in the genome for the purple sea urchin has shown that the immune system is complex and sophisticated. By inference, immune responses of all echinoderms may be similar. The immune system is mediated by several types of coelomocytes that are also useful as sensors of environmental stresses. There are a number of large gene families in the purple sea urchin genome that function in immunity and of which at least one appears to employ novel approaches for sequence diversification. Echinoderms have a simpler complement system, a large set of lectin genes and a number of antimicrobial peptides. Profiling the immune genes expressed by coelomocytes and the proteins in the coelomic fluid provide detailed information about immune functions in the sea urchin. The importance of echinoderms in maintaining marine ecosystem stability and the disastrous effects of their removal due to disease will require future collaborations between ecologists and immunologists working towards understanding and preserving marine habitats.
SUMMARYThe purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus expresses a homologue of complement co... more SUMMARYThe purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus expresses a homologue of complement component C3 (SpC3), which acts as a humoral opsonin. Significantly increased phagocytic activity was evident when yeast target cells were opsonized after incubation with coelomic fluid containing SpC3. SpC3 could be detected on the surface of yeast, and phagocytic activity could be inhibited by an anti-SpC3 antibody. This indicates that SpC3 promotes phagocytosis by physically tagging target cells for ingestion. Confocal microscopy showed that opsonized yeast were phagocytosed by a single coelomocyte type (polygonal phagocytes), presumably because these cells express SpC3 receptors. Overall, these data indicate that SpC3 is a major humoral opsonin in S. purpuratus coelomic fluid.
Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the... more Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the ancestral RAG genes in the ancestral jawed vertebrate; however, the innate immune system is more ancient. A central subsystem within innate immunity is the complement system, which has been identified throughout and seems to be restricted to the deuterostomes. The evolutionary history of complement can be traced from the sea urchins (members of the echinoderm phylum), which have a simplified system homologous to the alternative pathway, through the agnathans (hagfish and lamprey) and the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) to the teleosts (bony fish) and tetrapods, with increases in the numbers of complement components and duplications in complement pathways. Increasing complexity in the complement system parallels increasing complexity in the deuterostome animals. This review focuses on the simplest of the complement systems that is present in the sea urchin. Two components have been ident...
Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the... more Summary:The origin of adaptive immunity in the vertebrates can be traced to the appearance of the ancestral RAG genes in the ancestral jawed vertebrate; however, the innate immune system is more ancient. A central subsystem within innate immunity is the complement system, which has been identified throughout and seems to be restricted to the deuterostomes. The evolutionary history of complement can be traced from the sea urchins (members of the echinoderm phylum), which have a simplified system homologous to the alternative pathway, through the agnathans (hagfish and lamprey) and the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) to the teleosts (bony fish) and tetrapods, with increases in the numbers of complement components and duplications in complement pathways. Increasing complexity in the complement system parallels increasing complexity in the deuterostome animals. This review focuses on the simplest of the complement systems that is present in the sea urchin. Two components have been ident...
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