Evolution Of Immune Reactions

This book on phylogeny and immunity reconstructs the history and evolutionary pathways of immunity among the various forms of life. The authors argue that the immunity could have evolved different adequately successful patterns in the animal sub-regnum which are strictly determined by the morpho-physiological possibilities of the animals. They state that the vertebrate type of immunity evolved only in the chordate branch. The publication devotes special attention to the arthropods and molluscs, as they have attracted more investigative efforts than any other invertebrate taxa. The authors selected Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, and Osteichthyes from the vertebrate taxa in order to show where and how the morphofunctional basis of the truly adapative immunity of the endothermic tetrapods gradually evolved. Each chapter gives the description of the origin and interrelationships of the representatives of the taxon in question. Also given are the main biological, morphological, non-morphological and immune attributes. Emphasized throughout the book is the central idea that immunological reactions are a part of the overall biological phenomena and should be studied only from this aspect. The authors express that the fields of comparative and evolutionary immunology will provide inspiration for further investigations in biomedicine in the near future.

The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.

The Evolution of the Immune System: Conservation and Diversification is the first book of its kind that prompts a new perspective when describing and considering the evolution of the immune system. Its unique approach summarizes, updates, and provides new insights on the different immune receptors, soluble factors, and immune cell effectors. Helps the reader gain a modern idea of the evolution of the immune systems in pluricellular organisms Provides a complete overview of the most studied and hot topics in comparative and evolutionary immunology Reflects the organisation of the immune system (cell-based, humoral [innate], humoral [adaptive]) without introducing further and misleading levels of organization Brings concepts and ideas on the evolution of the immune system to a wide readership

At present, we do not fully understand at what stage of the evolution of living matter the first traces of defense reactions occurred. We even do not fully understand how and why immune systems reached their contem porary state in advanced vertebrates and man. It may be expected that in the near future these questions will be answered by comparative and develop mental biology. Together with an extraordinary explosion of our knowledge about immunity of mammals including man, an increase in the interests concerning origin and development of immune mechanisms at lower stages of the phylogeny can be observed. The search for simple types of immune mechanisms in less complex but still evolutionary successful animals is promising and may contribute to better understanding of highly complex immune adaptive responses in mammals. It is important to note that comparative and evolutionary immunology differs greatly from other branches of biomedical science. Apart from immunology and molecular biology, a specialist in this discipline has to be familiar with every detail of taxonomy, comparative anatomy, physiology, embryology, and even with the phyletic relationships of animals. Probably no monography could deal with the entire animal kingdom, because, in many cases, the insights into questions about immune mecha nisms of many animal groupings or phyla, and their possible evolutionary implications, are unknown or just now beginning to take shape. For the moment, our knowledge on such matters relies upon reconstructions of ideas that we have deduced from studies on members of relative taxa.

Machine generated contents note: -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: A History of the Immune Self -- Chapter 2: Whither Immune Identity? -- Chapter 3: Individuality Revised -- Chapter 4: Immune Cognition -- Chapter 5: Eco-immunology -- Chapter 6: A New Biology? -- Epilogue -- Endnotes -- References. 650

There is a long-standing evolutionary battle between viruses and their hosts that continues to be waged. The evidence of this conflict can be found on both sides, with the human immune system being responsive to new viral challenges and viruses having developed often sophisticated countermeasures. The “arms race” between viruses and hosts can be thought as an example of the “Red Queen” race, an evolutionary hypothesis inspired from the dialogue of Alice with the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass”. At the same time, viruses have a minimal genomic content as they have evolved to hitchhike biological machinery of their hosts (or other co-infecting viruses). The minimalistic viral genome could be thought as the result of a “Black Queen” evolution, a theory inspired from the card game Heart, where the winner is the one with the fewest points at the end. The effects of this arms race are evident in the evolution of the human immune system. This system is capable of responding to diverse viral challenges, utilizing both the ancient innate immune system and the more recently evolved adaptive immune system of jawed vertebrates. It is now well-known that the two systems are linked, with innate immunity hypothesized to have provided raw material for the emergence of the adaptive immune response. The adaptive immune response comprises several protein families (including B and T cell receptors, MHC and KIR proteins, for example) that are encoded by complex and variable genomic regions. This complexity enables for responsive genetic changes to occur in immune cells, such as the ability of genomic hypervariable regions in B cells to recombine in order to produce more specific antibodies. Indeed, the human immune system is thought to be continually evolving via various mechanisms such as changes in the genes encoding immune receptors and the regulatory sequences that control their expression. For example, there is some evidence that exogenous viral infections can alter the expression of endogenous retroviruses, some of which contribute to the immune response. Viral countermeasures can include encoding decoy receptors for the signalling molecules of the immune response, altering the gene expression of adaptive immune cells during chronic infection or using host enzymes to facilitate viral immune escape. As the articles herein show, the immune system continues to be challenged by viral infections and these challenges continue to shape how the immune system combats pathogens, thus viruses and human immunity are continuously part of “Red and Black Queen” evolutionary dynamics. We had the pleasure of working with Jonas Blomberg as a reviewer during the course of the Research Topic and his untimely passing was a great loss. Prof. Blomberg made significant contributions, including to the nomenclature of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), the evolution and characterization of specific human ERV (HERV) and the contribution of ERVs to diseases such as cancer. It is with great respect for his contributions to the ERV field that we dedicate this eBook to his memory.