Phylogenetic Perspectives In Immunity

This book contains the proceedings of the first meeting on invertebrate immunity ever sponsored as a summer research conference by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The conference was held in Copper Mountain, CO from July 11-16, 1999. It was a an extension of a New York Academy of Sciences meeting entitled "Primordial Immunity: Foundations for the Vertebrate Immune System" held on May 2-5,1993 at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, MA. The proceedings of that meeting were published in The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (volume 712). At that meeting all the attendes agreed that this type of conference (a relatively small focused gathering) allowed for participation by investigators at all levels of their careers. We further agreed that we should search for a forum that would allow this meeting to continue. The FASEB Summer Research Conference was an excellent vehicle for this type of meeting. Furthermore, this year's participants decided to continue this meeting as a regularly scheduled FASEB sponsored event. This was a unique conference in the sense that it focused upon mechanisms of development and defense in protostome and deuterostome invertebrates and lower vertebrates. There was a strong emphasis on evolutionary cell biology, phylogenetic inferences and the evolution of recognition and regulatory systems.

Based on the assumption that invertebrates as well as vertebrates possess factors regulating hematopoiesis, response to infection or wounding, studies dealing with the evolution of immunity have focused on the isolation and characterization of putative cytokine-related molecules from invertebrates. Until recently, most of our knowledge of cytokine- and cytokine receptor-like molecules in invertebrates has relied on functional assays and similarities at the physicochemical level. As such, a phylogenetic relationship between invertebrate cytokine-like molecules and invertebrate counterparts could not be convincingly demonstrated. In the present book, recent studies demonstrating cytokine-like activities and related signaling pathways in invertebrates are critically reviewed, focusing on findings from molecular biology and taking advantage of the completion of the genome from the fly Drosophila and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans.

Lessons in Immunity: From Single-cell Organisms to Mammals stems from the activity of the Italian Association of Developmental and Comparative Immunobiology (IADCI), represented by the editors. This book is presented as a series of short overviews that report on the current state of various relevant fields of immunobiology from an evolutionary perspective. The overviews are written by authors directly involved in the research, and most are members of the IADCI or have otherwise been involved in the related research for their respective overview. This publication offers scientists and teachers an easy and updated reference tool. Provides simple and updated reviews on the immunobiology of a wide spectrum of organisms, considered in an evolutionary context Focuses on both cells and humoral components of a variety of non-classical model organisms Offers in a single volume many contributions which can help with understanding the evolution of immune responses and the main adaptations in animal phyla Presents a valuable holistic cross-sectional approach for teaching immunology and its applications

For many years, experiments using chimpanzees have been instrumental in advancing scientific knowledge and have led to new medicines to prevent life-threatening and debilitating diseases. However, recent advances in alternate research tools have rendered chimpanzees largely unnecessary as research subjects. The Institute of Medicine, in collaboration with the National Research Council, conducted an in-depth analysis of the scientific necessity for chimpanzees in NIH-funded biomedical and behavioral research. The committee concludes that while the chimpanzee has been a valuable animal model in the past, most current biomedical research use of chimpanzees is not necessary, though noted that it is impossible to predict whether research on emerging or new diseases may necessitate chimpanzees in the future.

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

"Natural Immunity" is a broadly-based account of the activities of the evolutionarily conserved molecules, cells and processes of the natural immune system. This encompasses the early host protection against microbes (bacteria and viruses) and tumours, prior to the generation of the adaptive immune response, diverse major current pathologies including inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and key roles in essential physiological processes such as reproduction and wound healing. The first comprehensive book on natural immunity Reviews new topics, effects of behaviour, aging, and exercise, and diet on natural immunity Highlights the physiological role of natural immunity Focuses on the relationship of the neuroendocrine system with natural immunity Brings together the diversity and complexity of natural immune system activity

The interplay between host and pathogen is a complex co-evolutionary battle of surveillance and evasion. The pathogen continuously develops mechanisms to subvert the immune response in order to establish infection while the immune system responds with novel mechanisms of detection. Because the majority of Lyme disease pathology is due to an over-exuberant immune response, much research in Borrelia burgdorferi pathogenesis has been devoted to understanding the mammalian host response to the bacterium. Immunological studies continue to be an active area of research employing emerging techniques, such as intra-vital imaging. These studies have furthered our understanding of inflammatory processes during long-term infection and provided some surprising insights, such as the continued presence of bacterial products after clearance. The field of Lyme disease has long debated the etiology of long-term inflammation and recent studies in the murine host have shed light on relevant cell types and inflammatory mediators that participate in the pathology of Lyme arthritis. Live imaging and bioluminescent studies have allowed for a novel view of the bacterial life cycle, including the tick mid-gut, tick-to-mammal transmission and dissemination throughout a mouse. A number of tick and bacterial proteins have been shown to participate in the completion of the enzootic cycle. Novel mechanisms of gene regulation are continuously being identified. However, B. burgdorferi lacks many traditional virulence factors, such as toxins or specialized secretion systems. Many genes in the B. burgdorferi genome have no known homolog in other bacteria. Therefore, studies focusing on host-pathogen interactions have therefore been limited by an incomplete understanding of the repertoire of bacterial virulence factors. Questions such as how the pathogen causes disease, colonizes the tick and evades host immune-surveillance have been difficult to address. Genetic studies involving single gene deletions have identified a number of important bacterial proteins, but a large-scale genomics approach to identify virulence factors has not been attempted until recently. The generation of a site-directed mutagenesis library is an important step towards a detailed analysis of the B. burgdorferi genome and pathogenome. Using this library, high-throughput genomic studies, utilizing techniques such as massively parallel sequencing have been promising and could be used to identify novel virulence determinants of disease in the mammalian host or persistence in the tick vector. Continued research on this unique pathogen and its specific interaction with host and vector may have far reaching consequences and provide insights for diverse disciplines including ecology, infectious disease, and immunology. Here, several reviews will discuss the most recent advances and future studies to be undertaken in the field of B. burgdorferi biology.