Abstract
Unexpected findings from the immune system of sea urchin larvae potentially provide insights into immune signaling in ancestral animals.
Highlights
IL17 factors are early regulators in the gut epithelium during inflammatory response to Vibrio in the sea urchin larva
100 years after Metchnikoff identified phagocytes, a team of scientists sequenced the urchin genome and made a startling discovery: several families of innate immune molecules had more than 200 members, which was much greater than anything encountered in previously sequenced animal genomes (Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium et al, 2006)
As the genomes of additional species were sequenced, a picture emerged indicating that innate immune systems of echinoderms and other invertebrates rely on a genomic complexity not seen in mammals
Summary
IL17 factors are early regulators in the gut epithelium during inflammatory response to Vibrio in the sea urchin larva. Starfish are echinoderms – a set of marine animals that includes sea urchins. 100 years after Metchnikoff identified phagocytes, a team of scientists sequenced the urchin genome and made a startling discovery: several families of innate immune molecules had more than 200 members, which was much greater than anything encountered in previously sequenced animal genomes (Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium et al, 2006).
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