Invertebrates rely on an innate immune system to combat invading pathogens. The system is initiated in the presence of cell wall components from microbes like lipopolysaccharide (LPS), β-1,3-glucan (βG) and peptidoglycan (PG), altogether known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), via a recognition of pattern recognition protein (PRP) or receptor (PRR) through complicated reactions...

BACKGROUND C-type lectins are a superfamily of Ca(2+) dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins that play significant diverse roles in nonself-recognition and clearance of invaders. Though they are well characterized in vertebrates, the study of the potential function and mechanism of C-type lectins in invertebrate immunity is still in its infancy. METHODOLOGY A C-type lectin (CfLec-1) from...

Deuterostome invertebrates possess complement genes, and in limited instances complement-mediated functions have been reported in these organisms. However, the organization of the complement pathway(s), as well as the functions exerted by the cloned gene products, are largely unknown. To address the issue of the presence of an inflammatory pathway in ascidians, we expressed in Escherichia coli ...

Marine bivalves are frequently exposed to multiple co-occurring challenges such as temperature extremes and anthropogenic pollution. These stressors can elicit negative effects on several biological pathways, including antioxidant neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) systems, leading immune disorders altered immunocytes functionality. Since interactive mechanisms of action resulting outcomes still scarc...

Penaeid shrimp aquaculture is impacted by various diseases. However, most published studies on physiological responses to pathogens have focused the changes in one or two tissues of infected a single pathogen, effects infecting tissue. There has been limited systematic examination similarities and differences immune multiple under pathogen infection. Here, transcriptomic three (gill, hepatopanc...

Hemocytes in the circulation and kidney islets, as well as their phagocytic responses to microorganisms and fluorescent beads, have been studied in Pomacea canaliculata, using flow cytometry, light microscopy (including confocal laser scanning microscopy) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Three circulating hemocyte types (hyalinocytes, agranulocytes and granulocytes) were distinguishe...

UNLABELLED Antiviral immunity in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster involves the broadly active intrinsic mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) and virus-specific inducible responses. Here, using a panel of six viruses, we investigated the role of hemocytes and autophagy in the control of viral infections. Injection of latex beads to saturate phagocytosis, or genetic depletion of hemocyt...

Inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs) play important roles in apoptosis and NF-κB activation. In this study, we cloned and characterized three IAPs (LvIAP1-3) from the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeusvannamei. LvIAP1-3 proteins shared signature domains and exhibited significant similarities with other IAP family proteins. The tissue distributions of LvIAP1-3 were studied. The expression of LvIAP1-3 w...

The evolutionarily conserved innate immune system plays critical role for maintaining the health of an organism. However, a number of environmental chemicals including metals are known to exert adverse effects on immune system. The present study assessed the in vivo effect of a major environmental chemical, Cr(VI), on cellular immune response using Drosophila melanogaster and subsequently the p...