VLR-Based Adaptive Immunity

Lampreys and hagfish are primitive jawless vertebrates capable of mounting specific immune responses. Lampreys possess different types of lymphocytes, akin to T and B cells of jawed vertebrates, that clonally express somatically diversified antigen receptors termed variable lymphocyte receptors (VLR...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of immunology 2012-01, Vol.30 (1), p.203-220
Main Authors: Boehm, Thomas, McCurley, Nathanael, Sutoh, Yoichi, Schorpp, Michael, Kasahara, Masanori, Cooper, Max D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptive Immunity
Animals
antigen receptor
Antigens - immunology
Antigens - metabolism
Biological Evolution
Cell Differentiation - genetics
Cell Differentiation - immunology
Cell interactions
Cell Lineage - genetics
Cell Lineage - immunology
Chemokines
Cytosine deaminase
Cytosine Deaminase - genetics
Evolution
Filaments
Gene Expression
Gene Expression Profiling
Gills
Hemopoiesis
Humans
Immune response
Immunity
Interleukins
jawless vertebrate
leucine-rich repeat
lymphocyte lineage
Lymphocytes - cytology
Lymphocytes - immunology
Lymphocytes - metabolism
Lymphocytes B
Lymphocytes T
Myxinidae
Petromyzontidae
Protein Binding - immunology
Protein Conformation
Receptors, Antigen - chemistry
Receptors, Antigen - genetics
Receptors, Antigen - immunology
Reviews
somatic diversification
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Summary:Lampreys and hagfish are primitive jawless vertebrates capable of mounting specific immune responses. Lampreys possess different types of lymphocytes, akin to T and B cells of jawed vertebrates, that clonally express somatically diversified antigen receptors termed variable lymphocyte receptors (VLRs), which are composed of tandem arrays of leucine-rich repeats. The VLRs appear to be diversified by a gene conversion mechanism involving lineage-specific cytosine deaminases. VLRA is expressed on the surface of T-like lymphocytes; B-like lymphocytes express and secrete VLRB as a multivalent protein. VLRC is expressed by a distinct lymphocyte lineage. VLRA-expressing cells appear to develop in a thymus-like tissue at the tip of gill filaments, and VLRB-expressing cells develop in hematopoietic tissues. Reciprocal expression patterns of evolutionarily conserved interleukins and chemokines possibly underlie cell-cell interactions during an immune response. The discovery of VLRs in agnathans illuminates the origins of adaptive immunity in early vertebrates.
ISSN:0732-0582
1545-3278
1545-3278
DOI:10.1146/annurev-immunol-020711-075038