CONTENT - International Society of Zoological Sciences

S13 ICZ2008 - Abstracts
Diversification of the immunoglobulin superfamily receptors in
the immune systems of Metazoa
Louis Du Pasquier
Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology. University of
Basel ,Vesalgasse 1, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland
Restricted to the animal kingdom, the immunoglobulin domains build
up the most diversified family of leukocyte receptors involved in
immunity (immunoglobulin superfamily: IgSF). Some of them
regulate lymphocyte functions, other recognize specifically the
antigens. The conservation of regulatory receptors controlling the
proliferation, migration, activation and inhibition of leukocytes, is
visible at the structural, signalling and chromosomal localization level.
The case of leukocyte receptor complex–like molecules will be
presented in arthropods, urochordates, birds and mammals. Some Ig
domains were recruited as part of different types of variable antigen
receptors, selection acting on different segments of the domain
susceptible to bind a ligand. Such receptor genes were duplicated,
building multigene families .In some species they were made
susceptible to be diversified by somatic processes using different
convergent ways. Whether at the DNA or the RNA level these
mechanisms can randomly diversify the variable domain sequence,
the isotype composition and the signalling capacities of the receptors
and this during the life of an individual or during the course of an
immune response, Example will be given in arthropods, molluscs
and vertebrates. Relatives of the enzymes RAG and AID that control
rearrangement, gene conversion, heavy chain class switch and
somatic hypermutation in gnathostomes exist in some protostomes
(RAG) or agnathans (AID). The questions arise whether all of this
potentially very large and randomly acquired diversity is expressed,
useful and how autoimmunity is avoided. It is a matter of selection,
the evolutionary aspects of which are not well understood.
Sexual chemical cues enhance non-specific immunity in male
mice
Ekaterina Litvinova 1 , Elena Goncharova 2 , Andrew Garms 1 and
Michail Moshkin 1,3
1 Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Division
of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Frunze st., 11,
Russia,
2 Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian
Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
3 Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Division of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Scent of females as signal to reproduction stimulates male mice to
search of a potential breeding partner that is coupled with infection
risk due to: the skin wound as a result of intermale aggressiveness,
sexual contacts with infected partners, or an inspection of their
marks, which are harbored a variety of pathogens. We hypothesized
scent induced immunoredistribution in favour of non-specific immune
defense against infection risks related with breeding behavior.
According to the hypothesis female scent triggers migration of
leucocytes from blood to peripheral areas, in particularly to skin for
resistance to wounding, and to airways for resistance to viral and
bacterial agents. Evidences of this idea we have got in study on
mature male mice that were kept in two different conditions – with or
without female scent. Histological study of lungs showed intervention
of leukocytes to perivenous area that was higher in male mice, which
have got daily new portion of soiled bedding from female cages or
one intranasal application of fresh female’s urine, in comparison with
males, which were kept without female scent. Scent induced
reallocation of leucocytes to upper airways enhanced stress-reaction
to intranasal application of LPS and increased resistance to
respiratory infection. We have found 80% surviving of scent treated
male mice after intranasal infection with murine flu virus (A/WSN/33).
It was significantly higher (א 2 =6.7; P