Isolation and characterization of a protochordate histocompatibility locus
Isolation and characterization of a protochordate histocompatibility locus
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DOI：
10.1038/nature04150
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发表时间：
2005-11-24
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Weissman, IL
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
De Tomaso, AW;Nyholm, SV;Weissman, IL
组织相容性--有机体将自己的细胞和组织与其他细胞和组织区分开来的能力--是后生动物中的普遍现象。在脊椎动物中，组织相容性是由高度多态的主要组织相容性复合体(MHC)控制的免疫系统的一种功能，MHC编码的蛋白质针对免疫细胞识别的外来分子。MHC和免疫功能的关联表明后生动物的组织相容性和脊椎动物免疫的起源之间存在进化关系。然而，脊椎动物的MHC是唯一具有功能特征的组织相容性系统；非脊椎动物的这一过程背后的机制尚不清楚。一种原始的脊索动物，海鞘动物Botryllus schlosseri，也经历了由高度多态的基因座控制的组织亲和性反应。在这里，我们描述了一个编码免疫球蛋白超家族成员的候选基因的分离，该基因本身可以预测组织相容反应的结果。这是第一个被描述的非脊椎动物组织相容性基因，可能为脊椎动物适应性免疫的进化提供洞察力。
Histocompatibility - the ability of an organism to distinguish its own cells and tissue from those of another - is a universal phenomenon in the Metazoa. In vertebrates, histocompatibility is a function of the immune system controlled by a highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which encodes proteins that target foreign molecules for immune cell recognition. The association of the MHC and immune function suggests an evolutionary relationship between metazoan histocompatibility and the origins of vertebrate immunity. However, the MHC of vertebrates is the only functionally characterized histocompatibility system; the mechanisms underlying this process in non-vertebrates are unknown. A primitive chordate, the ascidian Botryllus schlosseri, also undergoes a histocompatibility reaction controlled by a highly polymorphic locus. Here we describe the isolation of a candidate gene encoding an immunoglobulin superfamily member that, by itself, predicts the outcome of histocompatibility reactions. This is the first non-vertebrate histocompatibility gene described, and may provide insights into the evolution of vertebrate adaptive immunity.