Teleost IgSF immunoregulatory receptors

Abstract

In all animals innate immunity is the first line of immune defense from invading pathogens. The prototypical innate cellular responses such as phagocytosis, degranulation, and cellular cytotoxicity are elicited by leukocytes in a diverse range of animals including fish, amphibians, birds and mammals reinforcing the importance of such primordial defense mechanisms. In mammals, these responses are intricately controlled and coordinated at the cellular level by distinct subsets of immunoregulatory receptors. Many of these surface proteins belong to the immunoglobulin superfamily and in mammals elaborate immunoregulatory receptor networks play a major role in the control of infectious diseases. Recent examination of teleost immunity has begun to further illustrate the complexities of these receptor networks in lower vertebrates. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control how immunoregulatory receptors influence cellular decision making in ectothermic vertebrates. This review focuses on several families of recently discovered immunoglobulin superfamily members in fish that share structural, phylogenetic and in some cases functional relationships with mammalian immunoregulatory receptors. Further characterization of these teleost innate immune receptor families will provide detailed information regarding the conservation and importance of innate immune defense strategies throughout vertebrate evolution.