Evolutionary immunology. A boost to immunity from nurse sharks.
A study of the nurse shark has revealed a type of rearranging gene that has yet to be seen in mammals; it encodes a secreted 'new antigen receptor' which, unlike shark immunoglobulin, revels in somatic hypermutation.
Parham
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Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305, USA.
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D007109:Immunity; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011946:Receptors, Antigen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012754:Sharks / Q000276:immunology
D011946:Receptors, Antigen