title: Hemocytes of Ciona intestinalis express multiple genes involved in innate immune host defense.
abstract: Ascidians, which are classified as urochordata, appear to employ a primitive system of host defense that is considered to be a prototype of vertebrate innate immunity. We performed a cDNA/EST study to identify the genes expressed in the hemocytes of Ciona intestinalis. We obtained 3357 one-path reads that were then grouped into 1889 independent clusters. Although two thirds of the clusters could not be assigned to any particular gene, the remaining 530 clusters had significant homology to genes with known function. Of these, 62 clusters appeared to be related to host defense mechanisms. These include transcripts whose products are probably involved in cytotoxicity, detoxification, inflammation, and apoptosis. As expected, elements of acquired immunity were not detected. Thus, Ciona hemocytes appear to express a number of host defense-related genes involved in innate immune mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shida
authors.forename: Daichi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Terajima
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: Shuntaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikawa
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Katsutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Azumi
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Satou
authors.forename: Nori
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Satake
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawazoe
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kasuya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000737:chemistry; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D019696:Peptidylprolyl Isomerase / Q000235:genetics; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D012313:RNA; D019696:Peptidylprolyl Isomerase