title: Mucosal immunity in the gut: the non-vertebrate perspective.
abstract: Much is now known about the vertebrate mechanisms involved in mucosal immunity, and the requirement of commensal microbiota at mucosal surfaces for the proper functioning of the immune system. In comparison, very little is known about the mechanisms of immunity at the barrier epithelia of non-vertebrate organisms. The purpose of this review is to summarize key experimental evidence illustrating how non-vertebrate immune mechanisms at barrier epithelia compare to those of higher vertebrates, using the gut as a model organ. Not only effector mechanisms of gut immunity are similar between vertebrates and non-vertebrates, but it also seems that the proper functioning of non-vertebrate gut defense mechanisms requires the presence of a resident microbiota. As more information becomes available, it will be possible to obtain a more accurate picture of how mucosal immunity has evolved, and how it adapts to the organisms' life styles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain. erick.garcia@um.es
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garcia-Garcia
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galindo-Villegas
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mulero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000502:physiology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000276:immunology; D005658:Fungi / Q000276:immunology; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species