Description
The mucosal immune system (a branch of the adaptive immune system) mediates infections in the body?s mucosal surfaces, where the organism's internal structures come into contact with the external environment (i.e. the gastrointestinal tract). Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) is essential for the proper functioning of the mucosal immune system. pIgR transports secretory immunoglobulins across intestinal epithelial cells into the lumen, the site of the pathogens. Along with this function, certain aspects of pIgR's sequence and structure have been evolutionarily conserved in many classes of vertebrates. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) often serve as key model organisms in studies of vertebrates, as they are small, easy to raise, and virtually translucent as embryos/larvae. It is known that the zebrafish adaptive immune system does not become fully functional until approximately four weeks post-fertilization. However, indicators of adaptive immune system activation (including the expression of the recombination activating genes) demonstrate that the adaptive immune system may begin to function as early as four days post-fertilization. The spatial and temporal expression pattern of pIgR in zebrafish larvae is not yet known. It is expected that pIgR will begin to be expressed at approximately four days post-fertilization in areas surrounding the mucosal surfaces. Protocols, including in-situ hybridizations and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), will be utilized in order to assess the expression pattern of pIgR in zebrafish larvae. Characterizing this expression pattern will provide profound implications for the evolution of the adaptive immune system as well as of pIgR in particular.
The Spatial and Temporal Expression of Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor (pIgR) in Zebrafish Larvae
The mucosal immune system (a branch of the adaptive immune system) mediates infections in the body?s mucosal surfaces, where the organism's internal structures come into contact with the external environment (i.e. the gastrointestinal tract). Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) is essential for the proper functioning of the mucosal immune system. pIgR transports secretory immunoglobulins across intestinal epithelial cells into the lumen, the site of the pathogens. Along with this function, certain aspects of pIgR's sequence and structure have been evolutionarily conserved in many classes of vertebrates. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) often serve as key model organisms in studies of vertebrates, as they are small, easy to raise, and virtually translucent as embryos/larvae. It is known that the zebrafish adaptive immune system does not become fully functional until approximately four weeks post-fertilization. However, indicators of adaptive immune system activation (including the expression of the recombination activating genes) demonstrate that the adaptive immune system may begin to function as early as four days post-fertilization. The spatial and temporal expression pattern of pIgR in zebrafish larvae is not yet known. It is expected that pIgR will begin to be expressed at approximately four days post-fertilization in areas surrounding the mucosal surfaces. Protocols, including in-situ hybridizations and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), will be utilized in order to assess the expression pattern of pIgR in zebrafish larvae. Characterizing this expression pattern will provide profound implications for the evolution of the adaptive immune system as well as of pIgR in particular.