Prepare for battle. On one side: diseases and parasites. On the other side: the beleaguered immune system. It's an arms race stretching back for billions of years. Considering all the different threats we face, it's not surprising that humans and other vertebrates have a complex immune system. But the creepy crawly invertebrates have just as complex an immune system.
This was the news delivered by scientists at a recent European Science Foundation (ESF) conference. They demonstrated a range of techniques invertebrates use to fight off diseases.
For example, a molecule found in fruit flies is capable of folding
18,000 different ways. A computer simulation showed that the molecule can be folded into whatever shape is needed to bind to structures on a pathogen's surface. Until now, scientists thought that only vertebrates could perform this trick.
In another example, insect immune systems demonstrated an extremely rapid response to chemicals found in the cell walls of bacteria. The instant the chemicals are detected, the insect's immune system kills and digests the bacteria, and then dampens down again.
Female bedbugs will boost their immune system prior to mating, since they're often wounded during the process. Bumblebees can raise and lower their immune system after a pathogen attack.
The list goes on and on.
Before this starts sounding like an invertebrate love-in, there's a practical side that all humans can appreciate. The folding molecules can help scientists design new drugs. Learning to dampen down the immune system will help physicians manage conditions caused by a malfunctioning immune response. Each discovery helps us learn more about managing our own immune systems.
