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The mannose-binding lectin: a prototypic pattern recognition molecule.

Kazue Takahashi1, Wk Eddie Ip, Ian C Michelow

  • 1Laboratory of Developmental Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Department of Pediatrics, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.

Current Opinion in Immunology
|December 22, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a key innate immune protein that recognizes pathogens and activates complement. It acts as an early defense, functioning like an antibody before adaptive immunity develops.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • The innate immune system provides rapid host defense against pathogens.
  • Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a crucial recognition molecule in innate immunity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the role of MBL in host defense and inflammation.
  • To explore MBL's function as an 'ante-antibody' and its evolutionary significance.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of MBL's recognition mechanisms.
  • Investigation of MBL's role in complement activation.
  • Comparative studies of MBL-like molecules in different species.

Main Results:

  • MBL binds to a wide range of infectious agents, initiating complement activation via the MBL pathway.

Related Experiment Videos

  • MBL functions during the lag phase of adaptive immunity, analogous to antibodies.
  • MBL-like molecules in primitive immune systems serve antibody-like functions.
  • MBL also recognizes altered self-antigens, modulating inflammatory responses.

    • Conclusions:

    • MBL is a vital component of the early innate immune response, bridging innate and adaptive immunity.
    • MBL's role extends beyond pathogen recognition to include the modulation of inflammation.
    • MBL represents an evolutionarily conserved defense mechanism with functional antecedents in primitive organisms.