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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Published on: May 7, 2016

Alternative adaptive immunity in jawless vertebrates.

Brantley R Herrin¹, Max D Cooper

¹Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. brantley.herrin@emory.edu

Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

|July 28, 2010

Summary

Jawless vertebrates possess unique variable lymphocyte receptors (VLRs) for antigen recognition, distinct from jawed vertebrates

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Area of Science:

Immunology
Evolutionary Biology
Structural Biology

Background:

Jawed vertebrates utilize immunoglobulin (Ig)-based adaptive immune receptors.
Jawless vertebrates evolved a distinct system using variable lymphocyte receptors (VLRs).
VLRs are generated through RAG-independent combinatorial assembly of leucine-rich repeat cassettes.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the structural basis of VLR-antigen recognition.
To compare the jawless vertebrate adaptive immune system with the Ig-based system.
To gain insights into the evolution of adaptive immunity.

Main Methods:

Isolation and characterization of VLR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).
Structural determination of VLR-antigen complexes.
Comparative analysis of lymphocyte development and function.

Main Results:

VLRs encode crescent-shaped proteins utilizing variable beta-strands and a C-terminal loop for antigen binding.
VLR-antigen complexes reveal distinct binding mechanisms compared to Ig-based receptors.
Jawless vertebrate adaptive immunity shows functional parallels to jawed vertebrates, including B-like and T-like lymphocyte lineages.

Conclusions:

The VLR system provides an alternative mechanism for adaptive immunity.
Structural and functional similarities suggest convergent evolution of adaptive immunity.
Understanding VLRs offers novel perspectives on immune system evolution.