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Related Experiment Videos

Complement-like activity in the sea star, Asterias forbesi.

L A Leonard1, J D Strandberg, J A Winkelstein

  • 1Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Developmental and Comparative Immunology
|January 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary

Starfish coelomic fluid exhibits complement-like hemolytic activity against certain erythrocytes. This primitive immune system in Asterias also shows bactericidal properties, suggesting a functional role in innate immunity.

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Area of Science:

  • Marine biology
  • Immunology
  • Invertebrate physiology

Background:

  • The complement system is a crucial part of innate immunity in vertebrates.
  • Investigating complement-like pathways in invertebrates can reveal evolutionary insights into immune system development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and characteristics of complement-like activity in the coelomic fluid of the starfish Asterias forbesi.
  • To determine the functional capabilities, such as hemolytic and bactericidal activity, of this fluid.

Main Methods:

  • Assaying hemolytic activity against various erythrocytes under different conditions (temperature, cation dependence).
  • Testing for heat sensitivity, dose-response curves, and the effect of combining lytic and nonlytic fluids.
  • Evaluating the consumption of activity by zymosan, proteases, and PMSF, and the effect of erythrocyte desialidation.

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  • Assessing bactericidal activity against Vibrio tubiashii.

    • Main Results:

    • Cell-free coelomic fluid showed hemolytic activity against unsensitized rabbit erythrocytes, but not sheep erythrocytes.
    • The activity was heat-sensitive, divalent cation-dependent (but not Ca++ or Mg++), and optimally assayed at 25°C.
    • Activity was consumed by zymosan, pronase, and trypsin, and enzymatic desialidation of erythrocytes enhanced activation.
    • Coelomic fluid demonstrated bactericidal activity against Vibrio tubiashii.

    Conclusions:

    • Asterias forbesi coelomic fluid possesses a primitive complement-like system with hemolytic and bactericidal functions.
    • This system shares functional similarities with the vertebrate complement system, indicating an ancient evolutionary origin.