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Integrated Immune and Cardiovascular Function in Pancrustacea: Lessons from the Insects.
1Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA julian.hillyer@vanderbilt.edu.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
|April 23, 2015
Summary
Insects
Area of Science:
- Insect immunology
- Invertebrate physiology
- Comparative immunology
Background:
- Insects possess complex immune systems involving hemocytes, fat body, and various tissues.
- Circulatory system, driven by the dorsal vessel, transports hemolymph and pathogens throughout the body.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the co-adaptation of insect immune and circulatory systems against pathogens.
- To compare insect and crustacean immune and circulatory interactions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of insect and crustacean immune and circulatory systems.
- Analysis of hemocyte behavior and interactions within the circulatory system, particularly near the heart.
Main Results:
- Periostial hemocytes aggregate near heart ostia, phagocytosing pathogens in high-flow hemolymph.
- Immune and circulatory systems are dynamically integrated to combat infections in insects.
Conclusions:
- Insect immune and circulatory systems exhibit co-adaptation for effective pathogen clearance.
- Similar dynamic interactions between immune and circulatory systems are observed in crustaceans, particularly concerning hemocyte attachment to cardiac tissues.
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