Correction to: Echinodermata: The Complex Immune System in Echinoderms

Echinodermata: The complex immune system in echinoderms

View references (418) The Echinodermata are an ancient phylum of benthic marine invertebrates with a dispersal-stage planktonic larva. These animals have innate immune systems characterized initially by clearance of foreign particles, including microbes, from the body cavity of both larvae and adults, and allograft tissue rejection in adults. Immune responsiveness is mediated by a variety of adult coelomocytes and larval mesenchyme cells. Echinoderm diseases from a range of pathogens can lead to mass die-offs and impact aquaculture, but some individuals can recover. Genome sequences of several echinoderms have identified genes with immune function, including expanded families of Toll-like r…

Elie Metchnikoff and the multidisciplinary link novelty among Zoology, Embryology and Innate Immunity

Elie Metchnikoff was a Russian scientist known as the pioneer of innate immunity. In particular, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the process of phagocytosis and its significance in the development and disease. Here, we endeavor to demonstrate the enduring fascination of his scientific research, in particular the experiment involving the first observation of a macrophage reaction in the sea star. This applies to both adult and larvae immunity studies. Recent work on sea star larval cellular immunity and adult immune systems using modern expansions of molecular and cellular techniques shows that it is a continually exciting research field that cannot just be consigned to histor…