Skip to main content
Vai all'homepage della Commissione europea (si apre in una nuova finestra)
italiano it
CORDIS - Risultati della ricerca dell’UE
CORDIS

Evolutionary plasticity of vertebrate immune systems

Obiettivo

"In vertebrates, innate and adaptive immunity together protect against infections and ensure tissue homeostasis. However, the impact of the astounding phenotypic diversity of the about 60,000 known vertebrate species on immune system function is largely unknown. To explore the evolutionary plasticity of vertebrate immune systems, we propose to study the unique immune systems of deep-sea anglerfishes (Ceratioidei). They exhibit distinctive reproductive habits, which involve either temporary or permanent physical pair formation that, in some species, results in the connection of the male and female circulatory systems, a form of naturally occurring anatomical joining (parabiosis), which otherwise is known only from rare instances of genetically identical conjoined twins. It is associated with drastic immunogenetic changes, culminating in the pseudogenization of recombination activating genes in some species, providing a unique opportunity to reconstruct the conversion of a canonical vertebrate immune system to a ""post-adaptive"" state lacking somatic diversification of antigen receptor genes. Comparative genomic, transcriptomic, histological, and mechanistic studies will illuminate the features of unusual vertebrate immune systems that enable tissue fusion between genetically distinct individuals without eliciting a destructive immune response, and that at the same time provide durable and efficient immune defence. We envision that our studies will contribute to the understanding of vertebrate immune plasticity, the balance between adaptive and innate functions, and the immunological adaptations associated with other forms tissue chimaerism, i. e., the maternal and foetal tissue apposition in pregnancy. Moreover, we expect to provide an evolutionarily informed context to interpret the acute changes associated with inborn and acquired immunodeficiency, and those caused by therapeutic immune interventions aimed at the modulation of mal-adapted immune responses."

Campo scientifico (EuroSciVoc)

Parole chiave

Programma(i)

Argomento(i)

Meccanismo di finanziamento

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

Vedi tutti i progetti finanziati nell’ambito di questo schema di finanziamento

Invito a presentare proposte

(si apre in una nuova finestra) ERC-2025-ADG

Vedi tutti i progetti finanziati nell’ambito del bando

Istituzione ospitante

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Contributo netto dell'UE
€ 2 492 118,00
Costo totale
Nessun dato

Beneficiari (1)