Research report 2014 - Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics

Evolution of vertebrate immune systems

Authors
Swann, Jeremy; Boehm, Thomas
Departments
Entwicklung des Immunsystems
Summary
All living beings possess immune systems to defend themselves against parasites and pathogens, which requires their ability to distinguish self from nonself. Scientists examine the evolution and function of vertebrate immune systems in order to determine design principles and any species-specific peculiarities. Furthermore, the scientists aim at reconstructing the immune functions of extinct species. With this knowledge, attempts are being made to generate artificial immune facilities for therapeutic purposes.

For the full text, see the German version.

Go to Editor View