Antimikrobialni obranne mechanismy u krouzkovcu.

Most of our knowledge of defence mechanisms is mainly based on data obtained in vertebrates, particularly mice and men, while about 95% of all animal species belong to invertebrate phyla. Moreover, invertebrates have evolded for hundreds of millions of years often surviving in hostile environments. Their survival strategies involve short life span combined with numerous offspring. Despite the absence of an adaptive immune system, invertebrates have evolved a variety of active innate defence mechanisms based on pattern recognition receptors that in most cases do not discriminate between individual pathogens. These invertebrate non-adaptive defence mechanisms include both unique pathways unknown in vertebrates and more universal mechanisms present throughout the whole animal kingdom. In this respect, knowledge of the less complex invertebrate defence strategies may contribute to understanding the sophisticated vertebrate immune system, as well as lead to the identification of new factors with possible therapeutic use. Such insights may also contribute to understanding the evolution of immunity. Earthworm belonging to oligochaete annelids became a model for comparative immunologists in the early sixties. These results proved the existence of self/non-self recognition in earthworms, paving the way for more extensive studies on the earthworm immune mechanisms that evolved to prevent the invasion of pathogens. Within the last 35 years numerous papers on proteolytic, hemolytic, antibacterial and cytolytic properties of earthworm coelomic fluid have been published.Text also in English.Available from STL Prague, CZ / NTK - National Technical LibrarySIGLECZCzech Republi