A team of scientists has identified specialized immune cells in a coral of the species Pocillopora damicornis and in the anemone Nematostella vectensis . These results help to understand the defenses of corals and other reef animals against pathogens such as viruses and bacteria.
The results, which are published in the journal Frontiers of Immunology , reveal that these immune cells represent about 3% of the total cell population and that they contain at least two types of populations that perform digestion functions. “These findings are important because they show that corals have the cellular ability to fight infections and very specific cells previously unknown,” explains Nikki Traylor-Knowles, assistant professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami and co-author of the work.
The researchers exposed the aforementioned species of corals and anemones to various foreign particles such as bacteria and fungal antigens. Then, using the fluorescence-activated cell sorting technique, they were able to isolate different populations of cells. In this way they were able to discover a type of specialized cells, phagocytic cells, that engulf foreign particles, through which others called phagosomes worked to destroy invaders and their own damaged cells.
Defense against multiple threats
The immune systems of animals provide an important protective defense response to recognize and destroy foreign substances in their tissues.
“We need to have a better understanding of how coral cells perform specialized functions, such as fighting infections, as the climate change crisis dramatically reduces the biomass and diversity of coral reefs around the world,” Traylor-Knowles said. “Our findings may aid in the development of diagnostic tools to assess coral health.”
Citation: Snyder GA, Eliachar S, Connelly MT, Talice S, Hadad U, Gershoni-Yahalom O, Browne WE, Palmer CV, Rosental B and Traylor-Knowles N (2021) Functional Characterization of Hexacorallia Phagocytic Cells. Front. Immunol. 12: 662803. doi: 10.3389 / fimmu.2021.662803
