Immunobiology of the Shark

Sylvia L. Smith, PhD, SM (ASCP, AAM), professor emeritus, Florida International University, Miami, USARobert B. Sim, DPhil, senior research fellow, University of Oxford, and honorary professor, University of Leicester, UKMartin F. Flajnik, PhD, professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA

"Immunobiology of the Shark is a comprehensive resource for immunologists, evolutionary biologists and other scientists interested in understanding how the integration of cellular and humoral processes has created a highly effective survival mechanism. This volume incorporates a rich, diverse literature into a well-reasoned, comprehensive package that will permit the reader to understand topics as diverse as the placement of the shark in phylogeny, the uniqueness of its physiology and the mechanisms regulating how the rearranging immune genes make the somatic immune cell a selectable unit. An exceptional number of findings are described that are of immediate relevance to understanding immune regulation in the far more widely studied immune systems of man and mouse." -Gary W. Litman, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA "If one message rings true, it is that alternative animal model systems, such as sharks and their relatives are critical to our understanding of the scope of evolutionary change and the mechanisms underlying variation. Immunobiology of the Shark will prove to be an invaluable resource as well as guide for future investigations of how the systematic integration of pathways and processes give rise to successful biological adaptations." -Gary W. Litman, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA

• The Diversity and Natural History of Chondrichthyan Fishes. Athena and the Evolution of Adaptive Immunity. Shark Reproduction, Immune System Development and Maturation. Sites of Immune Cell Production in Elasmobranch Fishes: Lymphomyeloid Tissues and Organs. Elasmobranch Blood Cells. Leukocyte Function in Elasmobranch Species: Phagocytosis, Chemotaxis, and Cytotoxicity. Cytokines of Cartilaginous Fish. Shark Complement: Genes, Proteins and Function. MHC Molecules of Cartilaginous Fishes. Considering V(D)J Recombination in the Shark. Shark Immunoglobulin Light Chains.Shark T-Cell Receptors. The Shark-Family (Cartilaginous Fish) Immunogenome. In Vitro Culture of Elasmobranch Cells. Antimicrobial Molecules of Sharks and Other Elasmobranchs: A Review. Shark-Derived Immunomodulators.