12. IMMUNOLOGY OF FISH
475
brates” (Bang, 1967). It must be emphasized that research is already
modifying some of the concepts and observations cited (see, for example,
Section VI). One major concept that emerges from these studies is that
vertebrates generally have a basic capacity for Ig synthesis and its
associated phenomena [the total complex of these reactions have been
defined by Good and Papermaster (1964) as adaptive immunity]. This
capacity has yet to be demonstrated in any invertebrates, and it is probable that “plants and microorganisms” do not make Ig (although some
proteins with hemaglutinating properties are found in these groups).
This puts fish as a class in a very interesting position, for they include
a diversity of forms that can provide information on the details of the
evolutionary progress of the complication of the Ig mechanism,
The best introduction to the early literature of the immunological
response in teleosts is that of Ridgway et al. (1966) and the following
statements are based on this paper, supplemented by notes from the
review of Sindermann (1966). The capacity of teleosts to respond to
antigenic stimulation was demonstrated early in the “s,
so that
by 1950 it was known that teleosts could produce specific bacterial
agglutinins and develop protective immunity to a variety of antigens.
These responses were found to be depressed or suppressed at lower
temperatures, as might be expected in cold-blooded animals (see, for
example, Ridgway’s discussion of sablefish that normally live below
Early investigations of the plasma proteins of fish extend back at
least as far as 1929. Electrophoretic techniques were introduced in 1945
using human plasma as a standard against which to demonstrate general
similarities in numbers of lower vertebrates including species of fish
(cf. Cushing and Campbell, 1957, for references). These electrophoretic
studies were further extended by Engle and Woods (cf. Good and
Papermaster, 1964) to include the demonstration that while some teleosts apparently lacked Ig, several species of elasmobranchs all had
bands that behaved like those of human immunoglobulins. Evans and
his associates (cf. Evans, 1963) and Elek et al. (1962) demonstrated
immunoglobulins in amphibians and reptiles, and Baril et al. (1961)
showed similar proteins in the alligator. The stage was thus set by the
early 1960s for a more sophisticated look at the phylogeny of antibody
synthesis. Research moved rapidly in the hands of several groups so that
by 1964 it was possible for Good and Papermaster to state on review
that a comparison of a diverse sample of species of fish produced antibodies like ,M in general aspects and to suggest that the ontogenetic
and immunological shift from the production of 19 S-like antibodies to
that of 7 S-like antibodies observed in higher vertebrates was in the
l0OC).
475
brates” (Bang, 1967). It must be emphasized that research is already
modifying some of the concepts and observations cited (see, for example,
Section VI). One major concept that emerges from these studies is that
vertebrates generally have a basic capacity for Ig synthesis and its
associated phenomena [the total complex of these reactions have been
defined by Good and Papermaster (1964) as adaptive immunity]. This
capacity has yet to be demonstrated in any invertebrates, and it is probable that “plants and microorganisms” do not make Ig (although some
proteins with hemaglutinating properties are found in these groups).
This puts fish as a class in a very interesting position, for they include
a diversity of forms that can provide information on the details of the
evolutionary progress of the complication of the Ig mechanism,
The best introduction to the early literature of the immunological
response in teleosts is that of Ridgway et al. (1966) and the following
statements are based on this paper, supplemented by notes from the
review of Sindermann (1966). The capacity of teleosts to respond to
antigenic stimulation was demonstrated early in the “s,
so that
by 1950 it was known that teleosts could produce specific bacterial
agglutinins and develop protective immunity to a variety of antigens.
These responses were found to be depressed or suppressed at lower
temperatures, as might be expected in cold-blooded animals (see, for
example, Ridgway’s discussion of sablefish that normally live below
Early investigations of the plasma proteins of fish extend back at
least as far as 1929. Electrophoretic techniques were introduced in 1945
using human plasma as a standard against which to demonstrate general
similarities in numbers of lower vertebrates including species of fish
(cf. Cushing and Campbell, 1957, for references). These electrophoretic
studies were further extended by Engle and Woods (cf. Good and
Papermaster, 1964) to include the demonstration that while some teleosts apparently lacked Ig, several species of elasmobranchs all had
bands that behaved like those of human immunoglobulins. Evans and
his associates (cf. Evans, 1963) and Elek et al. (1962) demonstrated
immunoglobulins in amphibians and reptiles, and Baril et al. (1961)
showed similar proteins in the alligator. The stage was thus set by the
early 1960s for a more sophisticated look at the phylogeny of antibody
synthesis. Research moved rapidly in the hands of several groups so that
by 1964 it was possible for Good and Papermaster to state on review
that a comparison of a diverse sample of species of fish produced antibodies like ,M in general aspects and to suggest that the ontogenetic
and immunological shift from the production of 19 S-like antibodies to
that of 7 S-like antibodies observed in higher vertebrates was in the
l0OC).