Fish is considered to be an important model in comparative immunology studies because it
is a representative population of lower vertebrates serving as an essential link to early …

The complement system plays an essential role in alerting the host of the presence of
potential pathogens, as well as in their clearing. In addition, activation of the complement …

The decline in the fisheries of traditional marine species has been an incentive for the
diversification of today's aquaculture sector into the intensive rearing of many finfish species …

Discrimination between self and non-self by lectins (carbohydrate-binding proteins) is a
strategy of innate immunity that is found in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In vertebrates …

Collectins and ficolins, present in plasma and on mucosal surfaces, are humoral molecules
of the innate immune systems, which recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns …

Innate immunity was formerly thought to be a non‐specific immune response characterized
by phagocytosis. However, innate immunity has considerable specificity and is capable of …

The recent accumulation of genomic information of many representative animals has made it
possible to trace the evolution of the complement system based on the presence or absence …

Studies on the complement system of bony fish are now finishing a stage of homologue-
hunting identification of the components, unveiling existence of almost all the orthologues of …

Mannan‐binding lectin (MBL) is a plasma collectin (C‐type lectin with a collagen‐like
domain) and is considered an important component of innate immunity. Circulating MBL is …

During the past few years, substantial progress has been accomplished in the elucidation of
the structural diversity of the lectin repertoires of invertebrates, protochordates and …