About the Author \nForeword \nPreface \n1 Amphioxus is a model for understanding the evolution of vertebrate \n1.1 Brief introduction of amphioxus \n1.2 Biology of amphioxus \n1.2.1 Reproduction and embryogenesis of amphioxus \n1.2.2 Anatomy of amphioxus \n1.3 The Story of amphioxus and its early researches in China \nReferences \n2 Basic knowledge of immunology \n2.1 Immune organs \n2.1.1 Primary lymphoid organs \n2.1.2 Secondary lymphoid organs \n2.2 Immune cells \n2.2.1 Lymphoid cells \n2.2.2 Innate immunity associated cells \n2.3 Innate immunity \n2.3.1 Toll-like receptors involved signaling pathway \n2.3.2 Nod-like receptors and their functions \n2.3.3 RIG-like receptors \n2.3.4 C-type lectins \n2.3.5 The scavenger receptors \n2.3.6 Inflammation \n2.4 Adaptive immunity \n2.4.1 Specificity \n2.4.2 Diversity \n2.4.3 Immunological memory \n2.4.4 Self-nonself recognition \n2.5 Complement system \n2.5.1 Complement pathways \n2.5.2 Complement in host defense \nReferences \n3 Immune organs and cells of amphioxus \n3.1 Introduction \n3.2 Organs of the amphioxus immune system \n3.2.1 Amphioxus gill slits:the first immune defense line \n3.2.2 Amphioxus intestine:not just a digestive organ but also an immune organ \n3.3 Cells of the amphioxus immune system \n3.3.1 Phagocytes \n3.3.2 Lymphocyte-like cells \nReferences \n4 Genomic and transcriptomic view of the amphioxus immunity \n4.1 Introduction \n4.2 Trace evidence of adaptive immunity \n4.2.1 TCRs, Igs and VLRs \n4.2.2 MHC and genes involved in antigen presentation \n4.3 Extraordinary gene expansion in the amphioxus innate immunity \n4.3.1 The TLR system \n4.3.2 The NLR system \n4.3.3 LRRIG proteins \n4.3.4 Other LRR-containing genes \n4.3.5 C-type lectins \n4.3.6 Scavenger receptors \n4.3.7 RIG-I-like helicases \n4.3.8 Complement-related receptors \n4.3.9 The TNF system \n4.3.10 Expansion and reshuffling of the death-fold domains \n4.3.11 Expansion of TIR adaptors, TRAFs and initiator caspases \n4.3.12 Cytokines, kinases and transcription factors \n4.4 Regulation of the amphioxus immune system \n4.4.1 Differential regulatory patterns between expanded gene families \n4.4.2 The regulation during bacterial infection \n4.4.3 The regulation of the terminal signaling network \n4.4.4 Differential expression patterns observed within TNF and IL-1R systems \n4.4.5 Major pathways in a complex signaling network \n4.4.6 A functional prototypic complement system \n4.4.7 The prototype of oxidative burst-like system \n4.4.8 Amphioxus PGRPs and GNBPs are important effectors in the gut \n4.4.9 Chitin-binding proteins \n4.4.10 Other effector genes \n4.5 Discussion \nReferences \n5 Pattern recognition system in amphioxus \n5.1 TLR signaling pathway in amphioxus \n5.1.1 The overview \n5.1.2 TLR family in amphioxus \n5.1.3 The TIR containing adaptors in amphioxus \n5.1.4 The putative bypass pathway mediated by novel TIR adaptors \n5.1.5 The transduction and regulation of amphioxus TLR signaling \n5.1.6 Summary \n5.2 Innate antiviral immunity in Amphioxus \n5.2.1 RLR signaling pathway \n5.2.2 Innate antiviral defense in drosophila \n5.2.3 Immune-related genes for antiviral response in amphioxus \n5.3 NLR signaling pathway \n5.3.1 NLR in amphioxus \n5.3.2 The NLR diversity in amphioxus \n5.3.3 The NLR signaling in amphioxus \nReferences \n6 Transcription factors in amphioxus \n6.1 NF-κB family members in amphioxus \n6.2 The interferon regulatory factor family in amphioxus \n6.3 The STATs in amphioxus \n6.3.1 The JAK-STAT pathway \n6.3.2 The JAK-STAT pathway in invertebrate \n6.3.3 The STAT family of mammals \n6.3.4 The structure and function of STATs in amphioxus \n6.3.5 Evolution \nReferences \n7 The complement system of amphioxus \n7.1 Introduction \n7.2 Tracing evolutionary origin of complement system \n7.3 The complement system of amphioxus \n7.3.1 The lectin pathway \n7.3.2 The alternative pathway \n7.3.3 The terminal pathway \nReferences \n8 The oxidative burst system in amphioxus \n8.1 Introduction \n8.2 NADPH Oxidases 2 and the other NOX families \n8.2.1 NOX2 \n8.2.2 NOX4 \n8.2.3 NOX5 \n8.2.4 DUOX1 and DUOX2 \n8.3 NOX Subunits and Regulatory Proteins \n8.3.1 P22phox \n8.3.2 Organizer subunit:p47phox \n8.3.3 Activator subunit:p67phox \n8.3.4 P40phox \n8.4 Functions of ROS generated by NADPH oxidases \nReferences \n9 Immune effectors in amphioxus \n9.1 Galectin \n9.2 C-type lectin \n9.3 Peptidoglycan recognition protein \n9.4 Gram-negative bacteria-binding protein \n9.5 Chitin-binding protein \n9.6 Apextrin \n9.7 Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein \n9.8 Other effector genes \nReferences \n10 Lipid signaling of immune response in amphioxus \n10.1 Introduction \n10.2 The classification, structure and function of lipids \n10.2.1 Membrane and energy storage \n10.2.2 Lipid signaling \n10.3 Origin of the vertebrate lipid signaling \n10.3.1 The origin of vertebrate eicosanoid signaling in amphioxus \n10.3.2 Conserved phospholipid signaling pathway \n10.3.3 Typical cholesterol accumulation of inflammation in amphioxus \n10.3.4 Downstream signaling and nuclear receptors \n10.4 Future directions \n10.5 Summary \nReferences \n11 Apoptosis in amphioxus \n11.1 General knowledge of apoptosis \n11.2 Apoptosis related gene families in amphioxus \n11.2.1 The Apaf-1 and Bcl2 homologues in amphioxus \n11.2.2 The caspase family in amphioxus \n11.2.3 The TRAIL-DR apoptosis system \n11.2.4 Perspectives:The death domain superfamily:a tale of two interfaces \nReferences \n12 Primitive adaptive immune system of amphioxus \n12.1 Evidence of the emergence of adaptive immunity in amphioxus \n12.1.1 Lymphocyte-like cells and related genes in amphioxus \n12.2 The primary building blocks for MHC and Rag protein \n12.2.1 An antecedent MHC-linked genomic region \n12.2.2 The common ancestor of RAG 1-and RAG 2-like genes \n12.3 The alternative forms of variable immune receptors \n12.3.1 Amphioxus candidates for adaptive immune receptors \n12.3.2 Other variable receptors in invertebrates \nReferences \n13 Future research directions \n13.1 Ubiquitination of immune signaling in amphioxus \n13.1.1 Posttranslational modification of immune response in mammals \n13.1.2 Ubiquitination of immune regulation in drosophila \n13.1.3 Ubiquitination of immune regulation in amphioxus \n13.2 The microRNAs in amphioxus \n13.3 Alternative 3怳TRs in amphioxus immune response \nReferences \nAbbreviation Index \nKey Words Index