Takahashi Kazue, Ezekowitz R Alan B
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Clin Infect Dis. 2005 Nov 15;41 Suppl 7:S440-4. doi: 10.1086/431987.
The innate immune system, which includes mannose-binding lectin (MBL), recognizes a broad range of molecular patterns on a broad range of infectious agents and is able to distinguish them from self. MBL is a liver-derived serum protein and is secreted into the serum, where it can activate an immune response before the induction of antigen-specific immunity. Circumstantial evidence in human populations suggests that low serum levels of MBL predispose to infection. To analyze the role of MBL in vivo, we created MBL-null mice and challenged these mice with infection under various conditions. Our results suggest that MBL plays an important role as a first-line host defense against certain infectious agents. In addition, it is likely that MBL is a key regulator of inflammation beyond expected roles in the infection.
先天免疫系统包括甘露糖结合凝集素（MBL），它能识别多种感染因子上的广泛分子模式，并能够将它们与自身区分开来。MBL是一种源自肝脏的血清蛋白，分泌到血清中，在抗原特异性免疫诱导之前就能激活免疫反应。人群中的间接证据表明，血清MBL水平低易导致感染。为了分析MBL在体内的作用，我们培育出了MBL基因敲除小鼠，并在各种条件下用感染因子攻击这些小鼠。我们的结果表明，MBL作为针对某些感染因子的一线宿主防御发挥着重要作用。此外，MBL很可能是炎症的关键调节因子，其作用超出了在感染中的预期作用。
