Espejo Camila, Ezenwa Vanessa O
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Discov Immunol. 2024 Jun 24;3(1):kyae011. doi: 10.1093/discim/kyae011. eCollection 2024.
The immune system is crucial for defending organisms against pathogens and maintaining health. Traditionally, research in immunology has relied on laboratory animals to understand how the immune system works. However, there is increasing recognition that wild animals, due to their greater genetic diversity, lifespan, and environmental exposures, have much to contribute to basic and translational immunology. Unfortunately, logistical challenges associated with collecting and storing samples from wildlife, and the lack of commercially available species-specific reagents have hindered the advancement of immunological research on wild species. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived nanoparticles present in all body fluids and tissues of organisms spanning from bacteria to mammals. Human and lab animal studies indicate that EVs are involved in a range of immunological processes, and recent work shows that EVs may play similar roles in diverse wildlife species. Thus, EVs can expand the toolbox available for wild immunology research, helping to overcome some of the challenges associated with this work. In this paper, we explore the potential application of EVs to wild immunology. First, we review current understanding of EV biology across diverse organisms. Next, we discuss key insights into the immune system gained from research on EVs in human and laboratory animal models and highlight emerging evidence from wild species. Finally, we identify research themes in wild immunology that can immediately benefit from the study of EVs and describe practical considerations for using EVs in wildlife research.
免疫系统对于保护生物体抵御病原体和维持健康至关重要。传统上，免疫学研究依赖实验动物来了解免疫系统的工作方式。然而，人们越来越认识到，野生动物由于其更大的遗传多样性、寿命和环境暴露，对基础和转化免疫学有很大贡献。不幸的是，与从野生动物收集和储存样本相关的后勤挑战，以及缺乏市售的物种特异性试剂，阻碍了对野生物种免疫学研究的进展。细胞外囊泡（EVs）是存在于从细菌到哺乳动物等生物体所有体液和组织中的细胞衍生纳米颗粒。人类和实验动物研究表明，EVs参与一系列免疫过程，最近的研究表明，EVs可能在不同的野生动物物种中发挥类似作用。因此，EVs可以扩展可用于野生免疫学研究的工具库，有助于克服与此项工作相关的一些挑战。在本文中，我们探讨了EVs在野生免疫学中的潜在应用。首先，我们回顾了目前对不同生物体中EV生物学的理解。接下来，我们讨论了从人类和实验动物模型中EVs研究获得的对免疫系统的关键见解，并强调了来自野生物种的新证据。最后，我们确定了野生免疫学中可以立即从EVs研究中受益的研究主题，并描述了在野生动物研究中使用EVs的实际考虑因素。
