Immune characteristics of graft rejection in nemerteans of the genus Lineus.

The rejection of xenogeneic grafts in marine worms of the genus Lineus (Nemertea) gives evidence for the occurrence of immune mechanisms in these invertebrates. First, second-set response is anamnestic with a three-month memory component. Second, the accelerated rejection of second-set grafts occurs anywhere in the body of the recipient, that is to say it is systemic. Third, the anamnestic response is species-specific since it takes place only when second grafts are from donors of the same species as that of the first set. It is therefore plausible that the reaction to xenogeneic grafts is a cell-mediated immune mechanism and that the self-nonself discrimination may be a function of nemertean cells specialized for recognition at the species level and for memory.