Clatworthy A L
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston 77225, USA.
Comp Biochem Physiol A Physiol. 1996 Sep;115(1):1-10. doi: 10.1016/0300-9629(95)02130-2.
The marine mollusc Aplysia californica is emerging as a useful model system to study neuralimmune communication at the mechanistic level because it has a well characterized nervous system that is easily accessible and it shares with mammals similar basic cellular defensive responses to wounded or non-self, i.e. the accumulation of defense cells (haemocytes) at the target site. Loose ligation of peripheral nerves in Aplysia induces a cellular defense response as evidenced by the accumulation of numerous haemocytes around the ligature. The excitability of nociceptive sensory neurons having axons close to the responding haemocytes is significantly increased. Haemocytes also accumulate at regions of axonal injury. The finding that human recombinant IL-1 beta can enhance the expression of injury-induced sensory hyperexcitability coupled with the detection of (ir)IL-1 in Aplysia haemolymph raises the interesting possibility that cytokines released from activated haemocytes attracted to an injured nerve or to a foreign body close to peripheral nerves may modulate nociceptive sensory function. The feasibility of using results from simple system such as Aplysia to formulate testable hypotheses in more complex systems is also discussed.
海兔（Aplysia californica）正逐渐成为一个有用的模型系统，用于在机制层面研究神经免疫通讯，因为它具有特征明确且易于研究的神经系统，并且与哺乳动物一样，对受伤或异己物质具有相似的基本细胞防御反应，即在靶位点积累防御细胞（血细胞）。对海兔的外周神经进行松散结扎会引发细胞防御反应，结扎部位周围大量血细胞的积累就证明了这一点。轴突靠近反应性血细胞的伤害性感觉神经元的兴奋性显著增加。血细胞也会在轴突损伤区域积累。人类重组白细胞介素-1β能够增强损伤诱导的感觉超兴奋性的表达，同时在海兔血淋巴中检测到（免疫反应性）白细胞介素-1，这一发现引发了一个有趣的可能性，即被吸引到受伤神经或外周神经附近异物处的活化血细胞释放的细胞因子可能会调节伤害性感觉功能。本文还讨论了利用海兔等简单系统的研究结果在更复杂系统中形成可测试假设的可行性。
