Two forms of adaptive immunity in vertebrates: similarities and differences.

Unlike jawed vertebrates that use T-cell and B-cell receptors for antigen recognition, jawless vertebrates represented by lampreys and hagfish use variable lymphocyte receptors (VLRs) as antigen receptors. VLRs generate diversity comparable to that of gnathostome antigen receptors by assembling variable leucine-rich repeat modules. The discovery of VLR has revolutionized our understanding of how adaptive immunity emerged and highlighted the differences between the adaptive immune systems (AISs) of jawed and jawless vertebrates. However, emerging evidence also indicates that their AISs have much in common. Particularly striking is the conservation of lymphocyte lineages. The basic architecture of the AIS including the dichotomy of lymphocytes appears to have been established in a common ancestor of jawed and jawless vertebrates. We review here the current knowledge on the AIS of jawless vertebrates, emphasizing both the similarities to and differences from the AIS of jawed vertebrates.