教學大綱
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概述：
從演化早期開始，生物便需防禦病原體的侵襲，分辨自身與異己的機制應運而生，也開啟宿主與病原體間漫長的共同演化。免疫防禦機制演化出許多不同策略，原核生物運用核酸的限制內切脢、抗微生物胜肽及干擾RNA作為自我防衛。在多細胞生物中，則演化出具有專一性的免疫細胞，能行吞噬作用吞食外來細胞，及那些因感染或惡性腫瘤而病變的自身細胞。遺傳而來的受體所建立的防禦機制為先天性免疫系統。在有顎脊椎動物中，牠們還有第二套系統輔助，即一般所稱之適應性免疫，其包含免疫細胞與器官形成的特殊防禦網路。與先天性免疫不同的是，適應性免疫的產生源於多元的免疫受體及個體本身的免疫記憶。在本課程中，我們將剖析先天性免疫與適應性免疫發育的演化途徑，追蹤從細菌到高等脊椎動物探索共同保有與特定之免疫反應，以及驗證其他因子，如病原體因適應所產生的改變已經影響免疫系統的演化等。
目標：
本課程將會以每週一次專題討論的方式進行，內容為免疫學的重要文獻。你會學習到關於免疫防禦機制的演化。此外，你也會學到如何以批判的態度閱讀與討論科學文獻和評估數據與研究方法。
課程要求
你必須參與全部十三堂課。若因急事而缺席者，請和我們連絡，我們會安排一個指定作業來彌補（譬如：為該堂課討論的兩篇論文撰寫摘要）。
在大部分的課堂上，兩篇指定論文均會做討論。因此，在上課前看完論文是非常重要的！準備討論時，你必需根據每篇文章的主題，寫一個供討論的問題。我們希望你能積極參與課堂上的討論。在每堂課結束時，我們會講解有關下次上課所用之論文的相關背景知識。
這門課將會有兩份指定作業，ㄧ份為書面，另ㄧ份則有書面及口頭報告兩部份（如下所述）。
指定作業：
作業一
你會拿到一份沒有標題與摘要的科學論文，你必須寫出不超過兩百五十字內的摘要以及為此篇論文定一標題。
作業二
在學期結束前，你需要寫出一份三頁曾於課堂上討論過的主題的研究計畫（雙倍行距，12號字型）。這個計畫需包含研究背景、一個可試驗的假說及數個實驗（需有控制變因）以測試假說。
你必須在學期末報告你的計畫。
成績：
本課程之成績將以「通過」或「未通過」來評等。
Overview
From early in evolution, organisms had to protect themselves from pathogens. Mechanisms for discriminating self from non-self evolved to accomplish this task, which launched a long history of host-pathogen co-evolution. The evolution of mechanisms for immune defense has resulted in a variety of strategies. Prokaryotes use restriction endonucleases, antimicrobial peptides, and RNA interference for self-protection. In multicellular organisms, specialized immune cells have evolved, capable of the phagocytosis of foreign cells as well as of self cells changed by infection or cancer. Defensive mechanisms based upon germline-encoded receptors constitute a system of innate immunity. In jawed vertebrates, this system is supplemented with a second system, known as adaptive immunity, which involves a specialized network of immune cells and organs. Adaptive immunity, in contrast to innate immunity, is based on the diversification of immune receptors and immunological memory in each individual. In this course, we will analyze evolutionary pathways that have led to the development of innate and adaptive immunity, trace both the conserved and unique features of the immune response from bacteria to higher vertebrates, and identify factors, such as adaptive changes in pathogens that have shaped the evolution of immune system.
Goals
The course will be a weekly seminar based upon primary literature on the topic of immunology. You will learn about evolution of immunological defence mechanisms. In addition, you will learn to critically read and discuss scientific papers and to evaluate data and methodologies.
Requirements
Participation in all 13 classes is mandatory. If there is an emergency and you must miss a class, please talk to us so that we can arrange an appropriate make-up assignment (for instance a written summary of the two papers for that class).
During most of the classes two papers will be discussed. It is essential to read these papers in advance! In preparation for the discussion, you will write a discussion question for each article. Active participation in the discussions is expected. At the end of each class we will present background information for the understanding of the papers for next class.
There will be two additional assignments, one is written and one has both written and oral parts (see below).
Assignments
Project 1
You will be given a scientific paper without its title and abstract. You will be asked to write an abstract (no more than 250 words) and a title.
Project 2
Toward the end of the semester, you will be asked to write a 3-page research proposal (double-spaced, font size 12) about one of the topics discussed at the seminar. The proposal will consist of a summary of the background, a testable hypothesis and a couple of experiments (with crucial controls) to test this hypothesis.
You will be asked to present your proposal during the last session.
Grading
The course will be graded pass/fail.
