Bezobratlí živočichové mají na rozdíl od obratlovců pouze přirozenou (vrozenou) imunitu složenou z tělních bariér, buněčných a humorálních mechanismů, které jim souhrnně zajišťují stálost vnitřního prostředí a zároveň vysoce účinnou obranu proti patogenům. Mnohé projevy imunity se po funkční stránce až překvapivě podobají obratlovcům, jsou ale založené na jiných základech.

Použitá literatura:

BRIVIO, Maurizio F.; MASTORE, M.; PAGANI, M. Parasite-host relationship: a lesson from a professional killer. Invertebrate survival journal, 2005, 2: 41-53.
LEMAITRE, Bruno; HOFFMANN, Jules. The host defense of Drosophila melanogaster. Annual Review of Immunology, 2007, 25: 697-743.
STANLEY-SAMUELSON, David W., et al. Insect immune response to bacterial infection is mediated by eicosanoids. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1991, 88.3: 1064-1068.

Další doporučená literatura:

BECKAGE, Nancy E. Insect immunology. Academic Press/Elsevier, San Diego, Amsterdam, Burlington, London, Oxford, 2008.
CERENIUS, Lage; SÖDERHÄLL, Kenneth. The prophenoloxidase‐activating system in invertebrates. Immunological reviews, 2004, 198.1: 116-126.
GUPTA, Ayodhya P.: Immunology of invertebrates: cellular. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., 2002.
HYRŠL, Pavel, et al. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) hemocytes do not produce reactive oxygen metabolites as a part of defense mechanisms. Folia microbiologica, 2004, 49.3: 315-319.
KRISHNAN, Natraj; HYRŠL, Pavel; ŠIMEK, Vladimír. Nitric oxide production by hemocytes of larva and pharate prepupa of Galleria mellonella in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide: Cytoprotective or cytotoxic?. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, 2006, 142.1-2: 103-110.
LAZZARO, Brian P.; ROLFF, Jens. Danger, microbes, and homeostasis. Science, 2011, 332.6025: 43-44.
STANLEY-SAMUELSON, David W., et al. Eicosanoids mediate nodulation responses to bacterial infections in larvae of the silkmoth, Bombyx mori. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, 1997, 118.1: 93-100.
ŠÍMA, Petr. Vývoj imunitních strategií v živočišné říši. Živa, 1997, 1: 25-27.
TURNER, Rodney J. Immunology: a comparative approach. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, New York, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore, 1994.

Invertebrates in contrast to vertebrates only have innate immunity at their disposal. The innate immunity consists of body barriers, cellular and humoral mechanisms, and these structures provide the invertebrate organisms with homeostasis and a highly efficient defence against pathogens. Many immune reactions are functionally related to vertebrates, but they are based on different elements.