Ultrastructural and functional characterization of circulating hemocytes from the freshwater crayfish Astacus leptodactylus: cell types and their role after in vivo artificial non-self challenge.
The freshwater crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) is an important aquacultured decapod species as well as an invasive species in some European countries. In the current investigation we characterized the different classes of circulating blood cells in A. leptodactylus by means of light and electron microscopy analysis and we explored their reaction to different latex beads particles in vivo by total and differential cell counts at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4h after injections. We identified hemocytes by granule size morphometry as hyaline hemocytes with no or rare tiny granules, small granule hemocytes, unimodal medium diameter granule hemocytes and both small and large granule containing hemocytes. The latter granular hemocytes showed the strongest phenoloxidase l-DOPA reactivity both in granules and cytoplasm. A. leptodactylus respond to foreign particles with strong cellular immune responses. All treatments elicited a total hemocyte increase with a conspicuous recruitment of large granule containing hemocytes. All hemocyte types mounted some phagocytic response but the small granule hemocytes were the only ones involved in phagocytic response to all foreign particles with the highest percentages. These results (1) depict the variability in decapod hemocyte functional morphology; (2) identify the small granule hemocyte as the major phagocytic cell; (3) suggest that the rather rapid recruitment of large granule hemocyte in all treatments plays a relevant role by this hemocyte type in defense against foreign particles, probably in nodule formation.
Giulianini
Piero Giulio
PG
Department of Biology, University of Trieste, via Licio Giorgieri 7, I-34127 Trieste, Italy. giuliani@units.it
Bierti
Manuel
M
Lorenzon
Simonetta
S
Battistella
Silvia
S
Ferrero
Enrico Antonio
EA
D000818:Animals; D003400:Astacoidea / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D002452:Cell Count; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008853:Microscopy; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008863:Microspheres; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000032:analysis; D010587:Phagocytosis
D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase