Phagocytic B cells in a reptile.
Evidence for a developmental relationship between B cells and macrophages has led to the hypothesis that B cells evolved from a phagocytic predecessor. The recent identification of phagocytic IgM+ cells in fishes and amphibians supports this hypothesis, but raises the question of when, evolutionarily, was phagocytic capacity lost in B cells? To address this, leucocytes were isolated from red-eared sliders, Trachemys scripta, incubated with fluorescent beads and analysed using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Results indicate that red-eared slider B cells are able to ingest foreign particles and suggest that ectothermic vertebrates may use phagocytic B cells as part of a robust innate immune response.
School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Campus Box 4120, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA. lmzimme@ilstu.edu
Laura M
LM
Zimmerman
Laura A
LA
Vogel
Kevin A
KA
Edwards
Rachel M
RM
Bowden
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007087:Illinois; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014426:Turtles / Q000276:immunology*