Noonin, C. 2013. Melanization and Hemocyte Homeostasis in the Freshwater Crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 1086. 48 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-554-8774-4. Blood cells or hemocytes play important roles in immunity. They are a major source of many immune-related mole...

Biomphalaria glabrata is one of the snail intermediate hosts Schistosoma mansoni , causative agent intestinal schistosomiasis disease. Numerous molecular studies using comparative approaches between susceptible and resistant snails to S. infection have helped identify numerous key candidates supporting such susceptible/resistant status. The functional approach RNA interference (RNAi) remains cr...

Abstract Hox genes are early determinants of cell identity along the anterior–posterior body axis across bilaterians. Several late non-homeotic functions have emerged in a variety processes involved organogenesis several organisms, including mammals. studies reported misexpression malignancies acute myeloid leukemia. The Dfd, Ubx, abd-A and Abd-B were overexpressed via UAS-Gal4 system using Cg-...

Suppression subtractive hybridization of Penaeus monodon hemocytes challenged with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has identified the viral responsive gene, PmVRP15, as the highest up-regulated gene ever reported in shrimps. Expression analysis by quantitative real time RT-PCR revealed 9410-fold up-regulated level at 48 h post WSSV injection. Tissue distribution analysis showed that PmVRP15 tr...

Molluscs rely on an innate immune system for defence against infection. Invading organisms are phagocytosed by circulating hemocytes and neutralised by a combination of hydrolytic enzymes and the production of reactive oxygen species. Phagocytosis, the central feature of the molluscan innate immune system, is an energy-demanding process as a consequence of actin polymerisation which requires a ...

Ecological immunity studies in invertebrates, particularly insects, have generated new insights into trade-offs between immune functions and other physiological parameters. These studies document physiologically directed reallocations of immune costs to other high-cost areas of physiology. Immunosenescence, recognized as the age-related deterioration of immune functions, is another mechanism of...

Digenean trematodes are a large, complex group of parasitic flatworms that infect an incredible diversity of organisms, including humans. Larval development of most digeneans takes place within a snail (Gastropoda). Compatibility between snails and digeneans is often very specific, such that suitable snail hosts define the geographical ranges of diseases caused by these worms. The immune cells ...

Intracellular fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are small members of the superfamily of lipid-binding proteins, which occur in invertebrates and vertebrates. Included in this superfamily are the cellular retinoic acid-binding proteins and retinol-binding proteins, which seem to be restricted to vertebrates. Here, we report the cDNA cloning and characterization of two FABPs from hemocytes of t...

Drosophila melanogaster hemocytes are highly motile macrophage-like cells that undergo a stereotypic pattern of migration to populate the whole embryo by late embryogenesis. We demonstrate that the migratory patterns of hemocytes at the embryonic ventral midline are orchestrated by chemotactic signals from the PDGF/VEGF ligands Pvf2 and -3 and that these directed migrations occur independently ...

Sericin is an important peptide derived from silk fibre spun by the silkworm Bombyx mori and has various biological activities. The aim of the present study was to characterize the major constituents of sericin that are providing cytoprotective effect against hydrogen peroxide-induced cell damage in midgut epithelial cells and hemocytes of silkworm. Extracted sericin was subjected to LCMS analy...