Isolated granular haemocytes (blood cells) from the crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus attached and spread in vitro on coverslips coated with a lysate of crayfish haemocytes. No cell adhesion activity was detected in crayfish plasma. The cell adhesion activity was only present in haemocyte lysates in which the prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system (Söderhäll and Smith, 1986a, b) had been ac...

Polydnaviruses are endogenous particles that are crucial for the survival of endoparasitoid wasps, providing active suppression of the immune function of the lepidopteran host in which wasp larvae develop. The Cotesia rubecula bracovirus (CrBV) is unique in that only four gene products are detected in larval host (Pieris rapae) tissues and expression of CrBV genes is transient, occurring betwee...

The present study was conducted to determine the toxicity of different polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the green algae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and the haemocytes from the European abalone, Haliotis tuberculata. Using the algal growth inhibition test, the green algae median Effective Concentration (EC50) values ranged from 0.34μM for PCB28 to more than 100μM for PCBs 101 and 153. Co...

It is seldom the primary tumour that proves fatal in cancer, with metastasis the fundamental pathological process for disease progression. Upregulation of Mena, a member of the evolutionarily conserved Ena/VASP family of actin cytoskeletal regulators, promotes metastasis and invasive motility of breast cancer cells in vivo. To complement in vitro studies of Ena/VASP function in fibroblasts, we ...

Recent transcriptomic approaches focused on anti-viral immunity in molluscs lead to the assumption that the innate immune system, such as apoptosis, plays a crucial role against ostreid herpesvirus type 1 (OsHV-1), infecting Pacific cupped oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Apoptosis constitutes a major mechanism of anti-viral response by limiting viral spread and eliminating infected cells. In this wa...

For the first time, a morphological study of haemocytes from the crab Carcinus aestuarii was carried out by means of light microscopy and differing cytochemical assays. Analysis of haemocyte size frequency distribution (performed by means of a Coulter Counter) revealed the presence of two distinct haemocyte fractions in C. aestuarii haemolymph, depending on cell size. The first fraction was of ...

The functions of the blood cells of crustaceans have received little investigation. The majority of the work reported in the literature to date has been concerned with the involvement of the haemocytes in the phenomenon of plasma coagulation. In several crustacean species highly fragile blood cells have been described ' Hardy's explosive corpuscles' which are generally believed to contain subst...

Penaeidins are members of a new family of antimicrobial peptides isolated from a crustacean, which present both Gram-positive antibacterial and antifungal activities. We have studied the localization of synthesis and storage of penaeidins in the shrimp Penaeus vannamei. The distribution of penaeidin transcripts and peptides in various tissues reveals that penaeidins are constitutively synthesiz...

Manganese, Mn, is an abundant element in nature, particularly in soft bottom sediments of the oceans and in bedrock. The metal is predominantly bound to the sediment in the colloid state, MnO2. Eutrophication caused by the high nutrient load in coastal waters together with over-fishing cause cascade effects in the ecosystem increasing the algal blooms and enhancement of hypoxic condition over l...

The insecticidal action of Nomolt at various dosages against Schistocerca gregaria was employed for its effects on total haemocyte count (THC)and differential haemocyte count (DHC). The total counts after application of different concentrations from Nomolt were significantly decreased at 1,3, 5 days on 5 nymphal instar and up to 1day old adult males and females comparing with those of the untre...