ISSN:
1432-0878
Keywords:
Antibacterial defense
;
Coelomic cells
;
Agglutination
;
Earthworms
;
Invertebrates
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary The first steps of an antibacterial reaction in the earthworm Eisenia fetida andrei were investigated. The main cellular mediators of this activity are the chloragocytes, a class of free coelomocytes existing only in annelids. Our observations using scanning electron microscopy have shown that chloragocytes were able to agglutinate and perhaps to destroy pathogenic bacteria such as Bacillus megaterium in the same way that they agglutinate and lyse vertebrate erythrocytes. Bacteria known to be non-pathogenic for the worm, such as Acinetobacter, were not agglutinated but slowly eliminated by segregation into brown bodies. Chloragocytes maintained in vitro, lost their chloragosomes and exhibited stronger agglutination activity against pathogenic bacteria than chloragocytes in situ. From this increased efficiency of chloragocytes in vitro, we infer that, in normal living conditions, chloragocytes probably intervene in antibacterial defense mainly after their extrusion from the coelomic cavity and their spreading and degranulation at the surface of the integument.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00222363
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