Ultraestructural characterization of circulating hemocytes of Pomacea canaliculata.

CUETO, J.A,; FOGAL, T.; CASTRO-VAZQUEZ, A.

Huerta Grande - Córdoba

Congreso; I Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biología de la República Argentina; 2007

ULTRAESTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CIRCULATING HEMOCYTES OF Pomacea canaliculata. Cueto J. A., Fogal T., Castro-Vazquez A., Laboratorio de Fisiología (IHEM-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, UNCuyo, Mendoza. E-mail: cueto.juan@fcm.uncu.edu.ar The hemocytes constitute the cellular component of the defense system of the invertebrates. In molluscs, the subtype classification of the hemocytes present in the hemolymph has not been solved yet. The aim of this work is to obtain the first morphologic description of the circulating cells of P. canaliculata. The hemolyphatic cells obtained by heart puncture were centrifuged and treated with EDTA to avoid the agglutination of the hemocytes. Specimens were examined in a transmission electron microscope. Between the common characteristics to all the cells we find emission of short and filamentous pseudopodias, nuclei with abundant euchromatine and heterochromatic clumps lining the nuclear membrane or free in the nucleoplasma, considerable amount of rough reticulum with well tidy ribosomes. The Golgi apparatus can be rarely appreciated. The scarce mitochondrias are ovoid and they present tubular combs. According to the characteristics of the cytoplasmic granules two populations of hemocytes are recognized: the granulocytes are characterized by abundant electron-dense club shaped granules, eccentric kidney shaped nucleus and smooth endoplasmic reticulum of moderate development; the hyalinocytes, on the other hand, more abundant, present central spherical or eccentric nucleus, abundant smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and are characterized by few cytoplasmic granules slightly electron-dense.