Abstract
PHAGOCYTOSIS is an important component of vertebrate cellular immunity and involves several stages which have been described in detail previously1,2. In contrast, little is known about this process in insects even though recent work3,4, on intracellular killing of bacteria indicates that phagocytosis probably plays an important role in the defence reactions of insects. In vertebrates, the development of in vitro techniques has greatly facilitated studies on phagocytosis, but in insects such techniques are not generally available for studying the blood cells (haemocytes) in strictly controlled conditions. Here we describe for the first time the stages in the phagocytosis of bacteria by insect haemocytes, using a newly developed culture technique.
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RATCLIFFE, N., ROWLEY, A. In vitro phagocytosis of bacteria by insect blood cells. Nature 252, 391–392 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252391a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/252391a0
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