Rodlet cells and other inflammatory cellsof Phoxinus phoxinus infected withRaphidascaris acus (Nematoda)

[摘要] ABSTRACT: Rodlet cells (RCs), and other inflammatory cells, namely eosinophile granule cells (EGCs), eosinophilic granulocytes and epithelioid cells in the liver, pancreas and peritoneal serosa of uninfected and naturally parasitized minnow Phoxinusphoxinus (Linnaeus, 1758), were studied by light and electron microscopy. Forty-eight minnows were examined and in 18 fishes encysted larvae of the nematode Raphidascaris acus (Bloch, 1779) were encountered, mainly in the pancreas. The numberof larvae in the latter organ ranged from 2 to 46. Nematode larvae were encapsulated by epithelioid granulomata, and these cells displayed typical epithelial characteristics such as desmosomes and tonofilaments. EGCs and RCs characteristically surroundedthe reactive foci and were suggestive of an integrated inflammatory network involving both cell types. In many instances RCs were noticed at the periphery of the pancreas, beneath the peritoneal serosa, partially or entirely surrounded by mesothelialcells. In the latter situation partially damaged RCs were present in the splancnic cavity entirely surrounded but not truly phagocytized (no phagolysosome occurred) by mesothelial cells, which shared the same ultrastructural features of epithelioid cells.This phenomenon has never been described and may represent a peculiar turnover of RCs in the pancreas likely related to the high sensitivity to damage. A significant difference (p < 0.01) in the number of RCs between uninfected and parasitized fishwas noticed in the liver and pancreas. The data suggest that RCs represent an inflammatory cell type closely linked to other piscine inflammatory cells, such as EGCs, epithelioid cells and mesothelial cells.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）

[关键词] Rodlet cells;Inflammatory cells;Phoxinus phoxinus;Helminth infection;Ultrastructure