Cell death in the midgut epithelium of the worker honey bee (Apis mellifem carnica) during metamorphosis

Summary The types of cell death in the midgut epithelium of the worker honey bee during the larva-to-pupa transformation were analyzed by light and electron microscopes. The metamorphosis begins with an increase in the number of autophagic vacuoles in larval epithelial cells and terminates with lytic destruction of the whole intestinal epithelium. Apoptosis seems to be independent of cell age, but important in fashioning of the new organ. Even in the cells in the regenerative nests of the larval epithelium, from which the pupal epithelium develops, apoptotic death occurs. Single apoptotic cells are eliminated gradually from the primary multilayer tissue until the monolayer pupal epithelium is formed. Some of the apoptotic cells are endocytosed by sister epithelial cells.