Cytophysiological features of hemocytes in cockroaches

Summary The wide range of functional activities of circulating and sessile insect hemocytes expresses itself in highly specialized cytological terms. Electron microscopic studies carried out in five species of normal and experimentally manipulated cockroaches, in conjunction with light microscopic information, reveal a broad spectrum of structural organization and an apparent capacity for cellular modulation. In addition to conventional organelles, these hemocytes contain a class of unusual cytoplasmic inclusion bodies which seem to undergo striking transformations in response to specific functional demands. A variety of transitional forms attests to the existence of close links between tubule containing (type 1), electron dense (type 2), and large globular (type 3) inclusion bodies, and reveals the derivation of yet another special (lamellated, fusiform) inclusion from type 2 bodies. Confluence of the type 3 configurations into still larger lacunae may precede the release of their contents into the hemolymph, a process whose major effect seems to be the initiation of the clotting process.Another important activity of hemocytes concerns the programmed reorganization of the stromal framework of the various organs. The dominant feature of blood cells engaged in the deposition of connective tissue are greatly distended cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and accumulations of banded fibrils at the interface of cytoplasm and extracellular space. The engulfment of discarded stromal material can be visualized in fortuitous sections representing steps in its incorporation by hemocytes. Ultrastructural correlates of the breakdown of these and other disintegrating or noxious elements by certain hemocytes are prominent digestive vacuoles with heterogeneous contents and reaction products of hydrolytic enzymes. The capacity for the uptake of small particles by micropinocytosis is demonstrated by the localization of horseradish peroxidase activity at the cellular surface and within cytoplasmic vesicles.The diversity of structural appearances reflects a division of labor, while the many transitional features of hemocyte morphology favor the concept of functional flexibility of one basic cell type rather than a strict classification into distinctly separate cellular types.Supported by research grants NB-05219, NB-00840, and 5 P01 NS-07512 from the U.S.P.H.S.I am greatly indebted to Dr. Joseph Osinchak, City University, New York, who has generously permitted me to include some of his micrographs in the present study. I also want to express my gratitude to Mrs. Sarah Wurzelmann and Mr. Stanley Brown for their excellent technical assistance.