Cellular recognition of foreign materials by Bombyx mori phagocytes: II. Role of hemolymph and phagocyte filopodia in the cellular reactions.

The plasmatocytes and granular cells are the most important hemocyte types involved in the cellular reactions of insects. These two hemocytes are obviously characterized with the adhesive morphology. Particularly, the granular cells in Bombyx mori have many long filopodia, and they are considered to play roles in catching the foreign materials invading into the hemocoel and also in obtaining some phagocytic signals during elongation process. The second part of this mini-review is a continuation of the previous summary (1) in which the immunocompetent cells in B.mori were described. Here, possible role of hemolymph factor is presented with much attention to the filopodial function of phagocytic granular cells of B.mori.