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The coelomic elements of sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus)

II. Cytochemistry of the coelomocytes

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Summary

Coelomocytes of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Strongylocentrotus franciscanus include phagocytic leukocytes, flagellated “vibratile cells”, and two types of spherule-bearing cells; one of which contains echinochrome, a red naphthaquinone pigment. Vibratile cells are PAS positive and contain a strongly acidic mucopolysaccharide. Substances with similar staining and chemical properties appear in the coelomic fluid under certain stress conditions. It is supposed that these substances enter the fluid by diffusion from the vibratile cells. Tests indicate that both spherule-cell types, like the spherule cells of holothurians (sea cucumbers), may undergo a cycle during which they pass from a basophilic to an acidophilic state. Chemical properties of the spherule cells approximate those of vertebrate mast cells. The variability of staining and chemical reactions of spherule cells explains why published accounts of their properties have differed so widely. It is suggested that the properties of mucoid substances in invertebrate spherule-bearing cells may be as variable as is true of vertebrate mast cells.

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This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Research Grant No. 5358 (to E. A. Steinhaus) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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Johnson, P.T. The coelomic elements of sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus). Histochemie 17, 213–231 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00309866

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