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Drosophila Hemopoiesis and Cellular Immunity

Umeå Centre for Molecular Pathogenesis, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

In Drosophila melanogaster larvae, three classes of circulating cellular immune surveillance cells (hemocytes) can be identified: plasmatocytes, crystal cells, and lamellocytes. Plasmatocytes are professional phagocytes most similar to the mammalian monocyte/macrophage lineage and make up 95% of circulating hemocytes. The other 5% of circulating hemocytes consists of crystal cells, which secrete components necessary for the melanization of invading organisms, as well as for wound repair. A third cell type known as lamellocytes are rarely seen in healthy larvae and are involved in the encapsulation of invading pathogens. There are no obvious mammalian counterparts for crystal cells or lamellocytes, and there is no equivalent to the lymphoid lineage in insects. In this review, I will discuss what is currently known about Drosophila hemopoiesis and the cellular immune response and where possible compare it to vertebrate mechanisms.

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¹ Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Michael J. Williams, Umeå Centre for Molecular Pathogenesis, Umeå University, S-901 87, Umeå, Sweden. E-mail address: michael.williams{at}ucmp.umu.se

² Abbreviations used in this paper: Srp, Serpent; Dscam, Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule; EGF, epidermal growth factor; Gcm, Glial cell missing; Gcm2, Glial cell missing-2; Hop, Hopscotch; Kn, Knot; Lz, Lozenge; lz, lozenge; PGRP-LC, peptidoglycan recognition protein LC; TEP, thio-ester containing complement-related protein; tsp68c, tetraspanin68c; ush, u-shaped; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.

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