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Amebocyte

( Motile Cells )

Purpose
Examples
Uses
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C O N T E N T S

Amebocyte Cell Cells Limulus

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An amebocyte or amoebocyte () is a motile cell (moving like an amoeba) in the bodies of including cnidaria, , mollusca, , , and some chelicerata.

Moving by pseudopodia, amebocytes can manifest as or play a similar biological role.

In older literature, the term amebocyte is sometimes used as a synonym of phagocyte.

Purpose

Similarly to some of the white blood cells of , in many species amebocytes are found in the blood or body fluid (e.g. as the of Limulus, the horseshoe crab) and play a role in the defense of the organism against . Depending on the species, an amebocyte may also digest and distribute food, dispose of wastes, form skeletal fibers, fight infections, and change into other cell types.

Examples

In sponges, amebocytes, also known as , are cells found in the mesohyl that can transform into any of the animal's more specialized cell types.

In they are blood cells and use pseudopodia to attack pathogens that enter the blood, transport nutrients, get rid of waste products, and grow/repair the tunica.

The amebocytes of Limulus are characterized by large granules around the Cell nucleus, ribosome-like particles in the cytoplasm, and a circumferential ring of Microtubule, which likely help maintain the cells' prolate-to-fusiform shape.

Uses

Limulus amebocyte lysate, an aqueous extract of amebocytes from the Atlantic horseshoe crab ( Limulus polyphemus), is commonly used in a test to detect .

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Categories: Motile Cells