A description of rodlet cells from the alimentary canal of Anguilla anguilla and their relationship with parasitic helminths

Abstract

Rodlet cells in intestinal epithelia of infected and uninfected European eelsAnguilla anguilla from brackish and fresh water were studied by light and electron microscopy. Deropristis inflata (Trematoda) was found in eels from brackish water, whereas eels from fresh water were infected with Acanthocephalus clavula (Acanthocephala). In a comparison between uninfected and infected eels from brackish water, a higher number of rodlet cells was recorded in the intestinal epithelia of infected fish. Evidence is presented that rodlet cells secrete their contents in a holocrine manner into the lumen of the eel intestine. The occurrence of organelles within the mature rodlet cell was rare.1998 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

mmunohistochemistry, ultrastructure and pathology of gills ofAbramis bramafrom Lake Mondsee, Austria, infected withErgasilus sieboldi(Copepoda)

“…This author suggested that, in fish kidney and gill, parasite infection of the epithelium results in RC proliferation (Leino 1979(Leino , 1996. Similar findings were reported for the intestine of Anguilla anguilla and the liver and pancreas of Phoxinus phoxinus infected with endoparasitic helminths (Dezfuli et al 1998(Dezfuli et al , 2000. The present report is the first to document an increase in the number of RCs at the site of attachment of an ectoparasite, and may constitute an additional confirmation of the defensive role of these cells in the piscine inflammatory system against parasites (Dezfuli et al 2000).…”

Rodlet cells and other inflammatory cells of Phoxinus phoxinus infected with Raphidascaris acus (Nematoda)

“…According to Leino (1996), RCs react to the occurrence of ectoparasites on the epithelial surface and the secretion of these cells exerts antibiotic activity. Very few papers dealing with the relationship between RCs and endoparasitic helminths have been published (Reite 1997, Dezfuli et al 1998; furthermore, no previous report has been found on the interaction between RCs and the piscine inflammatory system.…”

Cryptosporidium scophthalmi n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Cryptosporidiidae) from cultured turbot Scophthalmus maximus. Light and electron microscope description and histopathological study

“…These enigmatic cells have been observed in tissues of marine and freshwater teleosts. Although their origin and function remain controversial, some authors attribute to them a role in the host's reaction against pathogenic organisms (Leino 1996, Reite 1997, Dezfuli et al 1998, and more specifically in the inflammatory response observed in certain parasitoses (Dezfuli et al 2000).…”