Nitric oxide synthase activity in tissues of the blowfly Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794)

Although insects lack the adaptive immune response of the mammalians, they manifest effective innate immune responses, which include both cellular and Immoral components. Cellular responses are mediated by hemocytes, and Immoral responses include the activation of proteolytic cascades that initiate...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Faraldo, A. C., Sa-Nunes, A., Faccioli, L. H., Del Bel, E. A., Lello, E.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2007
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UNESP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unesp.br:11449/18405
Acceso en línea:http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0327-95452007000200002
http://hdl.handle.net/11449/18405
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:NO synthase
nitric oxide
NADPH-diaphorase
Chrysomya megacephala
blowfly
tissues
Descripción
Sumario:Although insects lack the adaptive immune response of the mammalians, they manifest effective innate immune responses, which include both cellular and Immoral components. Cellular responses are mediated by hemocytes, and Immoral responses include the activation of proteolytic cascades that initiate many events, including NO production. In mammals, nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) are also present in the endothelium, the brain, the adrenal glands, and the platelets. Studies on the distribution of NO-producing systems in invertebrates have revealed functional similarities between NOS in this group and vertebrates. We attempted to localize NOS activity in tissues of naive (UIL), yeast-injected (YIL), and saline-injected (SIL) larvae of the blowfly Chrysomya megacephala, using the NADPH diaphorase technique. Our findings revealed similar levels of NOS activity in muscle, fat body, Malpighian tubule, gut, and brain, suggesting that NO synthesis may not be involved in the immune response of these larval systems. These results were compared to many studies that recorded the involvement of NO in various physiological functions of insects.