Acid phosphatase changes associated with response to foreign tissue in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

1. 1. Levels of acid phosphatase were analyzed in autografted, xenografted and sham-operated Lumhricus terrestris (earthworm), at different times post-grafting. At 5 days post-grafting, acid phosphatase levels within coelomocytes and in cell-free coelomic fluid were essentially the same for all groups, although levels in coelomic fluid were somewhat elevated in the autografted and sham-operated groups. 2. 2. At 14 days, when xenograft rejection was entering its final stages, acid phosphatase levels in cell-free coelomic fluid, but not the intracellular levels, of grafted worms were greater than in ungrafted worms. This suggests the accumulation of released enzyme in response to the presence of grafted tissue.