Abstract
The haemagglutinating activity in the haemolymph of Locusta migratoria fifth-instar larvae was examined using several vertebrate erythrocytes. No agglutination was observed using red blood cells from chicken, sheep, rat, guinea pig or human A, B, O. The highest titres were observed with rabbit erythrocytes (up to 2 12). When tested with one kind of red blood cell, the agglutinin titres were similar in the plasma and in the serum of locusts. The agglutination was heat labile (65°C for 30 min). Its titre showed a natural development in the course of the fifth larval instar. Inhibition studies with a range of carbohydrates revealed a high specificity of the agglutinin molecule for the d-galactosides with α 1–6 linkage. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted comparing the rabbit red blood cells which are strongly agglutinated, with the sheep red blood cells which are not. After injection, the clearance rate of the rabbit cells was much higher than that of the sheep cells. In vitro, the rabbit red blood cells readily attached to haemocytes and “rosette” formations were numerous whereas the sheep cells only weakly adhered to the insect blood cells and never exhibited “rosette” formations. The haemagglutinin demonstrated in the haemolymph of L. migratoria acts as opsonin for the particles which possess receptors for this molecule.
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