Abstract
Examination of Mercenaria mercenaria hemocyte preparations on glass coverslips showed that adherent, macrophage-like cells tended to form multinucleated giant cells morphologically similar to classical Langhans cells and foreign body inflammatory giant cells, as seen in vertebrates. The frequency of giant cell formation varied from clam to clam, possibly reflecting each animal's physiological state, as influenced by pollutant exposure, other environmental stressors and disease. Treatment of the hemocytes with concanavalin A promoted hemocyte aggregation and increased the rate of giant cell formation. Attempts to increase polykaryon formation by in vivo or in vitro phagocytic stimulation of the hemocytes were generally unsuccessful.
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