Reactive Cells and Their Role in Glial Regeneration in an Insect CNS

Abstract

SYNOPSIS. Selective ghal disruption in cockroach central nervous connectives results in a swift and organized repair which shares a number of features with the equivalent processes in the vertebrate brain notably, a critical involvement of exogenous reactive cells derived from circulating haemocytes. These cells, which appear in the lesioned tissues in large numbers during the first few days of repair, are structurally important in ghal regeneration. They also orchestrate the recruitment and organisation of endogenous reactive cells. The invasive cells transform into, or are replaced by, functional neurogha, coincident with the restoration of the perineunal blood–brain barrier and the onset of cell division.