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Hemocyte

 

 
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Hemocyte
 
 
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A hemocyte is a cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 that plays a role in the immune system
Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
 of invertebrates. It is found within the hemolymph
Hemolymph

Hemolymph or haemolymph is the blood analogue used by all arthropods and most mollusks that have an open circulatory system.In these animals there is no distinction between blood and interstitial fluid....
. Hemocytyes are phagocyte
Phagocyte

Phagocytes are the cell s that protect the body by ingesting harmful foreign particles, bacteria and dead or Apoptosis cells. They are essential to fighting infections and subsequent immunity , and move through the blood and tissues of vertebrates, and the hemolymph of invertebrates....
s of invertebrates. They are ameboid like cells that play a role in the immune system response. Hemocytes in Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is a two-winged insect that belongs to the Diptera, the Order of the Fly. The species is commonly known as the Drosophilidae or vinegar fly, and is one of the most commonly used model organisms in biology, including studies in genetics, physiology and Life history theory....
 can be divided into two categories: embryonic and larval. Adult flies do not produce circulating hemocytes. Embryonic hemocytes are derived from head mesoderm and enter the hemolymph as circulating cells.






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A hemocyte is a cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 that plays a role in the immune system
Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
 of invertebrates. It is found within the hemolymph
Hemolymph

Hemolymph or haemolymph is the blood analogue used by all arthropods and most mollusks that have an open circulatory system.In these animals there is no distinction between blood and interstitial fluid....
. Hemocytyes are phagocyte
Phagocyte

Phagocytes are the cell s that protect the body by ingesting harmful foreign particles, bacteria and dead or Apoptosis cells. They are essential to fighting infections and subsequent immunity , and move through the blood and tissues of vertebrates, and the hemolymph of invertebrates....
s of invertebrates. They are ameboid like cells that play a role in the immune system response. Hemocytes in Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is a two-winged insect that belongs to the Diptera, the Order of the Fly. The species is commonly known as the Drosophilidae or vinegar fly, and is one of the most commonly used model organisms in biology, including studies in genetics, physiology and Life history theory....
 can be divided into two categories: embryonic and larval. Adult flies do not produce circulating hemocytes. Embryonic hemocytes are derived from head mesoderm and enter the hemolymph as circulating cells. Larval hemocytes, on the other hand, are responsible for tissue remodeling during development. Specifcally, they are released during the pupa stage in order to prepare the fly for the transition into an adult and the massive associated tissue reorganization that must occur. There are four basic types of hemocytes found in fruit flies: secretory, plasmatocytes, crystal cells, and lamellocytes. Secretory cells are never released into the hemolymph and instead send out signalling molecules responsible for cell differentiation. Plasmatocytes are the hemocytes responsible for cell ingestion (phagocytosis) and represent about 95% of circulating hemocytes. Crystal cells are involved in melanization, a process by which microbes/pathogens are engulfed in a hardened gel and destroyed via anti-microbial peptides and other proteins involved in the humoral response. They constitute about 5% of circulating hemocytes. Lamellocytes are flat cells that are never found in adult cells, and instead are only present in larval cells for their ability to encapsulate invading pathogens. They specifically act on parasitic wasp eggs that bind to the surfaces of cells, and are incapable of being phagocytosed by host cells.

It is also an alternative name for the 'Dark Seekers' that have wiped out most of mankind in the film/book 'I Am Legend'.

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