Macrophage centers as histochemical indicators of stress

Abstract

Makrofagni centri, također poznati i kao melano makrofagni centri, su nakupine karakterističnih pigmentiranih stanica unutar tkiva heterotermnih kralježnjaka. U riba se obično nalaze u stromi hemopoetskog tkiva slezene, jetre i bubrega gdje se pomoću različitih histokemijskih metoda proučava njihov izgled i sastav. Makrofagni centri obično sadrže različite pigmente uključujući i melanin. Broj različitih pigmenata i njihov volumen povećavaju se u starijih jedinki ili u prisutnosti različitih bolesti. Nedavna istraživanja sugeriraju da su to prvenstveno mjesta primarne malenogeneze nego li samo pohrane melanina. Makrofagni centri povećavaju frekvenciju i veličinu u uvjetima okolišnog stresa te time ukazuju na zdravstveno stanje jedinke i predloženi su kao pouzdani biomarkeri za kvalitetu vode.Macrophage centers, also known as Melano-macrophage centres, are distinctive groupings of pigment-containing cells within the tissues of heterothermic vertebrates. In fish they are normally located in the stroma of the haemopoietic tissue of the spleen and the kidney and are studied using variety of histochemical methods. Melano-macrophage centres usually contain a variety of pigments, including melanins, and these increase in range and volume in older fish or in the presence of different diseases. Recent work suggests that they are a site of primary melanogenesis rather than mere storage. Melano-macrophage centres increase in size or frequency in conditions of environmental stress and have been suggested as reliable biomarkers for water quality