Melanomacrophage Centers As a Histological Indicator of Immune Function in Fish and Other Poikilotherms.

ABSTRACT: Melanomacrophage centers (MMCs) are aggregates of highly pigmented phagocytes found primarily in the head kidney and spleen, and occasionally the liver of many vertebrates. Preliminary histological analyses suggested that MMCs are structurally similar to the mammalian germinal center (GC), leading to the hypothesis that the MMC plays a role in the humoral adaptive immune response. For this reason, MMCs are frequently described in the literature as "primitive GCs" or the "evolutionary precursors" to the mammalian GC. However, we argue that this designation may be premature, having been pieced together from mainly descriptive studies in numerous distinct species. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the MMC literature, including a phylogenetic analysis of MMC distribution across

SUBMITTER: Steinel NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5512340 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature