Antigenic characterization of Nephrops norvegicus (L.) hepatopancreas cells

During this work structural, differentiation and proliferation antigenic ma rkers developed for mammals were applied in paraffin sections of Nephrops n orvegicus (L.) hepatopancreas. The purpose was to establish standards for t he characterization of invertebrate cells in vitro. Antibody concentration was optimized for quantification of cell proliferation. There are no antibo dies specific for crustaceans on the market. An avidin-biotin immunoperoxid ase method was used to visualize cell antigen expression. The immunocytochemical results indicate that the epithelium in the Nephrops hepatopancreas digestive tubules does express cytokeratins and proliferati ng cell nuclear antigen. The results of this work indicate that some mammalian antibodies cross-reac t with crustacean epitopes. This may facilitate cell characterization of ce ll types cultured in vitro. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.