Meeting Abstract

P3.98  Wednesday, Jan. 6  Phagocytic B cells in a reptile ZIMMERMAN, L.M.*; VOGEL, L.A.; EDWARDS, K.A.; BOWDEN, R.M.; Illinois St. Univ.; Illinois St. Univ.; Illinois St. Univ.; Illinois St. Univ. lmzimme@ilstu.edu

Evidence for a developmental relationship between B cells and macrophages has led to the hypothesis that B cells evolved from a phagocytic predecessor. The recent identification of phagocytic IgM+ cells in fish and amphibians supports this hypothesis, but raises the question of when, evolutionarily, was phagocytic capacity lost in B cells? To address this, leukocytes were isolated from red-eared sliders, Trachemys scripta , incubated with fluorescent beads, and analyzed using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Results indicate that red-eared slider B cells are able to ingest foreign particles, and suggest that ectothermic vertebrates may use phagocytic B cells as part of a robust innate immune response.