Antigenic characterization of Nephrops norvegicus (L.) hepatopancreas cells

During this work structural, differentiation and proliferation antigenic markers developed for mammals were applied in paraffin sections of Nephrops norvegicus (L.) hepatopancreas. The purpose was to establish standards for the characterization of invertebrate cells in vitro. Antibody concentration was optimized for quantification of cell proliferation. There are no antibodies specific for crustaceans on the market. An avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase 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 proliferating cell nuclear antigen. The results of this work indicate that some mammalian antibodies cross-react with crustacean epitopes. This may facilitate cell characterization of cell types cultured in vitro.