THE BIOMPHALARIA GLABRATA EMBRYONIC (BGE) MOLLUSCAN CELL LINE: ESTABLISHMENT OF AN IN VITRO CELLULAR MODEL FOR THE STUDY OF SNAIL HOST-PARASITE INTERACTIONS

摘要

Cell lines of invertebrates, especially those of arthropod origin, have played crucial roles in ad- dressing fundamental questions related to cell signaling and differentiation, gene expression, cell-pathogen interactions, and the like. They also have been instrumental in the development of genetic transformation systems and the development and testing of microbial insecticides. Re- cently, we have utilized a cell line originally derived from embryos of the freshwater snail Biom- phalaria glabrata (Gge cell line; Hansen, 1976a) to investigate the complex cellular, biochemical and molecular interactions between snails and their trematode parasites.