A daily cycle of apocrine secretion by the B cells in the hepatopancreas of terrestrial isopods

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Abstract
The ultrastructure of the two cell types of the hepatopancreas of the terrestrial isopods Oniscus asellus and Porcellio scaber was examined at hourly intervals in animals habituated to a 16 h light: 8 h dark cycle. The ultrastructure of the B cells undergoes substantial changes which are repeated every 24 h. This 'B cell cycle' can be divided into two stages. During the first, 'extrusive' stage, which begins about 1 h before the onset of the light period, the contents of the B cells apical to the nuclei are voided into the lumen of the hepatopancreas. The second, 'restitutive,' stage begins about 10 h after the onset of the light cycle. The B cells swell in size by the accumulation of the new material until the next extrusive stage. The ultrastructural appearance of the S cells was similar at all stages of the daily and moult cycles; they were never observed to void any material into the lumen of the hepatopancreas. The differences between the rates of turnover of the contents of the S and B cells have important implications for understanding the dynamics of accumulation and loss of metal pollutants in terrestrial isopods.

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