The effect of biotic and abiotic implants on the recognition of Blatta orientalis cuticular transplants by the cockroach Periplaneta americana

Abstract

The immune system of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, was activated to recognise as "non self" xenogeneic tissue normally treated as "self". Activation was accomplished by injecting into the insect haemocoele material known to elicit an encapsulation response such as Blaberus craniifer cuticular tissue and 6B-Sepharose beads. In these insects, cuticular skingrafts from Blatta orientalis, a closely related species of cockroach, were rejected by more than half of the recipients. There was no rejection of skingrafts by naive insects showing that the immune system of the cockroach had been triggered non-specifically to recognise tissue previously treated as "self".