Haemolymph Proteins on Stressed Cockroach Periplaneta Americana

Abstract

               Immune responses in insects are humoral and cell mediated and the haemolymph proteins are found to be involved in humoral immune responses. In this experiment cockroaches were divided into two groups as control and wounded and the haemolymph samples were collected at different time intervals and subjected for quantitative analysis of proteins, proteolytic activity and protein profile. Haemolymph protein concentration reduced initially after injury then they recovered after 24 hrs.  Proteolytic activity was found to be the highest during the first 24hrs of the wounded insects. Seven protein bands were observed in PAGE gel electrophoresis of the wounded and control cockroaches. A 115 kDa protein band was found to appear in the wounded P.americana after 8 hours is an important finding of this experiment. Some of the protein bands were reduced in the wounded cockroach and another important finding was protein retaining to normal level in the haemolymph after 24hrs and 80 and 76kDa protein bands were thicker in this group. Cockroach recovering after wounding is revealed after 8hrs after wounding.