ROLE OF MELANO-MACROPHAGE CENTERS IN IRON STORAGE IN NORMAL AND DISEASED FISH

Abstract. The spleen, kidney and liver melano‐macrophage centres of 14 species of clinically normal teleost fish were examined histochemically for ferric iron. Iron was present in varying amounts within the splenic centres of most specimens, but by contrast it was rarely found in the centres of the kidney and the liver. Under conditions of starvation and in diseased fish, a markedly increased deposition of ferric iron occurred in the splenic centres of nearly all fish examined. By comparison, the iron content in the kidney and liver centres was generally still very low. These results suggest that there exist important functional differences between the pigment centres of different haemopoietic tissues of teleosts. Copyright © 1979, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved