ArticlePloS one2017
Hemocyte-mediated phagocytosis differs between honey bee (Apis mellifera) worker castes.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immune response in honey bees (Apis mellifera) following humic substance feeding.Veterinary research communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Gut microbiota-derived butyrate primes systemic immunity in honey bees by mediating lipid metabolic reprogramming.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Clodronate Liposomes Untangle the Role of Hemocytes in <italic>Apis mellifera</italic> Response to Temperature Variation and Microbial Infection.Journal of innate immunity · 2026Article
- Macrophage-mediated nutrient recycling: evolutionary insights into the metabolic role of professional phagocytes.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Clodronate liposomes untangle the role of hemocytes inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Sucrose supplementation influences gut microbial diversity and functional shifts inFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Pathogen and Hemocyte Dynamics in Three Apiaries Across a Bee Season.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2025Article
- Identifying a developmental transition in honey bees using gene expression data.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Review
- The microbiome and gene expression of honey bee workers are affected by a diet containing pollen substitutes.PloS one · 2023Article
- Intracellular cytokine detection based on flow cytometry in hemocytes from Galleria mellonella larvae: A new protocol.PloS one · 2022Article
- Nuclear translocation of vitellogenin in the honey bee (Apidologie · 2022Article
- Article
- A Population Genomic Investigation of Immune Cell Diversity and Phagocytic Capacity in a Butterfly.Genes · 2021Article
- A simple method for ex vivo honey bee cell culture capable of in vitro gene expression analysis.PloS one · 2021Article
- The immune and circulatory systems are functionally integrated across insect evolution.Science advances · 2020Article
- Gut microbiota structure differs between honeybees in winter and summer.The ISME journal · 2020Article
- Variations in circulating hemocytes are affected by age and caste in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2018Article
- Distinct vitellogenin domains differentially regulate immunological outcomes in invertebrates.The Journal of biological chemistryArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Honey bees as other insects rely on the innate immune system for protection against diseases. The innate immune system includes the circulating hemocytes (immune cells) that clear pathogens from hemolymph (blood) by phagocytosis, nodulation or encapsulation. Honey bee hemocyte numbers have been linked to hemolymph levels of vitellogenin. Vitellogenin is a multifunctional protein with immune-supportive functions identified in a range of species, including the honey bee. Hemocyte numbers can increase via mitosis, and this recruitment process can be important for immune system function and maintenance. Here, we tested if hemocyte mediated phagocytosis differs among the physiologically different honey bee worker castes (nurses, foragers and winter bees), and study possible interactions with vitellogenin and hemocyte recruitment. To this end, we adapted phagocytosis assays, which-together with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry-allow qualitative and quantitative assessment of hemocyte performance. We found that nurses are more efficient in phagocytic uptake than both foragers and winter bees. We detected vitellogenin within the hemocytes, and found that winter bees have the highest numbers of vitellogenin-positive hemocytes. Connections between phagocytosis, hemocyte-vitellogenin and mitosis were worker caste dependent. Our results demonstrate that the phagocytic performance of immune cells differs significantly between honey bee worker castes, and support increased immune competence in nurses as compared to forager bees. Our data, moreover, provides support for roles of vitellogenin in hemocyte activity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.