Abstract
THE macrophages of vertebrates and invertebrates1 as well as some Protozoa2 exhibit strong esterase and lipase activity demonstrable by histochemical and biochemical methods. Considering the prominent position of the hydrolytic enzymes in digestive processes, it seems probable that they have also some significance in the intracellular breakdown of particles, a common characteristic of both cell-types in question. In the course of our recent work on the problems of feeding and digestion in a histophagous ciliate, Tetrahymena corlissi Thompson, strain W, we obtained some results that may confirm this assumption.
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MÜLLER, M., TÓTH, J. & TÖRŐ, I. Increase of Esterase Activity during Intracellular Digestion in a Histophagous Ciliate. Nature 187, 65 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/187065a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/187065a0
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