Phenoloxydase and lipidic pigments in enriched Holothuria polii coelomocyte populations

Biochemical and cytochemical analyses on enriched amoebocyte and spherulocyte populations indicate that the prophenoloxydase activating system resides in both cellular types. On the contrary, spherulocytes alone appear to be the main source of lipopigments. The possibility that two distinct biochemical pathways could assist melanization in sea cucumber brown bodies is discussed.