• Applied Microscopy
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 1999

The relationship between intravascular erythroblasts and Kupffer cells in the human fetal liver from 11 to 20 week gestation was studied ultrastructurally. The walls of the developing sinusoids consisted of two cell types devoid of basal lamina, the nonfenestrasted endothelial cells and Kupffer cells. Kupffer cells examined were easily identified by their content of phagosmes and their morphological features, and partially proliferated by mitotic division which was different way of proliferation from adult. Some extruded nuclei of acidophilic erythroblasts were trapped within Kupffer cells which exhibited various stages of intracellular digestion of the nuclei. During high activity of human fetal hepatic erythropoiesis, Kupffer cells were found in association with developing erythrob-lasts, which was similar with erythroblastic islands. The developing erythroblasts were partially surrounded by multilaminated membrane system of the Kupffer cell consisting erythroblastic island, or in contact with Kupffer cell via cytoptasmic processes in the sinu-soidal lumen. The presence of these islands was confirmed by transmission and scanning electron microscopic study. The results demonstrate that Kupffer cells in fetal heaptic erythropoiesis phagocytized expelled nuclei and contributed to erythropoiesis mechanically and physiologically by the hypertrophy and the formation of erythroblastic islands.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.151-170
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• 1993

Morphometric, band-pattern and electrophoretic analysis on Cobitis taenia complex were performed to investigate the morphological and genetic differentiation and to clarify their taxonomic status. Intermediate types of band-pattern (C and D type) were more frequently expressed than that of types of C. t. taenia(type A) and C. t. lutheri (type B). Sexual dimorphism of band-pattern was observed not only in C. t. taenia(type A) and C. t. lutheri(type B). Sexual dimorphism of band-pattern was observed not only in C. t. lutheri but also in C. t. taenia and C. t. striata as well. Discriminant function analysis based on 19 morphological characters shows no significant differences among C. taenia complex. The degree of genic variation of C. t. striata was higher ( =1.48, P=31.2%, HD=0.009) than those of C. t. striata was higher( =1.48, P=31.2%, HD=0.082 and HG=0.009) than those of C. t. lutheri ( =1.37, P=2.7%, HD=0.058 and HG=0.065). The average genetic similarities between C. t. lutheri and C. t. taenia-C. t. striata were S=0.62 and S=0.66 respectively and these values indicate that C. t. tanenia has evolved specific level of differentiation. C. t. striata and C. t. lutheri show subspecifc level of close genetic similarity (S=0.82). Based on the divergent time estimate (Nei, 1975) it is assumed that C. t. tanenia was branched off from the other subspecies about two million years before present (MYBP) and C. t. striata and C. t. lutheri were differentiated about 0.6 MYBP. The use of C. sinesis an the scientific name for the Korean C. t. taenia, proposed by Kim and Lee (1988) seems incorrect since they are quite different in the structure of lamina circularis (Vladycov, 1935), the external morphology and distribution (Cheng and Zheng, 1987) and the chromosome number(Yu et al., 1989). Kim and Lee(1988) also argued that C.t. striata and C. t. lutheri should be treated as distinct species but the present study and other reports (Kim and Lee, 1984; Kim and Yang, 1993) do not support it. We conclude that C. t. taenia is a good species and C. t. striata and C. t. lutheri are subspecific status. Their scientific names should be revised in the future.