Effect of captive breeding on the Amoebocyte cell viability in Malaysian horseshoe crab (Tachypleus gigas)

Amoebocyte cells degranulate in response to the bacterial pyrogen, which is the basis for the detection of endotoxin in various medical applications. It is presumed that the captive breeding might impart the cellular reaction by altering their functionality. Crabs under 4 month captivity and wild crabs were bled in triplicate to determine cell viability and density. A total of 3 anticoagulants formulations (A, B and C) were used to obtain the amoebocyte cells. Results showed that the significant reduction in the cell viability of captive crabs compared to the wild crabs (P C>A (refer methodology). We conclude that the captive breeding has profound negative effect on the amoebocyte viability.