Abstract
The localization of α-D-galactose, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine sugar residues of glycoconjugates in the vomeronasal organ, olfactory mucosa, and septal organ in the nasal mucosae of rats was investigated using lectinohistochemical techniques combined with bright-field, epifluorescence, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Glycoconjugates in the mucomicrovillar complex of the vomeronasal organ contained all the sugar residues investigated, whereas glycoconjugates in the mucociliary complex of the olfactory mucosa and septal organ contained only N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Vomeronasal receptor neurons expressed glycoconjugates with terminal α-D-galactose and β-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues, whereas olfactory and septal receptor neurons expressed glycoconjugates with only N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues. Secretory granules of glands of the vomeronasal organ contained glycoconjugates with terminal α-D-galactose and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, whereas those of the Bowman's glands and glands of septal organ contained glycoconjugates with only internal N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues. The results demonstrate that the glycoconjugates expressed by vomeronasal receptor neurons and glands contain terminal α-D-galactose and β-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine sugar residues that are not expressed by analogous cells in the olfactory mucosa and septal organ.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams DR (1992) Fine structure of the vomeronasal and septal olfactory epithelia and of glandular structures. Microscopy Res Tech 23:86–97
Barber PC, Raisman G (1978) Replacement of receptor neurones after section of the vomeronasal nerves in the adult mouse. Brain Res 147:297–313
Bojsen-Møller F (1964) Topography of the nasal glands in rats and some other mammals. Anat Rec 150:11–24
Bojsen-Møller F (1975) Demonstration of terminalis, olfactory, trigeminal and perivascular nerves in the rat nasal septum. J Comp Neurol 159:245–256
Breer H (1991) Molecular reaction cascades in olfactory signal transduction. J Steroid Biochem Molec Biol 39 4B:621–625
Carr WES, Gleeson RA, Trapido-Rosenthal HG (1990) The role of perireceptor events in chemosensory processes. TINS 13:212–215
Chen Y, Getchell ML, Ding X, Getchell TV (1992) Immunolocalization of two cytochrome P450 isozymes in rat nasal chemosensory tissue. NeuroReport 3:749–752
Chen Y, Getchell TV, Sparks DL, Getchell ML (1993) Patterns of adrenergic and peptidergic innervation in human olfactory mucosa: age-related trends. J Comp Neurol 334:104–116
Crowley JF, Goldstein IJ, Arnarp J, Lönngren J (1984) Carbohydrate binding studies on the lectin from Datura stramonium seeds. Arch Biochem Biophys 231:524–533
Cuschieri A, Bannister LH (1974) Some histochemical observations on the mucosubstances of the nasal glands of the mouse. Histochem J 6:543–558
Etzler ME, Kabat EA (1970) Purification and characterization of a lectin (plant hemagglutinin) with blood group A specificity from Dolichos biflorus. Biochemistry 9:869–877
Foster JD, Getchell ML, Getchell TV (1991) Identification of sugar residues in secretory glycoconjugates of olfactory mucosae using lectin histochemistry. Anat Rec 229:525–544
Garrosa M, Coca S, Mora OA (1986) Histological development of the vomeronasal complex in the pre- and postnatal rat. Acta Otolalyngol (Stockh) 102:291–301
Getchell ML, Getchell TV (1991) Immunohistochemical localization of components of the immune barrier in the olfactory mucosae of salamanders and rats. Anat Rec 231:358–374
Getchell ML, Kulkarni AP, Getchell TV (1993) Localization of immune system markers in adult human and rat vomeronasal organs. Chem Senses 18:560
Getchell TV, Margolis FL, Getchell ML (1984) Perireceptor and receptor events in vertebrate olfaction. Progr Neurobiol 23:317–345
Getchell TV, Getchell ML (1990) Regulatory factors in the vertebrate olfactory mucosa. Chem Senses 15:223–231
Getchell TV, Su Z, Getchell ML (1993) Mucous domains: Microchemical heterogeneity in the mucociliary complex of the olfactory epithelium. In: Chadwick D, Marsh J, Goode J (eds) The molecular basis of smell and taste transduction, Ciba Foundation Symposium 179. Wiley, Chichester, pp 27–50
Graziadei PPC (1977) Functional anatomy of the mammalian chemoreceptor system. In: Müller-Schwarze D, Mozell MM (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates. Plenum Press, New York, pp 435–454
Hofmann MH, Meyer DL (1991) Functional subdivisions of the olfactory system correlates with lectin-binding properties in Xenopus. Brain Res 564:344–347
Ichikawa M, Osada T, Ikai A (1992) Bandeiraea simplicifolia lectin I and Vicia villosa agglutinin bind specifically to the vomeronasal axons in the accessory olfactory bulb of the rat. Neurosci Res 13:73–79
Katz S, Merzel J (1977) Distribution of epithelia and glands of the nasal septum mucosa in the rat. Acta Anat 99:58–66
Key B, Giorgi PP (1986) Soybean agglutinin binding to the olfactory systems of the rat and mouse. Neurosci Letts 69:131–136
Khew-Goodall Y, Grillo M, Getchell ML, Danho W, Getchell TV, Margolis FL (1991) Vomeromodulin, a putative pheromone transporter: cloning, characterization, and cellular localization of a novel glycoprotein of lateral nasal gland. FASEB J 5:2976–2982
Lundh B, Brockstedt U, Kristensson K (1989) Lectin-binding pattern of neuroepithelial and respiratory epithelial cells in the mouse nasal cavity. Histochem J 21:33–43
Margolis FL (1988) Molecular cloning of olfactory-specific gene products. In: Margolis FL, Getchell TV (eds) Molecular neurobiology of the olfactory system. Plenum, New York, pp 237–265
Margolis FL, Kudrycki K, Stein-Izsak, Grillo M, Akeson R (1993) From genotype to olfactory neuron phenotype: the role of the Olf-1-binding site. In: Chadwick D, Marsh J, Goode J (eds) The molecular basis of smell and taste transduction, Ciba Foundation Symposium 179. Wiley, Chichester, pp 3–26
Mendoza AS (1986) The mouse vomeronasal glands: a light and electron microscopical study. Chem Senses 11:541–555
Mendoza AS, Kühnel W (1991) Lektinhistochemische Untersuchungen an der Regio olfactoria und am vomeronasalen Organ von Ratte und Goldhamster. Acta Histochem 91:173–184
Monsigny M, Roche A-C, Sene C, Maget-Dana R, Delmotte F (1980) Sugar-lectin interactions: How does wheat-germ agglutinin bind sialoglycoconjugates? Eur J Biochem 104:147–153
Mori K (1987) Monoclonal antibodies (2C5 and 4C9) against lactoseries carbohydrates identify subsets of olfactory and vomeronasal receptor cells and their axons in the rabbit. Brain Res 408:215–221
Murphy LA, Goldstein IJ (1977) Five α-D-galactosyl-binding isolectins from Bandeiraea simplicifolia seeds. J Biol Chem 252:4739–4742
Paulson JC, Colley KJ (1989) Glycosyltransferases. Structure, localization, and control of cell type-specific glycosylation. J Biol Chem 264:17615–17618
Rama Krishna NS, Getchell ML, Getchell TV (1992a) Differential distribution of γ-glutamyl cycle molecules in the vomeronasal organ of rats. NeuroReport 3:551–554
Rama Krishna NS, Getchell ML, Tate SS, Margolis FL, Getchell TV (1992b) Glutathione and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase are differentially distributed in the olfactory mucosa of rats. Cell Tissue Res 270:475–484
Schwarting GA, Crandall JE (1991) Subsets of olfactory and vomeronasal sensory epithelial cells and axons revealed by monoclonal antibodies to carbohydrate antigens. Brain Res 547:239–248
Scott LC, Bacou F, Sanes JR (1988) A synapse-specific carbohydrate at the neuromuscular junction: Association with both acetylcholinesterase and a glycolipid. J Neurosci 8:932–944
Snyder DA, Rivers AM, Yokoe H, Menco BPhM, Anholt RRH (1991) Olfactomedin: purification, characterization, and localization of a novel olfactory glycoprotein. Biochemistry 30:9143–9153
Spicer SS, Schulte BA (1992) Diversity of cell glycoconjugates shown histochemically: A perspective. J Histochem Cytochem 40:1–38
Takami S, Graziadei PPC, Ichikawa M (1992) The differential staining patterns of two lectins in the accessory olfactory bulb of the rat. Brain Res 598:337–342
Taniguchi K, Mochizuki K (1982) Morphological studies on the vomeronasal organ in the golden hamster. Jpn J Vet Sci 44:419–426
Taniguchi K, Mochizuki K (1983) Comparative morphological studies on the vomeronasal organ in rats, mice, and rabbits. Jpn J Vet Sci 45:67–76
Tollefsen SE, Kornfield R (1983) Isolation and characterization of lectins from Vicia villosa. J Biol Chem 258:5165–5171
Tollefsen SE, Kornfield R (1984) The B4 lectin from Vicia villosa seeds interacts with N-acetylgalactosamine residues on erythrocytes with blood group Cad specificity. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 123:1099–1106
Wysocki CJ (1979) Neurobehavioral evidence for the involvement of the vomeronasal system in mammalian reproduction. Neurosci Behav Rev 3:301–341
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Takami, S., Getchell, M.L. & Getchell, T.V. Lectin histochemical localization of galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, and N-acetylglucosamine in glycoconjugates of the rat vomeronasal organ, with comparison to the olfactory and septal mucosae. Cell Tissue Res 277, 211–230 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00327769
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00327769