Lectin Binding Sites in the Guinea Pig Stria Vascularis

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Limax flavus agglutinin (LFA) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) were employed to determine the localization of N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA=sialic acid) and N-acetylglucosamine (Glc-NAc) on thin sections of Lowicryl K4M embedded guinea pig striae vasculares, and the two lectins were revealed by means of fetuin-colloidal gold and ovomucoid-colloidal gold complexes, respectively.<BR>LFA labeling was found in many of the cytoplasmic vesicles located in the supranuclear region of the marginal cells, as well as in the basement membrane of the perivascular spaces. Intercellular spaces between marginal and intermediate cells, and those between marginal and basal cells were also positive. The plasma membrance, however, was completely unlabeled in all types of cells.<BR>WGA binding sites, on the other hand, were detected along the plasma membrane of all cells constituting the stria vascularis and in some of the supranuclear cytoplasmic vesicles in the marginal cells. Sugar inhibition experiments confirmed the specificity of LFA and WGA for NANA and Glc-NAc, respectively.<BR>The present results, together with the data previously obtained indicate that some of the cytoplasmic vesicles in the supranuclear region of the marginal cells play a role in the internalization mechanism and suggest their involvement in the selective uptake of ions.
日本めまい平衡医学会の論文