CHANGES IN THE LEVELS AND DISTRIBUTION OF GLYCOGEN DURING REGENERATION OF CUTANEOUS WOUNDS IN HETEROPNEUSTES-FOSSILIS - A HISTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION

Incisional wounds of the same length and depth were made in the skin o f catfish Heteropneustes fossilis, and the response in terms of levels of glycogen in cells during healing was studied histochemically. Afte r injury, glycogen disappeared completely from the cells in the migrat ing epidermis. This disappearance is correlated with the migration of the epidermal cells toward the wound gap for epithelialization and the increased production of mucous cells at the initial stages of healing . The gradual accumulation of glycogen in the epithelial cells and the basal cells after epithelialization of the wound during the early sta ges of healing suggests that in these cells gluconeogenesis predominat es. The gradual disappearance of glycogen from the epithelial cells 72 h after injury and from the basal cells 36 h after injury indicates t he gradual resumption of their metabolic activities. The increased gra dients of glycogen in club cells that are undergoing vacuolization and disintegration are discussed. No significant levels of glycogen were observed during the formation of granulation tissue and biosynthesis o f the sub-cutis. The depletion of glycogen in the degenerating muscle bundles is correlated with the synthesis of lactic acid which contribu tes to local acidity and favours the autolysis of muscles. (C) The Fis heries Society of the British Isles.