V. Franceschini et al., HISTOCHEMICAL-STUDY BY LECTIN-BINDING OF SURFACE GLYCOCONJUGATES IN THE DEVELOPING OLFACTORY SYSTEM OF RAT, International journal of developmental neuroscience, 12(3), 1994, pp. 197-206
Lectin-binding histochemistry was used to investigate the distribution
and density of defined carbohydrate sequences on the cell surface gly
coproteins of the olfactory receptors of rat during development. The o
lfactory and vomeronasal receptors showed a positive labelling after b
iotinylated Lycopersicum esculentum lectin binding on embryonic day 16
(E16), while horseradish peroxidase-labelled Glycine max, Bandeiraea
simplicifolia (BSA-I) and its B-4 isomer BSA-I-B-4 agglutinins started
to label from day is (Els). From this stage onward there was a progre
ssive increase in the intensity and number of lectin-binding olfactory
receptors. The first lectin-labelled bundles of axons penetrating the
olfactory bulb were observed on E20; from E21 it was possible to iden
tify the first labelled glomeruli that, on the first day (PZ) of postn
atal life, showed a feature very similar to that of the adult. The lec
tin staining patterns indicate that during development there are diffe
rences in the kind and distribution of saccharidic moieties on the sur
face of rat olfactory neurons. The possible role of carbohydrate-conta
ining glycoproteins in the reception and transduction of the odours an
d in the modulation of the cell-cell interactions in the olfactory sys
tem is discussed.