ULTRASTRUCTURE AND LECTIN CYTOCHEMISTRY OF THE CLOACAL KINGSBURYS GLANDS IN THE MALE NEWT TRITURUS-MARMORATUS MARMORATUS

The aim of this study was the morphological and histochemical characte rization of Kingsbury's glands in the male newt Triturus marmoratus ma rmoratus in the pre-reproductive and post-reproductive period of the t esticular cycle, using light and electron microscopy and lectin histoc hemistry. The Kingsbury's glands are a small group of tubular glands t hat surrounds the cloacal tube. In the pre-reproductive period, Kingsb ury's glands showed a cuboidal epithelium that was partially surrounde d by myoepithelial cells. Most of the cuboidal cells showed numerous s ecretion granules in their cytoplasm. About 1 of 23 epithelial cells w ere mitochondria-rich cells that contained abundant mitochondria inste ad of secretion granules. In the post-reproductive period, the glandul ar epithelium decreased in size and did not show the characteristic se cretion granules, and the glandular lumen was very reduced. The mitoch ondria-rich cells underwent no changes in this period, whereas the myo epithelial cells became larger. The lectin pattern of secretory cells in the pre-reproductive period was the following: the nuclei appeared strongly labeled with WGA, ConA, and SBA lectins, and scarcely with UE A-I; the cytosol was exclusively labeled with LcA; the rough endoplasm ic reticulum was labeled with ConA and LcA; the Golgi complex appeared labeled to PNA, HPA, and UEA-I; and the secretion granules labeled wi th all the lectins tested. Mitochondria-rich cells and myoepithelial c ells showed labeling to SBA, WGA, and ConA lectins but only in their n uclei. In the post-reproductive period, the nuclei of the three cell t ypes were labeled with WGA, ConA, and SEA. In addition, the cytosol of the secretory cells was labeled with LcA, and that of myoepithelial c ells with ConA. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.