S. Iwamoto et al., LECTIN HISTOCHEMISTRY OF DORSAL SKIN OF WISTAR-DERIVED HYPOTRICHOTIC WBN ILA-HT RATS/, Experimental animals, 47(3), 1998, pp. 183-187
A lectin histochemical study was carried out on the dorsal skin of Wis
tar-derived hypotrichotic WBN/Ila-Ht rats (HtRs) and Wistar rats (WRs)
at 3, 7 and 24 weeks of age to clarify the lectinhistochemical charac
teristics of the skin during their development. The lectins examined w
ere Concanavalia ensiformis (Con A), Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA
), Griffonia simpliciolia (GS-I), Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA), Arac
his hypogaea (PNA), Glycine maximus agglutinin (SBA), Ulex europeus ag
glutinin (UEA-I) and Triticum vulgaris agglutinin (WGA). None of the n
ucleated cell layers of the epidermis had DBA-binding sites, but they
were all stained intensely with HPA and weakly with con A irrespective
of the strain and age of the rats. As to the other 5 lectins, the int
ensity of binding activity was generally weaker in HtRs than in WRs an
d at 3 weeks of age than at 7 or 24 weeks of age, respectively. Among
them, UEA-I mainly bound to the spinous cell layer but not to the basa
l cell layer, suggesting that alpha-L-fucose would be expressed on the
cell surface according to the differentiation of keratinocytes. In ad
dition, GS-I, HPA and UEA-I bound to the hair follicle epithelium and
many lectins stained sebaceous gland epithelial cells. In conclusion,
except for the binding intensity of some lectins, there were no specif
ic differences between HtRs and WRs in the lectinhistochemical charact
eristics of the dorsal skin epidermis. The present data on the rat ski
n would be useful from the viewpoint of comparative lectinhistochemist
ry.