Lectin binding patterns in nonsensory regions of rat cochlea during postnatal development

The distribution of glycoconjugates was examined in the nonsensory regions of the rat cochlea during postnatal development using biotin-conjugated lec tins. Temporal bones of rats at postnatal d 1 and at wk 2, 4 and 6 were fix ed in 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.1% glutaraldehyde and processed for paraffi n wax embedding. The dewaxed sections were incubated with 7 biotinylated le ctins, followed by avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex. A different staining p attern was observed in the stria vascularis, spiral ligament and spiral lim bus in the age groups examined. The staining intensity varied between lecti ns and the reaction product exhibited limited disparity. The staining inten sity for WGA increased with age in all the 3 nonsensory regions. The staini ng patterns for the other lectins differed in the various nonsensory region s examined indicating tissue specificity. The limited variations in the lec tin binding patterns after 2nd wk of postnatal life also indicate that the changes in the carbohydrate moieties are established during the fetal perio d of cochlear development and limited changes take place during postnatal m aturation of the nonsensory regions.