Histochemical Characteristics of Glycoproteins During Rat Palatine Gland Development

Abstract

Lectin histochemistry has been used to investigate glycosylation modification and glycoprotein expression that occurs during development and under different physiological and pathological conditions. Several lectin histochemical studies have been performed on the palatine gland of different species, which have described the heterogeneity of complex glycoconjugates present in these structures. However, no study has been conducted with regard to the relationship between glycoproteins and palatine gland development in mammals. Therefore, we conducted a study to test the hypothesis that a considerable modification in the expression of carbohydrates occurs in the palatine gland during developmental differentiation and maturation. Histochemical changes of glycoconjugates were observed during prenatal and postnatal development of the rat palatine gland. Qualitative and quantitative differences for the binding of lectins to palatal epithelium sections were determined. All lectins showed general progressive staining during development that was basally extended from the apical cytoplasm of mucous cells. The distribution of glycoproteins during palatine gland development and the heterogeneous distribution of glycoproteins observed between posterior and anterior sides expand our knowledge of the role of salivary glands in oral function. In this review, we describe and discuss glycohistochemical observations of the developing rat palatine gland.