Mucin O-glycosylation Research Articles

Heterogeneity of glycoconjugates in the secretory cells of the chinchilla middle ear and eustachian tubal epithelia: a lectin-gold cytochemical study.

The present study was conducted to characterize and localize the glycoconjugates in the tubotympanum (auditory or eustachian tube and middle ear cavity) of chinchilla on an ultrastructural level, using lectin-gold complexes with six different lectins: BPA, ConA, RCA-1, WGA, LFA, and SNA. A comparison of the affinity of these lectins demonstrated the heterogeneity of secretory cells. The glandular serous cells and epithelial dark granulated cells produced "serum"-type glycoprotein. The glandular mucous cells and goblet cells produced dominantly "mucin"-type glycoprotein in the light granules, but "serum"-type glycoprotein in the dark cores. The labeling of LFA and SNA showed that sialic acids existed mainly in the mucinous granules of secretory cells and ciliated epithelium glycocalyx, and in the mucous blanket. The results also suggested that the dominant linkage of sialic acids of mucin is a Neu5Ac(alpha 2-6)Gal/GalNAc sequence. Furthermore, the data obtained from ConA and BPA suggested that initial O-glycosylation of mucin took place in the cis side of the Golgi apparatus and that initial N-glycosylation of the serum occurred in the rough endoplasmic reticulum.

The subcellular localization of apomucin and nonreducing terminal N-acetylgalactosamine in porcine submaxillary glands.

Antibodies prepared against enzymatically deglycosylated porcine submaxillary gland mucin (apomucin), which were unreactive with native mucin and its partially deglycosylated derivatives, were used to immunolocalize apomucin in situ. Electron microscopy of sections of Lowicryl K4M-embedded tissue reacted successively with antibodies and protein A-gold complexes showed apomucin exclusively in mucous cells within the rough endoplasmic reticulum, transitional elements of the endoplasmic reticulum, and vesicles at the cis side of the Golgi apparatus. The Golgi apparatus, forming mucous droplets, and mucous droplets contained no apomucin. Although the rough endoplasmic reticulum contained most of the apomucin in mucous cells, some cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum and the nuclear envelope were devoid of apomucin. Examination of tissue sections treated with the glycosidases used to prepare apomucin revealed immunolabel for apomucin throughout the secretory pathway. Colloidal gold coated with Helix pomatia lectin was used to detect nonreducing N-acetylgalactosamine residues. In mucin-producing cells lectin-gold was found in the mucous droplets, the forming mucous droplets, and throughout the Golgi apparatus but mostly in the cis portion of this organelle. In tissue sections reacted successively with lectin-gold and anti-apomucin/protein A-gold, both types of gold complex could be found in the cis side of the Golgi apparatus. These data indicate that the O-glycosylation of mucin is a posttranslational event that occurs in the Golgi apparatus and begins in the cis side of the Golgi apparatus.