Lectin-Binding Patterns in the Olfactory Epithelium and Vomeronasal Organ of the Common Marmoset.

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The patterns of expression of sugar residues in the olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ of the common marmoset were studied lectin-histochemically. Eight lectins including DBA, BSL-I, RCA-I, s-WGA, PNA, ECL, UEA-I and Con A bound to the free border of the olfactory epithelium, and 6 lectins including DBA, RCA-I, s-WGA, PNA, ECL and UEA-I bound to that of the vomeronasal organ. UEA-I bound to all dendrites of the olfactory receptor cells, and 6 lectins including BSL-I, RCA-I, s-WGA, PNA, ECL and Con A bound to only a part of dendrites of the olfactory receptor cells. ECL and UEA-I bound to all dendrites of the vomeronasal receptor cells, and s-WGA, PNA and Con A bound to only a part of dendrites of the vomeronasal receptor cells. Seven lectins including RCA-I, s-WGA, BSL-II, PNA, ECL, UEA-I and Con A bound to all the olfactory receptor cell bodies, and BSL-I bound to only a part of them. Six lectins including RCA-I, s-WGA, PNA, ECL, UEA-I and Con A bound to all the vomeronasal receptor cell bodies, and BSL-II bound to only a part of them. These results showed that a smaller number of lectins bound to the free border, dendrites and cell bodies of the receptor cells in the vomeronasal organ than those in the olfactory epithelium, suggesting that the vomeronasal organ is less active in some physiological functions with which sugar residues are associated than the olfactory epithelium in the common marmoset. -KEY WORDS: common marmoset, lectin histochemistry, olfactory epithelium, sugar residues, vomeronasal organ.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 60(9): 1005-1011, 1998 In the present study, therefore, we comparatively investigated lectin-binding patterns in the olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ of the common marmoset to reveal the difference in the pattern of expression of sugar residues in these receptor organs as a morphological evidence of the presence of two olfactory systems. MATERIALS AND METHODSSix adult female common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) weighing 300-400 g were used in the present study. The animals were deeply anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine and perfused through the heart with physiological saline followed by Bouin's solution without acetic acid. After the perfusion, the olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ were removed, immersed in the same fixative as in the perfusion for 24-36 hr and embedded in paraffin. Paraffin sections were cut coronally at 5 µm, deparaffinized with xylene and processed for lectin-histochemical staining. In the present study, we used 9 kinds of biotinylated lectins purchased from the Vector Inc., Burlingame, U. S. A. They were reacted with the olfactory epithelium and/or vomeronasal organ in our preliminary experiment. Their optimal concentration and sugar specificity are listed in Table 1. Lectin-staining was performed by the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex (ABC) method using the Vectastain ABC kit (Vector, Burlingame, U. S. A.) and involved the following steps: 1) incubation with 1% bovine serum albumin at 32°C for 30 min; 2) rinse in 0.02 M phosphate...

Expression Patterns of Glycoconjugates in the Three Distinctive Olfactory Pathways of the Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis.

“…This suggestion represents that each of the three distinct olfactory subsystems constitutes the unique projection pathway from the epithelium to the olfactory bulb, and that each olfactory pathway differs in its expression of glycoconjugates. Although differential expressions of glycoconjugates among the three olfactory pathways were mainly examined by the use of SBA until now, application of a variety of lectins may enable to reveal the nature of glycoconjugates expressed differentially [10,11,13,25]. Prior to the examination of expression patterns of glycoconjugates in the Xenopus primary olfactory system using 21 kind of lectins, we first confirmed the topographic glycoconjugates in the ventral pathway may be resulted from the difference in the mode of embryonic origin of the ventral pathway from the two pathways.…”

Comparative study of lectin reactivity in the vomeronasal organ of human and nonhuman primates

“…These lectins were highly reactive in VRNs of the marmoset (Nakajima et al, 1998). Experimental concentrations were determined through preliminary testing and are listed in Table 1.…”

“…The precise significance of lectin reactivity in regard to receptor neurons remains elusive. Since these procedures reveal the glycoconjugate distribution on the cell surface, lectin reactivity has been suggested to reflect physiological aspects of signal transduction (Nakajima et al, 1998) or development (Evans, 2003: chap. 4).…”

“…Although no precise functions have yet been determined, a number of mammals (e.g., rodents, ungulates, marmosets) possessing chemosensory vomeronasal organs (VNOs; i.e., vomeronasal neurons are present) have been studied using panels of lectins (Nakajima et al, 1998;. Regardless of the specific functional implications, several lectin panels have been developed that reveal ste-reotypical distribution of glycoconjugates in VNOs of various mammals (Nakajima et al, 1998;.…”

“…Regardless of the specific functional implications, several lectin panels have been developed that reveal ste-reotypical distribution of glycoconjugates in VNOs of various mammals (Nakajima et al, 1998;. As such, it is of great interest to know how lectin reactivity compares between two primates known to have VNOs of vestigial appearance, humans and chimpanzees (Smith et al, 2001a(Smith et al, , 2002, and primates with VNOs that are known to be chemosensory in nature (strepsirrhines: lemurs and lorises).…”