Histochemistry of glycoconjugates in ovarian follicles of the adult house musk shrew, Suncus murinus
Suprasert, A.; Hirunagi, K.; Fujioka, T.; Yokoyama, A.
Acta Anatomica 136(4): 269-278
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-5180 PMID: 2609922 Document Number: 326934
In ovarian follicles of the adult horse musk shrew, Suncus murinus, glycoconjugates have been studied by means of light- and electron-microscopic histochemistry. The results obtained are that: (1) glycoconjugates of the zona pellucida of oocytes are provided with vicinal diol and acidic groupings, and sialic acid-galactose dimer, .alpha.-D-mannose, d-D-glucose, .beta.-D-galactose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and .alpha.-L-fucose residues; (2) glycoconjugates of the intercellular matrix of the granulosa and theca folliculi are comparable in histochemical properties to those of the zona pellucida, except for the relatively smaller amount of vicinal diol and acidic groupings, and (3) the zona pellucida can be divided into outer and inner layers by the binding degrees of the lectins used. The possible histophysiological significances of all these glycoconjugates are discussed with special reference to the particular ovarian follicular structures.