Abstract
The lectin binding characteristics of mouse placental cells were examined. Wax embedded tissue sections of placentae from d 14 pregnant mice were stained with 26 lectins, with a wide range of sugar specificities. Cell cultures prepared from d 14 mouse placentae and cultured for 24 h were stained with 7 of the lectins to determine if they could be used as markers for the different trophoblast cells in culture. In tissue sections all placental cell populations bound lectin but no lectin bound specifically to any single trophoblast population. All the lectins which bound to layer 1 cytotrophoblast lining the maternal blood spaces of the labyrinthine placenta also bound to the fetal endothelium of the labyrinthine placenta. Binding of lectin appeared strongest on the adluminal membrane of these cell populations suggesting a role for the carbohydrate moieties in nutrient transfer. Few lectins bound to junctional zone trophoblast. Overall, the binding of lectin to cultured cells did not correlate exactly with lectin binding to the cell populations in tissue sections. The value of lectins as markers for placental cells in culture was therefore found to be limited. Our findings indicate that carbohydrate expression by at least some placental cells may vary in culture from that expressed by the cells in vivo with obvious concerns for the validity of functional in vitro studies.
Keywords: Placenta, lectin histochemistry
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (274.6 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bulmer J. N., Peel S. Lectin histochemistry of rat placental tissues. Placenta. 1996 Sep;17(7):513–520. doi: 10.1016/s0143-4004(96)90034-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Damjanov A., Damjanov I. Isolation of serine protease from granulated metrial gland cells of mice and rats with lectin from Dolichos biflorus. J Reprod Fertil. 1992 Aug;95(3):679–684. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0950679. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Damjanov I. Lectin cytochemistry and histochemistry. Lab Invest. 1987 Jul;57(1):5–20. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ENDERS A. C. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE FINE STRUCTURE OF THE TROPHOBLAST IN SEVERAL HEMOCHORIAL PLACENTAS. Am J Anat. 1965 Jan;116:29–67. doi: 10.1002/aja.1001160103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jones C. J., Dantzer V., Leiser R., Krebs C., Stoddart R. W. Localisation of glycans in the placenta: a comparative study of epitheliochorial, endotheliochorial, and haemomonochorial placentation. Microsc Res Tech. 1997 Jul 1;38(1-2):100–114. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0029(19970701/15)38:1/2<100::AID-JEMT11>3.0.CO;2-T. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart I. J. Granulated metrial gland cells in the mouse placenta. Placenta. 1990 May-Jun;11(3):263–275. doi: 10.1016/s0143-4004(05)80273-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart I. J. Granulated metrial gland cells: pregnancy specific leukocytes? J Leukoc Biol. 1991 Aug;50(2):198–207. doi: 10.1002/jlb.50.2.198. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart I. J., Webster A. J. Lectin histochemical studies of mouse granulated metrial gland cells. Histochem J. 1997 Nov-Dec;29(11-12):885–892. doi: 10.1023/a:1026498025550. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart I. A morphological study of granulated metrial gland cells and trophoblast cells in the labyrinthine placenta of the mouse. J Anat. 1984 Dec;139(Pt 4):627–638. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart I., Mukhtar D. D. The killing of mouse trophoblast cells by granulated metrial gland cells in vitro. Placenta. 1988 Jul-Aug;9(4):417–425. doi: 10.1016/0143-4004(88)90054-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart I., Peel S. The differentiation of the decidua and the distribution of metrial gland cells in the pregnant mouse uterus. Cell Tissue Res. 1978 Feb 14;187(1):167–179. doi: 10.1007/BF00220629. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zuckermann F. A., Head J. R. Isolation and characterization of trophoblast from murine placenta. Placenta. 1986 Jul-Aug;7(4):349–364. doi: 10.1016/s0143-4004(86)80153-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]