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Light and electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry and lectin histochemistry of the subcommissural organ: Evidence for processing of the secretory material

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Summary

The subcommissural organ (SCO) of the rat was investigated by use of histochemical and immunocytochemical methods at the light and electron-microscopic levels. Consecutive thin methacrylate sections were stained with the pseudoisocyanin (Psi), immunoperoxidase (IMC; employing an antiserum against Reissner's fiber, AFRU), periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and periodic acid-silver methenamine (SM) techniques, and reacted with six types of lectins. Psi, SM, concanavalin A (Con A) and IMC were also used for double and triple sequential staining of the same section. Increasing dilutions of AFRU (from 1∶1000 to 1∶200 000) were used for immunostaining of serial paraffin sections. In addition, ultrastructural localization of (i) Con A-binding sites and (ii) immunoreactive secretory material was performed. Some of these procedures were also applied to the ophidian and canine SCO.

Con A-positive, Psi-positive and immunoreactive materials coexisted within the same cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The Golgi apparatus lacked Con A-positive and immunoreactive substances. Apical secretory granules and secreted material lying on the surface of the SCO showed (i) the highest affinity for AFRU, but were (ii) Con A-negative, and (iii) wheat-germ agglutinin-, PAS and SM-positive. Reissner's fiber displayed a low affinity for AFRU.

It is suggested that the SCO secretes N-linked glycoproteins, the carbohydrate and protein moeities of which undergo (i) a maturation process before being released, and (ii) some kind of modification(s) after their release into the ventricle. The perivascular secretory cells of the dog SCO might secrete a material different from that secreted by the ependymal cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Histología y Patología, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Estéban M. Rodríguez, Hernán Herrera, Bruno Peruzzo, Sara Rodríguez, Silvia Hein & Andreas Oksche

  2. Department of Anatomy and Cytobiology, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Giessen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Estéban M. Rodríguez, Hernán Herrera, Bruno Peruzzo, Sara Rodríguez, Silvia Hein & Andreas Oksche

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  1. Estéban M. Rodríguez
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  2. Hernán Herrera
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  3. Bruno Peruzzo
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  4. Sara Rodríguez
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  5. Silvia Hein
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  6. Andreas Oksche
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Supported by Grant I/38 259 from the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk, Federal Republic of Germany, and Grant RS-82-18 from the Direction de Investigaciones, Universidad Austral de Chile. The authors wish to thank Mrs. Elizabeth Santibáñez, Mr. Genaro Alvial and Mr. Luis Delannoy (Valdivia), and Mrs. Ragnhild Momberger (Giessen) for valuable technical cooperation

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Rodríguez, E.M., Herrera, H., Peruzzo, B. et al. Light and electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry and lectin histochemistry of the subcommissural organ: Evidence for processing of the secretory material. Cell Tissue Res. 243, 545–559 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218061

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