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On the glycocalyx, the external coat of the plasma membrane, of some secretory cells

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Summary

The free surface of epithelial cells of secretory organs (human placenta, lactating mammary gland of the rat, choroid plexus of man and rat) and of the accessory organs of the genital tract of the male rat is characterized by a plasmalemmal differentiation named glycocalyx or surface mucous coat. This structure is built up by filamentous or globular substructures.

Two main ultrastructural types of the glyeocalyx were observed: 1) The filamentous type such as in the rat epididymis, which resembles the cat intestinal glyeocalyx (Ito, 1965) and that one of human transitional epithelium (Monis and Zambrano, 1968), and 2) The globular type, as observed in the lumen of the lactating mammary gland of the rat.

Sialic acid was demonstrated histochemically in the luminal glyeocalyx of all organs studied. In addition, the glyeocalyx of acinar cells of the lactating mammary gland contains sulfate and phosphate groups which were identified by histochemical technics, using enzymatic digestion procedures, suggesting the chemical heterogeneity of this glyeocalyx.

Present investigations follow the working hypothesis that the complex carbohydrates of glycocalyces become part of the product of activity of secreting cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biologia Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Casilla Postal 362, Córdoba, Argentina

    Benito Monis, Alberto Candiotti & José E. Fabro

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  1. Benito Monis
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  2. Alberto Candiotti
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  3. José E. Fabro
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Additional information

We thank Mr. Luis Iwakawa, Miss Silvia Falcón, Miss Elsa M. Orgnero for technical help, Miss Graciela Aliaga for secretarial assistance. Photography by Mr. H. Magnani. Dr. Hugo F. Carrer cooperated in the initial stages of this investigation.

The authors acknowledge the use of the electron microscope of the Department of Pathology, Córdoba University Medical School, for which they thank Prof. E. Mosquera and Dr. E. Hliba. Dr. Hliba photographed picture number 4.

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Monis, B., Candiotti, A. & Fabro, J.E. On the glycocalyx, the external coat of the plasma membrane, of some secretory cells. Z. Zellforsch. 99, 64–73 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00338798

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