Histochemical study of acidic mucin pattern in different mucin secreting epithelia in rabbits

ABSTRACT

Adult rabbits are studied in various organs of rabbits with the potential of differentiation between suifomucins and sialomucins and the recognition of their locations in the studied organs. Adult rabbits were sacrified under general ether anaesthesia and the trachea, small bronchus, parotid gland, stomach, gall bladder; duodenum; small and large intestine were dissected The organs were processed for paraffin sections and stained with combined alcian blue-alcian yellow technique. The results observed have concluded the predominance of sulfomucins which reacted very strongly with the histochemical stain. Sialomucins have been hardly detected. It has also been demonstralted that the plasma membranes and the epithelial secretions are the most reactive structures which suggest the complex carbohydrate entity of their nature. Sulfomucins have been proved to be the prime chemical component of this complex carbohydrates. The procedures employed in this study have been specific and reliable for studying epithelial mucins