Permeability and changes in carbohydrate moiety in rat endometrial epithelium during oestrus as revealed by ruthenium red.

We have used four different methods of ruthenium red (RuR) staining (RuR-Lumen, RuR-Glu, Glu/CB-RuR and RuR-OsO4) in order to study the permeability of the uterine epithelial cells of the rat during oestrus. The best results were obtained with the application of RuR-OsO4, and this test was used for the statistical analysis. In addition, the dialyzed iron and diamine test (HID) techniques corroborated the nature of the acid glycoconjugate part of luminal surface of the uterine epithelium stained by the RuR. By means of the Thiéry technique we detected the presence of neutral glycoconjugates. These results, together with statistical analysis, lead us to suggest a) that the uterine epithelial cells present a greater permeability to RuR during early oestrus (Stage II) than during the later part (Stage III) and b) that sulphate group-bearing glycoconjugates decrease in the course of the oestrus, whereas the neutral glycoconjugates remain constant.