HISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE NASO-LABIAL GLANDS OF 2 SPECIES OF RUMINANTS (OVIS ARIES AND BOS TAURUS)

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 28  (3) , 317-327
Abstract
The bovine and ovine naso-labial glands were examined. In both species these glands are multilobular tubulo-acinar, but the cells of secretory units display differences regarding nuclear shape and location, RER [rought endoplasmic reticulum] arrangement and secretion pattern. Histochemical characterization of naso-labial gland secretion was performed using the periodic acid Schiff reaction (PAS), the Alcian blue staining (AB) at pH''s ranging between 1.7 and 2.5, the Alcian blue-high Fe diamine (HID-AB) method, an immunohistochemical staining for muramidase at the light microscopic level and the periodic acid-thyocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate (PA-TCH-SP) technique at the EM level. In bovines the secretion is composed of glycoproteins, which are reactive to PAS, but not to Alcian blue staining. In ovines, a large quantity of acidic polysaccharides in association with a small quantity of sulfomucines was found. Ultrastructrual and cytochemical observations show that secretory granules do not have a homogeneous structure. They appear to be formed of a meshwork stained positively with the PA-TCH-SP method immersed in a light background. The particular morphological features of the naso-labial glands and their histochemical features suggest that these glands can be classified as seromucous in bovines and mucous in ovines.