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Originally published as JHC exPRESS on September 15, 2008.
doi:10.1369/jhc.2008.952317
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Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry
Volume 57 (1): 41-50, 2009
Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc.

Immunohistochemical Localization of Six Galectin Subtypes in the Mouse Digestive Tract

Junko Nio-Kobayashi, Hiromi Takahashi-Iwanaga and Toshihiko Iwanaga

Laboratory of Histology and Cytology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

Correspondence to: Dr. Junko Nio-Kobayashi, Laboratory of Histology and Cytology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita 15-Nishi 7, Kita-ku, 060-8638 Sapporo, Japan. E-mail: niojun{at}med.hokudai.ac.jp

Galectin, an animal lectin that recognizes β-galactoside of glycoconjugates, is abundant in the gut. This IHC study showed the subtype-specific localization of galectin in the mouse digestive tract. Mucosal epithelium showed region/cell-specific localization of each galectin subtype. Gastric mucous cells exhibited intense immunoreactions for galectin-2 and galectin-4/6 with a limited localization of galectin-3 at the surface of the gastric mucosa. Electron microscopically, galectin-3 immunoreactivity coated indigenous bacteria on the gastric surface mucous cells. Epithelial cells in the small intestine showed characteristic localizations of galectin-2 and galectin-4/6 in the cytoplasm of goblet cells and the baso-lateral membrane of enterocytes in association with maturation, respectively. Galectin-3 expressed only at the villus tips was concentrated at the myosin-rich terminal web of fully matured enterocytes. Epithelial cells of the large intestine contained intense immunoreactions for galectin-3 and galectin-4/6 but not for galectin-2. The stratified squamous epithelium of the forestomach was immunoreactive for galectin-3 and galectin-7, but the basal layer lacked galectin-3 immunoreactivity. Outside the epithelium, only galectin-1 was localized in the connective tissue, smooth muscles, and neuronal cell bodies. The subtype-specific localization of galectin suggests its important roles in host-pathogen interaction and epithelial homeostasis such as membrane polarization and trafficking in the gut. (J Histochem Cytochem 57:41–50, 2009)

Key Words: galectin • digestive tract • immunohistochemistry • epithelial maturation • terminal web


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