The use of peroxidase-labelled Limulus polyphemus agglutinin for the histochemistry of sialic acid-containing glycoproteins in light microscopy.
The usefulness of a lectin, Limulus polyphemus agglutinin (LPA) has been tested in a series of mammalian tissues with sialic acid-containing glycoproteins. In nearly all the tissues employed, the positive peroxidase-labelled LPA diaminobenzidine (LPA-PO-DAB) reaction of various histological structures was markedly diminished in intensity or abolished, following digestion with neuraminidase. In the same tissues, sialic acid added with LPA-PO abolished the LPA-PO-DAB reaction or notably suppressed its intensity. In the majority of the tissues tested, the LPA-PO-DAB-Alcian Blue (AB) (pH 1.0 or 2.5) procedures appear to be useful dual staining methods which enable one to colour selectively sialic acid-containing and other acidic carbohydrates. In view of the endogenous peroxidase activity in particular histological structures, however, appropriate control staining procedures should be performed when the LPA-PO-DAB procedure is employed, either alone or in combination with AB procedures, to determine the histochemical properties of sialic acid-containing glycoproteins.
D000818:Animals; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006737:Horseshoe Crabs; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins; D010544:Peroxidases; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D006023:Glycoproteins; D037102:Lectins; D012794:Sialic Acids; D010544:Peroxidases