title: Cytochemical localization of hyaluronan in rat and human skin mast cell granules.
abstract: Rat and human skin were processed either by osmium tetroxide/microwave fixation followed by embedding in epoxy resin or by glutaraldehyde/microwave fixation and low-temperature embedding in Lowicryl K4M. Hyaluronan-binding proteins and link proteins (LP) were isolated from bovine nasal cartilage, coupled to 15-20-nm gold particles and employed as markers in a one-step post-embedding procedure for identifying hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) at the ultrastructural level. Mast cell granules of both species were labeled. The specificity of the hyaluronan-binding probes was demonstrated by treatment of sections with testicular hyaluronidase, Streptomyces hyaluronidase, and chondroitinase ABC, and pre-incubation of probes with hyaluronan oligosaccharides. The results suggest that mast cell granules are a rich source of hyaluronan; this finding may account for the striking concurrence of hyaluronan accumulation with a mastocytotic condition in many tissues undergoing pathologic changes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Eggli
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Graber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000737:chemistry*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D006820:Hyaluronic Acid