Distribution of some Glycoconjugates in the Notochord and Developing Gut during Early Morphogenesis in Balb/c Mouse Embryos

Embryonic endoderm germinal layer, affected by notochord inductions, forms the primary gut epithelium and parenchyma of its derived organs. This study aims to determine some expressed glycoconjugates and their potential function in notochord and developing gut. In this descriptive-analytical study, 9 and 10 embryonic days (ED) of Balb/c mouse embryos were fixed in formalin and microscopic sections were prepared from them. These sections were processed for histochemical studies and then they were incubated with 6 different HRP conjugated lectins, including VVA, SBA, and PNA specific to identify terminal sugar (N-acetylgalactosamine) (GalNac) and lectins of GSA1-B4, LTA and WGA were respectively to identify the terminal sugars of galactose, fructose and sialic acid. The study results showed that the reactions of notochord and developing gut to VVA lectin were moderate on the 9ED and on the 10ED, they showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) from the day before and were severely assessed. Other GalNac specific lectins react severely and almost similarly to notochord and developing gut on the studied days. The other lectins in these two organs did not react similarly. According to the findings of this study, it seems that glycoconjugates with GalNac-terminal sugar probably have played a key role in differentiations of notochord and developing gut and may be involved in the interactions between these two organs.