Developmental changes in mucosubstances revealed by immunostaining with antimucus monoclonal antibodies and lectin staining in the epithelium lining the segment from gizzard to duodenum of the chick embryo.

The mucosubstances in the epithelium lining the segment from gizzard to duodenum during development of the chick embryo was studied histochemically using monoclonal antibodies against gizzard mucus and lectins, with attention to the regional differentiation of the epithelium in this segment. The anterior limit of epithelial CdxA mRNA expression detected by in situ hybridisation, which served as the position of the gizzard-duodenal boundary, was clearly found from d 3. Granules positive for some antibodies or lectins were found in the region ranging from the posterior part of the gizzard to the duodenum at d 3, which was followed by an increase in the number of granules and a gradual enlargement of the granule-positive area to the anterior part of the gizzard over 4-6 d. From d 4, the epithelia of the gizzard body and of the pyloric or duodenal region came to be differently stained with some antibodies or lectins. From d 10, each region showed a specific pattern of staining. The epithelia of the gizzard body and pyloric region contained abundant mucus granules with a different staining pattern. In the duodenum the number of stained granules was low except in occasional goblet cells. Thus the epithelia of the gizzard body, pyloric region and duodenum may produce different mucosubstances and the regional differentiation in these epithelia may start at rather early stages soon after the formation of digestive tube.