Griffith C M, Wiley M J
Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Teratology. 1990 Mar;41(3):281-8. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420410305.
Retinoic acid (RA), a potent teratogen of caudal axial development in rodents, has been shown to alter glycoconjugates in a variety of embryonic tissues and teratocarcinomas. In this study, we examined its effects on the expression of cell surface and extracellular matrix glycoconjugates during tail bud development in mouse embryos by using lectin histochemistry. The lectins WGA, sWGA, and PNA showed striking differences in binding between RA-exposed and control embryos. Computer-assisted densitometry revealed a significant increase in binding of all three lectins to the extracellular material of the luminal and abluminal borders of the secondary neural tube and surrounding the notochord in RA-exposed embryos. RA-treated embryos also showed an increased binding affinity for the lectins sWGA and PNA to the cells of the notochord, while WGA showed increased binding to the neuroepithelial cells of the secondary neural tube. The results suggest that RA affects the expression of lectin binding sites during the early development of RA-induced caudal axial defects.
视黄酸（RA）是啮齿动物尾轴发育的一种强效致畸剂，已被证明会改变多种胚胎组织和畸胎瘤中的糖缀合物。在本研究中，我们通过凝集素组织化学研究了其对小鼠胚胎尾芽发育过程中细胞表面和细胞外基质糖缀合物表达的影响。凝集素WGA、sWGA和PNA在暴露于RA的胚胎和对照胚胎之间的结合上表现出显著差异。计算机辅助密度测定显示，在暴露于RA的胚胎中，所有三种凝集素与次级神经管腔面和腔外边界以及脊索周围细胞外物质的结合显著增加。经RA处理的胚胎还显示出凝集素sWGA和PNA与脊索细胞的结合亲和力增加，而WGA与次级神经管的神经上皮细胞的结合增加。结果表明，RA在RA诱导的尾轴缺陷早期发育过程中影响凝集素结合位点的表达。
