BINDING-STUDIES OF GOLD LABELED LECTINS ON CARBOHYDRATE COMPOUNDS OF THE FLASK CELLS IN CLAW-FROG KIDNEY

The carbohydrate compounds of the mucus of flask cells in the kidney of claw-frogs (Xenopus laevis) were studied by gold marked lectins (WGA, RCA I, LCA, HPA, PNA). We used a post-embedding technique. Semithin or ultrathin sections of Lowicryl K 11 M-embedded kidney tissue were incubated. For light microscopy, a gold-silver technique was used. The mucus of the flask cells reacted strongly with WGA, RCA I, and HPA, whereas LCA and PNA showed no binding. The Golgi apparatus and small cytoplasmatic vesicles reacted also positively with WGA, RCA I, and HPA. The autoradiographically detected secretion routes of the glycosaminoglycan-rich secretion of flask cells are also demonstrable by lectins.