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Sialic acids and antimicrobial substances in the apocrine glands of porcine perianal skin

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Abstract

The porcine perianal skin shows prominent apocrine glands with large saccular dilatations, whereby the functional significance of the glandular secretions is rather unexplained. Our study focuses on the demonstration of sialoglycoconjugates and antimicrobial substances in these glands, using glycoconjugate histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. The result obtained emphasized the general presence of sialic acids, linked to α2-6Gal/GalNAc and α2-3Gaβl1-4GlcNAc, in the secretory cells. The secretory epithelium and luminal secretions also contained a spectrum of antimicrobial substances, such as lysozyme, IgA, lactoferrin, and the peptide group of β-defensins. Realizing that sialic acids possess diverging functional properties through various saccharide residues, and that antimicrobial substances serve as a non-specific defense against microorganisms, these secretory products may function as protective agents in order to preserve the integrity of the perianal region. This view includes that the amounts of bacteria on the skin surface are controlled and maintained at the certain level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Anatomy, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, 252-0880, Japan

    Takayuki Nara, Tadashi Yasui & Azuma Tsukise

  2. Laboratory of Anatomy and Histochemistry, Faculty of Rehabilitation Science, Nagoya Gakuin University, 1350 Kamishinanocho, Seto, Aichi, 480-1298, Japan

    Osamu Fujimori

  3. Institute for Anatomy, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173, Hannover, Germany

    Wilfried Meyer

Authors
  1. Takayuki Nara
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  2. Tadashi Yasui
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  3. Osamu Fujimori
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  4. Wilfried Meyer
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  5. Azuma Tsukise
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Correspondence to Azuma Tsukise.

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Nara, T., Yasui, T., Fujimori, O. et al. Sialic acids and antimicrobial substances in the apocrine glands of porcine perianal skin. Arch Dermatol Res 304, 609–617 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-012-1280-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-012-1280-y

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