Abstract
Cellular interactions within the immune system are in part mediated via the carbohydrate-rich coat of the cell membrane, the glycocalyx, of which the terminal carbohydrate residues are of particular functional importance. Thus, these carbohydrate residues from thymus, bursa of Fabricius, spleen and bone marrow of 2- and 30-day-old chickens were investigated by lectin histochemistry. In the thymus, mannose as well as N-acetyl-glucosamine (glcNAc)-specific lectins labelled macrophages, epithelial reticulum cells and lymphocytes within the cortex. In the bursa of Fabricius, the brush border of the lining epithelium, the macrophages and the endothelium were labelled by mannose-specific lectins. The follicle-associated epithelium was labelled by a broad spectrum of lectins. Epithelial cells that separated the cortex from the medulla and large mononuclear cells in the cortex were only being labelled by N-acetyl-galactosamine (galNAc)-specific and glcNAc-specific lectins, respectively. In the spleen, lymphocytes of the peri-ellipsoid lymphocyte sheaths and macrophages of the red pulp were labelled by lectins of nearly all sugar specificities. In general, glycotopes of these organs were more intensively labelled in the 2-day-old chicken than in the 30-day-old chicken, indicating changes in glycotope expression during post-hatching development. Thus, cells of the avian immune system are as rich and diverse in their lectin binding sites as their mammalian counterparts, indicating that similar carbohydrate lectin interactions between cells and matrices take place in birds as well.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Düllmann J, Feldhaus S, Van Damme EJM, Peumanns WJ, Schumacher U (2000) Lectin histochemistry of the spleen: a new lectin visualizes the stromal architecture of white pulp and the sinuses of red pulp. J Histochem Cytochem 48: 923–931
Düllmann J, Van Damme EJM, Peumanns WJ, Ziesenitz M, Schumacher U (2002) Lectin histochemistry of the rat lymph node: visualisation of stroma, blood vessels, sinuses, and macrophages. A contribution to the concept of an immune accessory role of sinus-lining endothelia. Acta Histochem 104(1): 77–83
Hounsell EF (2000) Glycobiology of the immune system, In: Ernst B, Hart GW, Sinaÿ P (eds) Carbohydrates in chemistry and biology, part II, vol 4. Wiley-VCH New York
Ito S, Winchester RJ (1963) The fine structure of the gastric mucosa in the bat. J Cell Biol 16: 541–578
Jeurissen SHM, Wagenaar F, Janse EM (1999) Further characterization of M cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissues of the chicken. Poultry Science 78: 965–972
London J, Thuillier L, Garreau F, Pett M (1981) Study of rat lymphocytes by use of peanut agglutinin. Thymus 3: 277–287
Lowe JB (1994) Carbohydrate recognition in cell-cell interaction. Molecular Glycobiology. IRL, Oxford
Lu J, Teh C, Kishore U, Reid KB (2002) Collectins and ficolins: sugar pattern recognition molecules of the mammalian innate immune system. Biochim Biophys Acta 1572(2–3): 387–400
McEver RP (2001) Selectins. In: Beckerle MC (ed) Cell adhesion. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Morroll S, Goodchild M, Salmon N, Copeland NG, Gilbert DJ, Jenkins NA, Bumstead N, Boyd Y (2001) The genes encoding E-selectin (SELE) and lymphotactin (SCYC1) lie on separate chicken chromosomes although they are closely linked in human and mouse. Immunogenetics 53(6): 477–482
Pusztai A, Bardocz S, Ewen SWB (1999) Plant lectins for oral drug delivery to different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. In: Mathiowitz E, Chickering DE III, Lehr CM (ed) Bioadhesive drug delivery systems. Marcel Dekker, New York
Raedler A, Raedler E, Arndt R, Thiele HG (1981) Terminal galactosyl residues of cell-surface glycoconjugates exposed on both human and murine immature T- and B-cells. Cell Tissue Res 218:219–226
Rose ML, Malchiodi F (1980) Binding of peanut lectin to thymic cortex and germinal centers of lymphoid tissue. Immunology 42: 583–591
Sällström JF, Alm GV (1973) The in vitro maturation of the embryonic chicken thymus. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand Section A 81: 75–78
Schauenstein K, Globerson A, Rosenberg M, Sharon N, Wick G (1983) Characterisation of chicken lymphocyte subsets separated by peanut agglutinin. Cell Immunol 80: 288–300
Schumacher U, Schumacher D, Schwarz T, Pfüller U (1996) Cell biological and immunopharmacological investigations on the use of mistletoe lectin I (ML-I). In: Loew D, Rietbrock N (ed) Phytopharmaka II. Steinkopff, Darmstadt
Wilting J, Neeff H, Christ B (1999) Embryonic lymphangiogenesis. Cell Tissue Res 297: 1–11
Wilting J, Schneider M, Papoutsi M, Alitalo K, Christ B (2000) An avian model for studies of embryonic lymphangiogenesis. Lymphology 33: 81–94
Wilting J, Papoutsi M, Othman-Hassan K, Rodriguez-Niedenführ M, Pröls F, Tomarev SI, Eichmann A (2001) Development of the avian lymphatic system. Micros Res Tech 55: 81–91
Young AJ (1999) The physiology of lymphocyte migration through the single lymph node in vivo. Semin Immunol 11(2): 73–83
Acknowledgements
The authors thank S. Feldhaus and M. Ziesenitz for skilful technical assistance and Prof. J. Düllmann for many helpful discussions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jörns, J., Mangold, U., Neumann, U. et al. Lectin histochemistry of the lymphoid organs of the chicken. Anat Embryol 207, 85–94 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-003-0331-8
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-003-0331-8