1984 Volume 61 Issue 5 Pages 337-345
We subjected secretory and ciliated cells from the epithelium of the ampulla and isthmus of rabbit oviduct to lectin reaction. Type I mucins were present on the surface of secretory cells and the cilia of ciliated cells in both the ampulla and isthmus. Type II mucins, in granular form, were observed in the infranuclear part of secretory cells from the isthmus. The Con A reactivity of cytoplasm of ciliated cells was increased by periodic acid oxidation, suggesting the presence of glycogen. This glycogen showed the same reactivity as that previously reported for the tract of the sublingual and submaxillary gland; it differed from hepatic glycogen. Rabbit oviductal mucins were not identical to the typical type III mucins previously observed in the mucous epithelium of gastrointestinal tract. This suggests that gastrointestinal tract mucins and oviductal mucins may not have the same properties.
