Many studies have been conducted to determine the composition of the glycoconjugates of the mucus-secreting cells of the fundic glands of the stomach. However, the chief cells of these glands have been largely ignored because they secrete mainly zymogens with a lower glycosylation. The aim of this work was to analyze the glycoconjugates of the gastric chief cells by a battery of 17 different lectins, recognizing Fucose, N-acetylgalactosamine, Galactose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-acetylglucosamine and Mannose containing oligosaccharides. Histochemical techniques were performed with several lectins and also combined with two pre-treatments; β-elimination, which removes O-linked oligosaccharides, and incubation with Peptide-N-Gycosidase F, which removes N-linked oligosaccharides. In addition, acid hydrolysis was performed before WGA histochemistry, and incubation with glucose oxidase before Con A labeling. Many lectins did not stain the chief cells. In addition, the presence of O-glycans in the apical cell membrane was demonstrated with the lectins AAL, HPA, MPA/MPL, PNA, RCA-I, and WGA. Some of these O-glycans were resistant to short-term β-elimination pre-treatments. Mannose-binding lectins stained the basal cytoplasm of the chief cells. The level of glycosylation of the chief cells was lower than that of the mucous cells. The presence of O-glycans in the apical cell membrane is consistent with the presence of mucins such as MUC1 in the apical membrane of chief cells. Moreover, Mannose-binding lectins revealed N-glycosylation in the basal cytoplasm. The knowledge of gastric chief cell glycoconjugates is relevant because of their potential involvement not only in in physiological but also in pathological processes, such as cancer.
Keywords: Gastric glands; Glycoconjugates; Lectin histochemistry; Mucins; Zymogens.