TY - JOUR
T1 - Origin of the oocyte shell membrane of a dasyurid marsupial
T2 - An immunohistochemical study
AU - Roberts, Claire T.
AU - Breed, William G.
AU - Mayrhofer, Graham
PY - 1994/11/1
Y1 - 1994/11/1
N2 - Polyclonal antibodies were raised against the extracellular coats (mucoid and shell membrane) of unfertilized oocytes and early embryos of a dasyurid marsupial, the fat‐tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata). Indirect immunofluorescence was used to test the specificity of the antibodies to the shell membrane. Streptavidin/biotin immunoperoxidase cytochemistry revealed that precursors of the tertiary egg membranes are secreted by the luminal epithelium of the ampulla, isthmus (including the crypts), utero‐tubal junction, and adjacent endometrial glands. Histochemistry distinguished between the sites of mucoid and shell membrane precursor secretion. The mucoid coat stained positively with Alcian blue at pH 1.0 and 2.5, with Alcian blue at pH 0.2 after performic acid oxidation, and with PAS which was amylase resistant. Some of the luminal epithelial cells of the ampulla and isthmus, as well as its crypts, also stained positively by these histochemical methods but the luminal epithelium of the utero‐tubal junction and endometrial glands were negative for all methods. The shell membrane did not stain with any of the above methods nor with dihydroxy‐dinapthyl‐disulphide (DDD) or ferric ferricyanide but it was eosinophilic and stained positively with the red cytoplasmic stain of Masson's trichrome. Therefore, it is concluded that shell membrane precursors are secreted by the luminal epithelium of the utero‐tubal junction, adjacent glands, and by scattered glands in the anterior region of the uterus but not by any cell population of the oviduct. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
AB - Polyclonal antibodies were raised against the extracellular coats (mucoid and shell membrane) of unfertilized oocytes and early embryos of a dasyurid marsupial, the fat‐tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata). Indirect immunofluorescence was used to test the specificity of the antibodies to the shell membrane. Streptavidin/biotin immunoperoxidase cytochemistry revealed that precursors of the tertiary egg membranes are secreted by the luminal epithelium of the ampulla, isthmus (including the crypts), utero‐tubal junction, and adjacent endometrial glands. Histochemistry distinguished between the sites of mucoid and shell membrane precursor secretion. The mucoid coat stained positively with Alcian blue at pH 1.0 and 2.5, with Alcian blue at pH 0.2 after performic acid oxidation, and with PAS which was amylase resistant. Some of the luminal epithelial cells of the ampulla and isthmus, as well as its crypts, also stained positively by these histochemical methods but the luminal epithelium of the utero‐tubal junction and endometrial glands were negative for all methods. The shell membrane did not stain with any of the above methods nor with dihydroxy‐dinapthyl‐disulphide (DDD) or ferric ferricyanide but it was eosinophilic and stained positively with the red cytoplasmic stain of Masson's trichrome. Therefore, it is concluded that shell membrane precursors are secreted by the luminal epithelium of the utero‐tubal junction, adjacent glands, and by scattered glands in the anterior region of the uterus but not by any cell population of the oviduct. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0028533412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/jez.1402700311
DO - 10.1002/jez.1402700311
M3 - Article
C2 - 7964558
AN - SCOPUS:0028533412
VL - 270
SP - 321
EP - 331
JO - Journal of Experimental Zoology
JF - Journal of Experimental Zoology
SN - 0022-104X
IS - 3
ER -