Glycocalyx carbohydrates of uterine epithelial cells increase during early pregnancy in the rat.

Carbohydrates were studied on the surface of uterine epithelial cells by lectin-avidin-ferritin histochemistry. The lectins, wheat germ agglutinin, fucose binding protein, soy bean agglutinin and the lectin from Phytolacca americana were used in the study. Statistically significant increases in three carbohydrates on day 6 of pregnancy--the day of blastocyst implantation--were found when compared with oestrus. These increases could contribute to the mechanism of blastocyst attachment to uterine epithelium.