Selective loss of sialic acid from rat small intestinal epithelial cells during postnatal development: demonstration with lectin-gold techniques.

Post-embedding lectin-gold cytochemistry was employed to investigate the distribution of sialic acid and fucose residues in rat small intestinal epithelial cells during postnatal development. During the suckling phase (postnatal day 1) the apical and basolateral plasma membranes of epithelial cells, as well as the goblet cell mucus was intensely stained with the sialic acid-specific Sambucus nigra L. lectin I-gold complex (SNL I-g). By the weaning period (postnatal day 23), the entire villus contained both SNL I-g-positive and negative cells. In adult small intestine, the plasma membranes of all epithelial cells were unreactive with SNL I-g; however, abundant staining was detectable in goblet cell mucus, cells of the lamina propria, and smooth muscle cells. The distribution of fucose residues as detected with a Ulex europaeus lectin I-gold complex (UEL I-g) was virtually opposite that of sialic acid. At postnatal day 1, staining was restricted to goblet cell mucus, whereas by postnatal day 23, a portion of epithelial cells displayed UEL I-g binding sites along the apical and basolateral plasma membranes. In the adult, the apical and basolateral plasma membranes of all epithelial cells, as well as goblet cell mucus were stained with UEL I-g. These results support biochemical data demonstrating a shift from sialylation to fucosylation of intestinal microvillar glycoconjugates during the weaning phase of postnatal development. Moreover, the results indicate that rather than a general decrease in cellular sialylation, specific individual cells at all positions along the crypt-to-villus axis become devoid of sialic acid.