Light and electron microscopical localization of concanavalin A lectin binding sites in rat epiphyseal chondrocytes.

Concanavalin A lectin binding sites have been detected within the cytoplasm of epiphyseal chondrocytes. Correlative light and electron microscopic results were obtained, indicating the presence of alpha-D-mannose and/or alpha-D-glucose residues detected by the lectin in the rough endoplasmic reticulum region. Quantitation of the electron microscopic cytochemical reaction also showed that the specific labelling was almost exclusively localized in the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. No significant staining was found in other membrane compartments or extracellular matrix. This labelling pattern could be considered as the cytochemical evidence of N-glycosylation processes occurring during the biosynthesis of cartilage extracellular matrix components by chondrocytes.