Somatopetal axonal transport of fluorescent lectins: distribution pattern and cytophotometric quantification in mouse peripheral neurons.

Six FITC-labeled lectins (Con A, WGA, SBA, DBA, UeA 1, PNA) with different carbohydrate specificities were injected into the snout region of 12-day-old mice. WGA, and to a lesser extent Con A, accumulated in trigeminal and facial neurons as a result of somatopetal axonal transport. Only an occasional trigeminal neuron was labeled after injection of SBA and DBA. None of the other lectins were incorporated. WGA and Con A were used for cytophotometric quantification of neuronal accumulation of transported FITC-lectins in isolated neurons from trigeminal ganglia. This technique makes it possible to study changes in neuronal lectin binding sites and adsorptive endocytosis during different physiological and pathological states.