N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in the secretory granules of rat Paneth cells: an ultrastructural cytochemical study.

Paneth cells are located at the base of the intestinal glands. The origin, composition, and function of these cells have not been well established. The sharing of a common pathway of development with the goblet cells has been suggested. The aim of the present study was to explore the cytochemical composition of rat Paneth cells and to discuss a possible developmental relationship between goblet and Paneth cells. Lectins (WGA, LTA, UEA-1, AAA, and HPA) were used as a precise tool for the ultrastructural localization of carbohydrates. Several procedures were performed in combination with lectin cytochemistry: beta-elimination, a reaction that specifically removes O-linked oligosaccharides (typical of mucin-type glycoproteins of goblet cells); and treatment with peptide N-glycosidase F, an enzyme that removes N-linked oligosaccharides from glycoproteins. Secretory granules of Paneth cells showed a biphasic nature composed of an electron-lucent peripheral halo containing O-linked oligosaccharides with GalNAc and GlcNAc residues and N-linked oligosaccharides with GlcNAc residues (only sparse Fuc residues were scarcely identified in O-linked oligosaccharides), and an electron-dense core containing N- and O-linked oligosaccharides with Fuc residues. Neither GlcNAc nor GalNAc was identified. The occurrence of O-linked oligosaccharides in the Paneth cells and the biphasic nature of the secretory granules, similar to that of transitional cells intermediate between mucous and serous cells of other tissues, favor the hypothesis of a common lineage for goblet and Paneth cells.