Differential distribution of lectin-binding glycoconjugates in the secretory granules of hamster oviductal ampulla during the estrous cycle: a quantitative cytochemical analysis.

High resolution lectin-gold cytochemistry was used to quantitatively analyze the distribution of glycoconjugates in the hamster oviductal ampulla during the five stages of the estrous cycle. Lectins binding to N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-, D-galactose-, and sialic acid-associated glycoconjugates in the secretory granules of ampullary epithelial secretory cells showed staining of equal intensity throughout the five different stages of the estrous cycle. In contrast, the labeling intensity of glycoconjugates which contain N-acetylglucosamine as terminal sugar residues reached its maximum around the time of ovulation, i.e., at proestrus. Glycoconjugates which carry fucose and mannose as terminal sugar residues appeared to be totally absent from the secretory granules of the oviductal ampulla during the estrous cycle. Together, electron microscopic observations combined with quantitative results indicate that N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-, D-galactose-, and sialic acid-associated glycoconjugates may be secreted into the ampullary lumen irrespective of the stage of the estrous cycle, whereas the secretion of certain N-acetylglucosamine-associated glycoconjugates is stage specific and reaches its peak at the time of ovulation. These findings suggest that, at the time of ovulation, the ampullary epithelium changes its secretory activity and contributes its secretory products to the zona pellucida of oocytes freshly released from the ovary.