Some histochemical observations on the mucosubstances of the nasal glands of the mouse

Abstract

The mucosubstances of the nasal glands of the laboratory mouse have been investigated histochemically, using a variety of procedures. These include the periodic acid-Schiff and phenylhydrazine methods, Alcian Blue staining at different molarities of MgCl2 and different levels of pH, mixed diamine with or without previous periodate oxidation, low and high iron diamine, methylation and saponification and also sialidase and hyaluronidase digestion prior to Alcian Blue staining. The various glands of the nasal cavity gave a wide range of reactions, some being typical of neutral and others of acid mucosubstances. Of the latter category, the secretions of the glands underlying the sensory epithelium of the olfactory area showed the presence of sulphomucins, whereas the acid mucosubstances elsewhere appear to be mainly sialomucins. The significance of these findings is discussed and suggestions are made concerning the role of sulphomucins in the activity of olfactory receptors.