This study was conducted to investigate the sialylations of glycoproteins in the nasal glands of patients with chronic sinusitis. Sialic acids were detected using lectin histochemistry, and the mRNA of sialyltransferase was evaluated by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA), which recognizes terminal sialic acids, strongly stained the glandular mucous cells of normal subjects, but not those of patients with chronic sinusitis. In situ hybridization histochemistry showed that the expression of alpha2,6 sialyltransferase mRNA was decreased in the secretory cells of patients with chronic sinusitis. Our present results suggest that a reduction in sialyltransferase activity at the mRNA level in the nasal glands may lead to the persistence of chronic sinusitis.
Glyconjugate expression in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded Sjögren's syndrome labial glands (nine cases) was compared with that in normal glands (12 samples) using a wide panel of lectins. Mucous cells expressed mainly mucous-type glycoproteins including sialyl, fucosyl, galactosyl and galactosaminosyl residues, and some N-linked glycoconjugates. Demilunar cells expressed mainly alpha D-mannose, GlcNAc and Gal beta 1.3-GalNAc. Duct cells and cellular glycocalyx expressed O-linked and N-linked residues. Sjögren's syndrome samples showed a statistically significant increase in the expression of GlcNAc. A significantly decreased expression of Gal beta 1,3-GalNAc and alpha D-mannose, residues not usually present in mucous cells, was found (p < 0.05). This suggests that anatomic rather than functional alterations determine mucous cell impairment and the symptoms in Sjögren's syndrome.
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