Changes in carbohydrate expression in the cervical spinal cord of mice intoxicated with perivitellin PV2 from Pomacea canaliculata .

Abstract

This chapter presents a study characterizing changes in carbohydrate moieties in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord of mice intoxicated with perivitellin 2 (PV2) from Pomacea canaliculata using lectin-histochemical techniques. Groups of 6 BALBcAnN mice were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of PBS (control group) or 1 mg/kg PV2 (19 µg per mouse), and then their spinal cords were removed and lectin histochemistry was performed. The labelling of positively-stained lectins involved different areas of the spinal cord; nevertheless, comparisons between control and intoxicated animals showed that the most significant changes were detected in the grey matter with SBA (Glycine max) lectin. This lectin is a galactose-binding lectin that binds to oligosaccharide structures in which the terminal residue is derived from galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine. Thus, SBA-lectin neuronal staining which were moderately positive in laminae II and III of the grey matter of the spinal cord in control animals was strongly positive in the intoxicated animals. The rest of the lectins, despite showing different staining patterns in the grey matter, did not show any remarkable differences between control and intoxicated mice. UEA-1 (Ulex europaeus-1) lectin was the only one which displayed negative results for both control and inoculated animals. This study enhances current knowledge on the action of PV2 in the spinal cord of mice providing data on the lectin histochemical staining patterns.