Considerable amounts of several saccharide residues (alpha-D-Man, beta-D-GlcNAc, alpha-D-GalNAc, beta-D-Gal, alpha-D-Gal, alpha-L-Fuc, NeuNAc) are demonstrated by lectin histochemistry in the sections of the sebaceous glands, and, particularly, the apocrine tubular glands of the common seal. These sugars may be liberated on the skin surface by microbial activities and, then, represent a general...

By applying double-staining procedures that combine cholinesterase histochemistry (acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase, respectively) as indicators of neuronal and myotomal tissue differentiation on longitudinal sections, together with detection of motor axons with antibodies to G4 antigen, we here describe the spatiotemporal expression of all components of the segmental motor units along the tru...

Histochemistry provides the unique opportunity to detect single molecules in the very place where they exert their structural roles or functional activities: this makes it possible to correlate structural organization and function, and may be fruitfully exploited in countless biomedical research topics. Aiming to estimate the impact of histochemical articles in the biomedical field, the last fe...

Atherosclerosis is one of the major causes of ischaemic heart disease which in turn leads to millions of deaths annually throughout the world. Several theories have been proposed to explain the process of atherogenesis and plaque formation. Molecular mechanisms are recently gaining importance and particularly the role of PTEN is being studied widely. In this study, we evaluated the expression o...

An object that suddenly appears in the visual field should be quickly detected and responded to because it could be beneficial or harmful. The superficial layer of the superior colliculus (sSC) is a brain structure capable of such functions, as sSC neurons exhibit sharp transient spike discharges with short latency in response to the appearance of a visual stimulus. However, how transient activ...

Monoclonal antibody Cat-301 recognizes a cell-surface proteoglycan on subsets of neurons in several areas of the cat and macaque monkey central nervous system. In striate and extrastriate visual cortex of the macaque, the distribution of Cat-301-positive neurons demonstrates features of cellular organization that correlate with previously described functional subdivisions. Here we show that Cat...

In this review article, we describe benefits and disadvantages of the established histochemical methods for studying articular cartilage tissue under normal, pathological and experimental conditions. We illustrate the current knowledge on cartilage tissue based on histological and immunohistochemical aspects, and in conclusion we provide a short overview on the degeneration of cartilage, such a...

Saliva, heated to 80° C for 10 minutes and centrifuged to remove mucus, is used as a source of ribonuclease. Slides of mouse pancreas incubated in this for 3 hours at 6o° C show complete removal of cytoplasmic basiphilia. Incubation of control slides in distilled water before staining is essential in order to avoid errors due to possible solution of basiphil material in aqueous media. Errors du...

Histochemical journals represent a traditional forum where methodological and technological improvements can be presented and validated in view of their applications to investigate not only cytology and histology in normal and diseased conditions but to test as well hypotheses on more basic issues for life sciences, such as comparative and evolutionary biology. The earliest scientific journals ...

Nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-1 (NTPDase1), like other ectonucleotidases, controls extracellular nucleotide levels and consequently their (patho)physiological responses such as in thrombosis, inflammation, and cancer. Selective NTPDase1 inhibitors would therefore be very useful. We previously observed that ticlopidine in its prodrug form, which does not affect P2 receptor activity,...