Glycan residues of N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in the premeiotic spermatogenetic cells of the urodele amphibian Pleurodeles waltl characterize by means of lectin histochemistry

The aim of this work was the characterization of the glycoconjugates of the premeiotic spermatogenetic cells of the testis of an urodele amphibian, Pleurodeles waltl, by means of lectins in combination with several chemical and enzymatic procedures, in order to establish the distribution of N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in these cells. In the cytoplasm of the primordial germ cells, primary and secondary spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes, a granular structure can be observed close to the nucleus. These granules contain four types of sugar chains according to their appearance during the differentiation process: 1. some oligosaccharides that are identified in all the four cell types above mentioned, which include N-linked oligosaccharides with Fuc, Gal beta1,4GlcNAc and Neu5Ac alpha2,3Gal beta1,4GlcNAc and O-linked oligosaccharides with Gal beta1,4GlcNAc and Neu5Ac alpha2,3Gal beta1,4GlcNAc; 2. other glycan chains that are not present in the primary spermatocytes (N-linked oligosaccharides with DBA-positive GalNAc, GlcNAc, and a slight amount of Neu5Ac alpha2,6Gal/GalNAc and O-linked oligosaccharides with WGA-positive GlcNAc); 3. the sugar chains that are not in the earliest step of spermatogenesis (formed by both N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharides with Glc); and 4. other that appear at the earliest and latest stages, but not in the intermediate ones, (N-linked oligosaccharides with Man and O-linked oligosaccharides with SBA- and HPA-positive GalNAc and PNA-positive Gal beta1,3GalNAc). This structure could be related with the Drosophila spectrosome and fusome, unusual cytoplasmic organelles implicated in cystic germ cell development. Data from the present work, as compared with those from mammals and other vertebrates, suggest that, although no dramatic changes in the glycosylation pattern are observed, some cell glycoconjugates are modified in a predetermined way during the early steps of the spermatogenetic differentiation process.