Histochemistry of complex carbohydrates in the horse duodenal gland.

The research article describes a detailed study of complex carbohydrates found in glandular cells of the horse’s duodenal gland using lectin histochemical techniques.

Investigation Method

• The researchers used lectin histochemical techniques to investigate the complex carbohydrates in the glandular cells in the horse’s duodenal gland.
• The horse’s duodenal gland, situated from the uppermost part of the small intestine up to 6m caudal to the pylorus, was the primary area of investigation.

Types of Cells in the Duodenal Gland

• The gland comprised two types of cells – mucous and serous cells.
• Mucous cells were found in glands throughout the area, while serous cells were primarily located in glands in the upper part of the small intestine, specifically about 10 cm caudal to the pylorus.

Content of the Gland Cells

• The study found that the cytoplasm of the mucous cell contained neutral glycoproteins with different saccharide residues such as alpha-D-mannose, N-acetyl-beta (1—-4)-D-glucosamine, galactose, alpha-galactose, alpha-N-acetylglucosamine, beta-D-Gal (1—-3)-D-GalNAc, alpha-L-fucose and sialic acid.
• The serous cell, on the other hand, contained both neutral and acid glycoproteins that includes residues of alpha-D-mannose, alpha-D-glucose, beta-D-galactose(1—-3)-D-N-acetylgalactose, alpha-L-fucose, N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine, N-acetyl-beta (1—-4)-D-glucosamine, galactose, alpha-galactose, alpha-N-acetylglucosamine and sialic acid.

Presence of Lipase in Serous Cells

• Additionally, this study revealed that lipase, a digestive enzyme, was found in the serous cell of the equine duodenal gland.