Cuprolinic blue visualization of cytosolic and membrane-associated glycosaminoglycans in the @entity35 junctional epithelium and XXXX .

@entity2522 @entity3584 @entity920 @entity35 @entity7138 @entity291
The gingiva of @entity35 molars was studied at the light microscope level using @entity3584 as fixative, Cuprolinic Blue for visualizing polyanionic glycosaminoglycans and the autometallographic technique for enhancing the @entity920 signal of the cationic dye. The polyanions were located inside the epithelial cells in the junctional epithelium, whereas a network located along either the plasma membrane or the intercellular spaces, or both, of the gingival oral epithelium and sulcular oral epithelium was evident with autometallography. In these cases, positive staining was limited to the basal and spinous layers, the granular and keratinized layers being unstained. With the transmission electron microscope, electron-dense aggregates were seen in the @entity2522 propria, in the basement membrane and along the plasma membrane of the keratinocytes of the basal and spinous layers of the @entity7138 . In the junctional epithelium, Cuprolinic Blue-positive granules, 25 nm in diameter, were seen in the cytoplasm. Together with some vesicles containing electron-dense material, they may account for the staining process noted after autometallography. When the ultra-thin sections were digested with @entity291 testicular hyaluronidase, the staining was abolished. This indicates that glycosaminoglycans were primarily responsible for the staining pattern visualized with these methods. In the junctional epithelium, the cytosolic location of the 25 nm granules reflects either transcellular transfer between the plasma membrane and the nucleus or accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in this group of keratinocytes. The glycoconjugates located inside vesicles or vacuoles are related to endocytosis and lysosomal degradation. Interstitial glycosaminoglycans seen in the two types of oral epithelium may play a role in the diffusion of water and nutriments.
