Bioadhesion of lectin-latex conjugates to rat intestinal mucosa.

OBJECTIVE

The specific interactions between three lectin-latex conjugates and different structures of rat intestinal mucosa have been studied ex vivo.

METHODS

These systems were prepared by covalent coupling of different ligands, i.e., tomato lectin (TL), asparagus pea lectin (AL), mycoplasma gallisepticum lectin (ML), and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as control, to poly(styrene) latexes.

RESULTS

Using mucosa samples without Peyer's patches (PP), the extent of interaction of all three lectin-latex conjugates with the mucosa decreased from duodenum to ileum, probably due to progressive diminution of the mucin concentration along the gastrointestinal tract. The following order of interaction of the conjugates with the mucus gel layer was observed: TL > ML = AL (p < 0.05). For each lectin, these results corresponded well to the concentration of its specific sugar in the mucus. Using intestinal samples with PP, an important increase of interaction of the conjugates with the mucosa was found for ML (about 25%) and AL (about 50%), whereas the interaction of TL decreased about 25%.

CONCLUSIONS

Photomicrographs with fluorescent latexes have confirmed the specificity of the ML- and AL-latex conjugates for the PP region and of the TL-latex conjugates for the mucus gel.