AN IMMUNOFLUORESCENT TECHNIQUE FOR OBSERVING THE BINDING OF CONCANAVALIN A TO FROZEN TISSUE SECTIONS

Abstract

An indirect fluorescent antibody technique has been developed to observe the binding locus of concanavalin A (CON A) to specific structures in frozen tissue sections. The technique was developed using frontal sections of the embryonic rat head with particular attention focused on the secondary palate. The binding of CON A appeared to be mainly extracellular with the most intense fluorescence observed in basement lamina and cartilaginous structures. CON A binding was highly specific in that it was eliminated in the presence of competing sugars such as α-methyl mannoside. This relatively quick and simple technique should allow the observation of developmental or pathologic changes in CON A binding to frozen tissue sections from a variety of sources.