IMMUNOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF LAMININ IN THE RAT TONGUE

Anti-laminin serum was used to investigate the distribution and composition of laminin in the rat tongue. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that laminin is a useful marker to study the microscopic anatomy of the tongue. Laminin is expressed in most tissues that form this organ, such as smooth and striated muscle, epithelium, nerves, and endothelium, allowing the observation of fine details of neuromuscular junctions, taste papillae and microvasculature. Western blot analysis revealed that laminin extracted from the tongue differs from EHS tumor laminin. Tongue laminin contains B chains, while A chain seems to be present only in small amounts.