Abstract
Summary
Using the indirect fluorescent antibody technique water-soluble blood group A antigen was demonstrated throughout the digestive tract of Sprague-Dawley rats. Water-soluble A antigen was found only in mucin-containing cells or secretions as identified with the periodic acid-Schiff's stain. However, many mucin containing cells were devoid of A antigen. A mosaic pattern of A antigen distribution was noted in the sublingual glands, parotid glands and goblet cells of the small intestine similar to that previously described in some human tissue. With the exception of the abundance of A antigen throughout the rat large intestine, the mosaic pattern in the parotid glands and small intestine, the distribution of this antigen was comparable to that previously described in human blood group A secretors.
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