Abstract:

Objective This study aimed to establish a reliable displaying method of the endothelial glycocalyx in small intestinal mucosal microvessels, and to provide a foundation for further studies on its functions. Methods Six mice were divided into a control group and a cardiac perfusion group, three mice each. The mice were anesthetized by inhalation of ether. The jejunum from the cardiac perfusion group was sampled after they were fixed by cardiac perfusion with gradient alcian blue solution and the jejunum from control group was directly sampled. The jejunal mucosa was prepared as ultrathin sections according to the routine method for transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis. Results By TEM, the endothelial glycocalyx was shown in jejunal mucosal microvessels of cardiac perfusion group mice, which had two forms, the continued and the discontinued. The continued glycocalyx was 20-30 nm thick, and the discontinued was 50-100 nm. However, the glycocalyx was not found in the control group.Conclusion The endothelial glycocalyx in jejunal mucosal mirovessels is not observaed by TEM in the samples prepared with the traditional method. The cardiac perfusion fixation with alcian blue solution could better preserves the glycocalyx for TEM analysis, and is a reliable method for its study.

Key words: Microvascular endothelial cells, Glycocalyx, Alcian blue, Transmission electron microscope, Mouse