Ultrastructural immunocytochemical studies of blood group substances in human eccrine glands

We investigated the ultrastructure of blood group antigens A, B, and H in human eccrine glands by means of the immunogold labeling technique. Blood group antigens A, B, and H were found in the Golgi apparatus, secretory granules, and over the apical and basolateral cell membranes of dark cells of eccrine glands depending on the blood group phenotype of the donors. Both A and B antigens were found in the dark cells of AB donors. The labeling pattern of the Golgi stacks seemed to have a polarity whereby the anti-blood group A antibody labeled all the stacks, whereas anti-blood groups B and H bound to the trans side of the Golgi complex. These observations suggest that the blood group substances are secreted into the lumen after being processed through the Golgi apparatus and the immature and mature granules in the dark cells of human eccrine glands.