[Dissecting aneurysm of the aorta: histochemical study using a set of lectins with different carbohydrate...

By means of lectin-peroxidase technique histotopography of receptor sites for Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA), peanut agglutinin (PA), soybean agglutinin (SA), Sophora japonica lectin (SJL), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), Laburnum anagyroides lectin (LAL), Lotus tetragonolobus lectin (LTL) and concanavalin A (con A) in normal aortic tissue sections as well as in dissecting aortic aneurysms (Gsell-Erdheim syndrome) has been investigated. It was demonstrated that fucose-specific LAL and LTL possess high selectivity of binding to aortic endotheliocytes, SA to neurocytes of autonomic nervous nodes. Gsell-Erdheim syndrome is accompanied by appearance of SA-binding sites around smooth myocytes with formation of specific SA-positive multivesicular shapes in aortic media. Possible role of the observed phenomena in pathogenesis of dissecting aortic aneurysm is discussed.