抄録
尾腺は holocrine 分泌を行うが, その分泌のメカニズムは, 細胞内 lysosome の酵素による自己分解によって引き起こされると, これまで説明されてきた. 本研究では, epidermal differentiation の marker である transglutaminase の, ウズラ尾腺における分布を組織化学的に観察し, epidermal differentiation と類似のメカニズムが, 尾腺にも存在するかどうかを検討した. その結果, transglutaminase 活性は, 尾腺では分泌小管深部, 浅部ともに, 移行細胞層および退行細胞層において陽性であった. また, この活性は残部よりも深部での陽性反応が強かった. これらのことは, ウズラ尾腺での分泌の過程では, lysosome の酵素による自己分解機構以外に, epidermal differentiation と同様のメカニズムも存在することを示唆し, それは深部の方が残部よりも著しいことを示唆した.
The holocrine secretion of the uropygial gland has been explained as autolysis due to intracellular lysosomal enzymes. In the present study, the distribution of transglutaminase, a marker of epidermal differentiation, in quail uropygial glands was observed by histochemical methods to confirm whether a mechanism similar to epidermal differentiation also exists in the uropygial gland. The transglutaminase activity was positive in the deep and shallow portions of the secretory tubules as well as the transitional and degenerating cell layers of the uropygial gland. This activity was stronger in the deep portions than the shallow portions. These findings suggest that the process of secretion in the quail uropygial gland involves not only the autolysis due to lysosomal enzymes but also a mechanism similar to that of epidermal differentiation, and that a phenomenon similar to epidermal differentiation is more evident in the deep portions than the shallow portions.
