Relative and absolute protein contents, molecular masses and hypothetical concentrations of individual salivary gland proteins in the circulation of a human host (distribution volume: 5 l).

<p>Relative and absolute protein contents, molecular masses and hypothetical concentrations of individual salivary gland proteins in the circulation of a human host (distribution volume: 5 l).</p

Example images of Azan stained longitudinal sections (6 µm) of leech tissue.

<p>Tissue was prepared from the central portion of the anterior body containing the cell bodies of salivary gland cells. A - unfed leech, B - leech fed at a human host for 30 min just before being fixed for histological analysis. The arrows point to individual cell bodies of salivary gland cells. bv -blood vessel, m - strands of muscle cells.</p

Quantification of protein density in individual salivary gland cell bodies.

<p>Mouse skeletal muscle (A) or pig liver (B) were used as reference tissues (for which sample mass, sample volume and protein content had been previously determined) for determining protein densities in leech salivary gland cells (C). Cryo-sections (6 µm) of all three tissue types were mounted onto microscopic slides and simultaneously stained using Bradford reagent. Images were taken using the same settings of microscope and camera. Densitometric analyses were performed on digital images of the reference tissues in the fields a - d. Background (bg) corrected means were used to construct a calibration curve, which was used to read out the protein content of individual cell bodies of leech salivary gland cells using the background corrected density values measured in the fields marked with white squares (C).</p

Azan stained cross section through the anterior body of a leech (A) and 3 D reconstruction of a tissue block (B) from a tissue cylinder in this area.

<p>The salivary gland cells are located in an area between the gastrointestinal lining (encircled by the inner white circle in A) and the body wall muscle layer (outside of the outer white circle in A). The reconstructed tissue block represents approximately 1/12 of the entire tissue in the circumference of the respective tissue layer. bv - blood vessel, m - strands of muscle fibers, n - nephridium, sgc - salivary gland cell.</p

Examples of 2 D gels prepared using protein extracts from the central portions of the anterior body parts of an unfed and a fed leech.

<p>A - unfed leech, B - leech fed pig blood for 30 min just before being prepared. Proteins had been separated according to their pI by isoelectric focussing (horizontal axis) and subsequently according to their masses by SDS electrophoresis (vertical axis) and silver stained. Spots labeled by black circles were regularly present in samples from unfed as well as from recently fed leeches, while spots labeled by red circles were generally present in unfed leeches but absent in fed leeches. Proteins represented by the spots labeled in red were considered to be secretory salivary gland proteins which are mobilized during feeding and transferred to the host.</p