Abstract A technique has been designed which enables the sequential demonstration of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) and various antigens, in both frozen and paraffin wax‐embedded sections. The NORs were demonstrated by the standard argyrophil (AgNOR) method and the antigens were shown by either immunoperoxidase (PAP) or immunoalkaline phosphatase (alkaline phosphatase–anti‐alkaline phosphatase or avidin–biotin–alkaline phosphatase) methodology. Clear, reproducible results were obtained and AgNOR sites were enumerated with ease. It is suggested that the sequential method may be of great use in the evaluation of AgNOR numbers in neoplasms, where cell populations are heterogeneous. Cell populations may be demarcated with accuracy prior to the counting the AgNORs.
Abstract The lining of five branchial cysts from patients aged from 17 to 51 was studied by histochemical methods for non‐specific acid esterase and acid phosphatase and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The stratified squamous epithelium was shown to be a specialised structure, with a few microvillous cells on the surface and an intra‐epithelial network of channels containing lymphocytes, notably T cells, and mononuclear phagocytic cells. The appearance of the cyst lining was similar to that of the epithelium lining the crypts of palatine tonsils. The demonstration of a complex lympho‐epithelial lining of the cysts does not settle the controversial question of their origin, but it must be taken into account by hypotheses explaining the development of branchial cysts.
The murine monoclonal antibody BU31 binds to the nuclear membrane of many cell types. The expression of the BU31 antigen has previously been shown to have an inverse correlation with the proliferative index in lung tumours, defined by Ki67 staining. The distribution of BU31-positive cells is now shown to parallel the distribution of non-dividing cells in a range of normal human and rat tissues, although neuroendocrine cells and germ cells in the testis show no reactivity. Cells grown in culture and induced to undergo growth arrest show a higher level of labelling with BU31 than their proliferating counterparts. Confocal laser scanning microscopy reveals that the BU31 antigen is distributed predominantly along the nuclear lamina, with occasional internal foci. This distribution is very similar to that of the nuclear membrane proteins lamin A and lamin C, suggesting that the BU31 antigen and lamins A and C could be one and the same. Immunoblotting using recombinant lamin proteins confirmed this proposal. Moreover, a monoclonal antibody to the non-proliferation-associated antigen, statin, also recognizes lamins A and C. These data indicate that the demonstration of lamins A and C can be used to provide information on the proliferative activity of normal and neoplastic tissues. These data also suggest a role for nuclear lamins A and C during cellular quiescence, possibly through the reorganization and maintenance of nuclear structure, or more directly through interactions with the retinoblastoma gene product or related proteins.
Twenty-one patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma involving the palatine tonsil were studied in an attempt to relate pathological data to clinical outcome. Eleven tumours were classified as low-grade and ten as high-grade on morphological criteria. The results of immunohistochemical investigations are presented; all tumours but one were of B-cell origin. None of the pathological factors studied were found to be useful prognostic indicators.
Preface Methods 1. General Pathology 2. Blood, Spleen, Lymph Nodes and Bone Marrow 3. Ear, Nose and Mouth 4. Alimentary Tract 5. Live, Gall Bladder and Pancreas 6. Heart and Arteries 7. Trachea, Bronchi and Lungs 8. Endocrine Organs 9. Central Nervous System and Eye 10. Kidneys and Bladder 11. Male Generative System 12. Female generative System, including Breast 13. Bones, Cartilage and Joints 14. Skin Index
Epstein–Barr virus has been associated with a proportion of typical gastric adenocarcinomas. Here we report that the prevalence of Epstein–Barr virus in gastric adenocarcinomas from the United Kingdom is one of the lowest in the World. Gastric adenocarcinoma is another tumour whose association with Epstein–Barr virus varies with the population studied.
In the past 10 years, molecular biology has found major applications in pathology, particularly in oncology. This has been a field of enormous expansion, where pure science has found a place in clinical practice and is now of everyday use in any academic unit. This demystified review will discuss the techniques used in molecular pathology and then provide examples of how these can be used in oncology.