Lectin histochemical study of cholagiocarcinoma arising from stone‐bearing intrahepatic bile duct

Abstract

With the purpose of studying changes in the expression of glycoconjugate structures in cholangiocarcinoma and the nonneoplastic epithelium of stone-bearing intrahepatic bile ducts, a panel of 12 biotinylated lectins were used on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 13 patients who had undergone surgical resection of cholangiocarcinoma and on nonneoplastic stone-bearing intrahepatic bile ducts from 10 patients. Of the 13 patients with cholangiocarcinoma 10 had hepatolithiasis and 3 did not. Among the 12 lectins, only wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) stained the cholangiocarcinoma and nonneoplastic epithelium of the stone-bearing intrahepatic bile duct. All nonneoplastic epithelia of stone-bearing intrahepatic bile ducts were stained heavily and homogeneously by WGA, the GlcNAC-specific lectin. The high columnar epithelium of both intramural and extramural glands was stained in the supranuclear region, while the low columnar epithelium of serous acini was stained in the whole cytoplasm. cytoplasm. In the well-differentiated cholangiocarcinoma, the WGA weakly stained the neoplastic cells in the supranuclear region, while it stained the luminal cytoplasmic membrane heavily. In the poorly-differentiated cholangiocarcinoma, about 50% of cancer cells were stained with WGA. The carcinoma was moderately stained in the cytoplasm. Less reactivity and a lower percentage of cells stained with lectin were found in cholangiocarcinomas when compared to nonneoplastic epithelia. This led us to conclude that there is a dramatic decrease in lectin-binding carbohydrate structures associated with cholangiocarcinoma progression.