Immature Mucous Cells Research Articles

Changes to mucins in uninvolved mucosa and at the tumour site in gastric adenocarcinoma of intestinal type.

1. Mucin histochemistry is markedly altered in the stomach in intestinal-type adenocarcinoma. To increase understanding of these changes we have examined the content and distribution of carbohydrate in mucus glycopolypeptides isolated from non-malignant antrum, and from the uninvolved gastric mucosa and tumour site of patients with this disease. 2. The content of carbohydrate declined by 12.6% (P = 0.02) in mucus glycopolypeptides from uninvolved gastric mucosa when compared with those from non-malignant antrum, and by a further 25.4% (P < 0.001) in mucus glycopolypeptides from the tumour site. The first of these changes was accompanied by a significant decrease in the number of carbohydrate chains/1000 amino acid residues, and a significant increase in the number of monosaccharide units in each carbohydrate chain. The second of these changes was accompanied by significant decreases in both the number of carbohydrate chains/1000 amino acid residues, and in the number of monosaccharide units in each carbohydrate chain. 3. The number of sulphated monosaccharide units/100 carbohydrate chains increased from a mean of 7.2 in mucus glycopolypeptides from non-malignant antrum to a mean of 27.2 (P < 0.001) in preparations from uninvolved gastric mucosa and 22.7 (P < 0.001) in preparations from the tumour site. 4. Evidence is presented that these structural changes to mucus glycopolypeptides from the malignant stomach are due to an abnormal mucin biosynthesis by metaplastic goblet cells and/or immature gastric-type mucous cells within the uninvolved mucosa, and immature mucous cells at the tumour site.

Congenital Ciliary Aplasia in Two Siblings: A Primitive Disregulation of Ciliogenesis?

Congenital ciliary aplasia was demonstrated in two siblings with clinical history of primary ciliary dyskinesia. Ultrastructural histochemistry of successive bronchial biopsies revealed the predominance of immature mucous cells and the total absence of ciliated or preciliated cells in the respiratory epithelium. This original disorder may represent a unique variant of primary ciliary dyskinesia with primitive disregulation of ciliogenesis.

Ultracytochemistry of glycosylation sites of rat colonic mucous cells with labeled lectins.

The mucous glycoproteins of mucous cells in the lower half of the rat proximal colon were examined ultracytochemically to study the intracellular sites of glycosylation in relation to the cell differentiation and the functional polarity of the cell organellae using a combination of a hydrophilic resin embedment and a postembedding staining technique with lectin gold com plexes.In the immature mucous cells located near the branching point of the glandular crypt, the Golgi stacks and mucous granules were stained with soybean agglutinin (SBA), Ricinus communis agglutinin-I (RCA-I) and Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA). In the mature mucous cells at the bottom of the crypt, the cis region of the Golgi stack was stained with SBA, a few intermediate saccules were stained with RCA-I, and both the cis and trans sides of the cisternae and mucous granules, but not the intermediate lamellae, were stained with HPA. After neuraminidase digestion of ultrathin sections, the RCA-I binding sites were greatly increased. Ulex europeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) and Limax flavus agglutinin (LFA) positively stained the trans side lamellae and mucous granules of the mucous cell at the bottom of the glandular crypt.The processing of the glycosylation of the mucous glycoprotein in the lower half crypt of the rat proximal colon was partly clarified electron microscopically.

Differentiation of immature mucous cells into parietal, argyrophil, and chief cells in stomach grafts.

Microscopic and submicroscopic studies on regenerating gastric mucosa neonatally grafted in the subcutaneous tissue of littermate mice have revealed that immature mucous cells are totipotent; ultimately they transform into mature mucous, parietal, argyrophil, and chief cells in the gastric glands.

The fine structure of teleost epidermis: II. Mucous cells

Mucous cells which resemble intestinal goblet cells appear throughout the epidermis of teleosts but vary in number in different body regions and species. The ergastoplasm is highly developed in immature mucous cells. Several systems of Golgi membranes are found and seem to be foci of mucogenesis. Clear vesicles appear near the convex surface of the curved Golgi lamellae and vesicles containing a relatively dense material are seen at the concave surface, adjacent to the developing mucous droplets. Mucogenesis in the epidermis of teleosts appears to involve transport from the ergastoplasm through the Golgi complex to the mucous droplets. At a later stage the droplets fill nearly the entire cell. Mature mucous cells often are opened at the surface of the epidermis indicating a release of their secretion.