Open AccessAN IMMUNO‐ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY ON INTRA and EXTRACELLULAR LOCALIZATION OF ALPHA‐FETOPROTEIN IN HUMAN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA
Author(s) -
Okada Kazunari,
Nakayama Iwao,
Kobayashi Michio
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
acta patholigica japonica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 0001-6632
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1827.1987.tb00441.x
Subject(s) - golgi apparatus , pathology , staining , endoplasmic reticulum , hepatocellular carcinoma , cytoplasm , extracellular , alpha fetoprotein , immunocytochemistry , vesicle , biology , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , cancer research , biochemistry , membrane
Intra and extracellular localization of alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) has been studied by an indirect peroxidase labeled antibody method using 12 cases of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). With light microscopic observation, positive immuno‐staining for AFP was observed in 6 out of 12 cases and demonstrated as granular or diffuse deposits in the cytoplasm of neoplastic hepatocytes. In electron microscopic studies, 8 cases showed the positive immuno‐staining for AFP in the neoplastic hepatocytes. Intracellular antigen was well circumscribed within certain cell organelles with the positive immuno‐staining for AFP being observed in perinuclear space, cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), Golgi complexes, and secretory vesicles. In addition, the positive immuno‐staining for AFP was observed in bile canaliculus‐like space in most cases with increased levels of serum AFP and in some cases which showed normal levels of serum AFP. Furthermore, the positive immuno‐staining for AFP was also observed in intercellular, Disse's‐like and sinusoid‐like spaces, and micropinocytotic and lysosome‐like vesicles in the endothelial cells in a few cases which showed excessively high value of serum AFP. ACTA PATHOL. JPN. 37:915–928, 1987.