Recently, the lectins were used in experiments of cancer research with the view of lectins have specific agglutinating nature with carbohydrate containing membrane receptors. How-ever, there are a few reports about reaction of lectins with normal and benign lesions.
Therefore, to evaluate the patterns and sites of lectin binding on normal and benign nodular lesions of the breast, the author had performed an experiment with commercially available lectins, such as Concanavalin-A (Con-A), soybean agglutinin (SBA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), Dolichos biflorus agglutinin(DBA), Ulex europaeus agglutinin(UEA), Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA), peanut agglutinin (PNA) and Pinellia ternata agglutinin (PTA).
The tissues used were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded normal breast, intraductal papilloma, tubular adenoma, lactating adenoma, fibroadenoma, benign phyllodes tumor, fibrocystic disease and gynecomastia.
For histologic demonstration of lectin binding, biotinylated lectins were used which were followed by application of avidin-biotinylated peroxidase and benzidine substrate. The results obtained are as follows :
1. RCA, Con-A and WGA showed positive reaction to the normal alveolar and ductal epithelia and all the epithelia seen in benign lesions.
2. To the epithelia of lactating adenoma, lectins showed positive reactions, except DBA.
3. Con-A showed positive reaction only to the myoepithelia of fibroadenoma, in contrast with RCA I and WGA which showed positive reactions to ductal epithelia and myoepithelia, both.
4. PNA showed negative reaction to the normal mammary epithelia, and positive reactions to the epithelia of some kinds of benign neoplasms.
5. PTA showed positive reactions to the epithelia of lactating adenoma and benign phyllodes tumor.
6. To the stroma of normal mammary tissue and most of benign lesions, lectins showed no reactions, except benign phyllodes tumor in which RCA I, Con-A, WGA and PTA showed positive stromal reactions, partly.
|