PROSTATIC CORPORA-AMYLACEA AND CRYSTALLOIDS - SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCE ON ULTRASTRUCTURAL AND HISTOCHEMICAL-STUDIES

Intraluminal contents in benign and malignant prostate glands from 10 prostatectomies mere studied by light and electron microscopy as as we ll as X-ray microanalysis. Ultrastructural immunolocalization of kerat in and analysis of the pattern of lectin binding for wheat germ agglut inin (WGA), peanut agglutinin (PNA) and soy bean agglutinin (SBA) mere performed. By electron microscopy corpora amylacea were composed of b undles of fibrils and occasional interspersed electron-dense areas. Cr ystalloids on the other hand were relatively electron-dense formations without any identifiable substructure. Complete or partial enclose me nt of the crystalloids by the fibrillary or electron-dense material th at forms the corpora amylacea was often seen. Histochemistry localized keratin and glycoproteins in all types of intraluminal contents. Howe ver, the proportion of these components varied. Keratin and WGA bindin g were identified primarily in the amorphous secretions and in corpora amylacea, but were only minimally represented in crystalloids. PNA an d SBA were found predominantly in crystalloids, with only minimal amou nts identified in corpora amylacea. By X-ray microanalysis sulfur was identified primarily in crystalloids and surrounding amorphous secreti on, but lesser quantities of sulfur were also found in corpora amylace a. In summary the morphological and histochemical findings indicate th at the intraluminal contents in benign and malignant glands form a con tinuous spectrum and are largely composed of material derived from the components of lining cells.