A NOVEL NUCLEAR SUBSTRUCTURE, ND10 - DISTRIBUTION IN NORMAL AND NEOPLASTIC HUMAN TISSUES

ND10 are recently characterized nuclear domains that are composed of 0 .5 mu m sized, precisely circumscribed dots in cultured human cell lin es. To investigate the distribution and number of ND10 on various type s of normal and neoplastic human tissues, we carried out immunostainin g and immunoprecipitation analyses with monoclonal antibodies 138 and 1150. The number of ND10 varied from 1 to 10 or more in various tissue s as did their size. ND10 were diffusely located in early embryonic an d normal tissues, except for the exocrine and endocrine cells of the p ancreas and for hepatocytes. In normal squamous mucosa, basal cells ha d more ND10 than did differentiated superficial squamous cells. The nu mber and size of ND10 were markedly increased in malignant neoplasms b ut were similar in benign tumors and corresponding normal tissues. Sex hormone-related normal tissues, such as the endometrium or myometrium , and neoplasms strongly stained for ND10. The distribution pattern of ND10 in human tissues indicates that they are conserved nuclear subst ructures that are closely associated with cellular differentiation, ho rmonal stimulation, and oncogenesis.