Localization of blood group antigens in human pancreas with lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates.

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Abstract
Using blood-group-specific lectins conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, distribution of A, B and H antigen was examined in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded panreases from 27 human autopsy cases. Dolichos biflorus agglutinin, Griffonia siplicifolia agglutinin I-B4, and Ulex europaeus agglutinin I or Lotus tetragonolobus agglutinin were found to be satisfactory to demonstrate A, B and H antigen, respectively in acinar cells. No exception was encountered to the correspondence between blood type and lectin staining. In blood group O individuals, acinar cells producing H antigen were evenly distributed throughout the gland. However, in other blood groups, the distribution of antigens was not homogeneous. In blood group A individuals, some acini contained A antigen but not H antigen, others contained only H antigen and a few contained both A and H antigen. Such a mosaic distribution of antigens was also observed in B and AB individuals. Furthermore, in AB individuals, independent production of either A or B antigen in some acini was observed. The blood group antigens in acinar cells were demonstrated irrespective of secretory status of the tissue donor. Although U. europaeus agglutinin I reacted ubiquitously with vascular endothelia independently of the blood group, other blood-group-specific lectins could not react with the endothelia of any given blood group. The present study further demonstrated that the staining patterns of some blood-group-nonspecific lectins exhibit certain dependence on the blood group of the tissue donor. That is, soybean aggutinin reacted with the cells secreting A and/or H antigen but not those secreting B antigen; peanut agglutinin reacted with many acinar cells in all the nonsecretors examined, but in secretors, existence of such cells was very rare.