GLYCOCALYCEAL BODIES AND MICROVILLOUS CORE ROOTLETS - THEIR VALUE IN TUMOR TYPING

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 103  (2) , 89-92
Abstract
An ultrastructural study of the cell surface of lumen-forming human tumors was carried out to determine the distribution of 2 morphologic markers seen in relation to the microvilli. These are membrane-bound glycocalyceal bodies and microvillous filament cores that penetrate the underlying cytoplasm as rootlets. They were (especially when in combination) valuable in identifying tumors of what is referred to as intestinal-type epithelium and could be seen in cases in which brush borders were absent. They were demonstrated in intestinal-type carcinomas of the stomach and gallbladder, in adenocarcinomas of the small and large intestines and pancreatic ducts, in mucin-forming bronchiolar carcinomas and in certain mucinous ovarian and endocervical tumors. Other tumors, whether mucin-producing or not, consistently lack these structures.