Electron Microscopy of Tissue of the Mammary Glands and Tumers in Old Mice With Special Reference to Mitochondrial Size

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Abstract
Mammary-tumor tissue as compared with hyperplastic mammary-gland tissue was studied with the electron microscope in old mice with the milk factor. Special attention was paid to differences in size and average diameter of mitochondria in tumor tissue and in cells of mammary tissue without signs of malignant transformation. In tumor cells the average mitochondrial diameter was consistently lower than in mammary-gland-tissue cells. A similar difference was found between mitochondria in a small tumor and those of the surrounding mammary-gland tissue in which the tumor had originated. Virus-like particles were present in tumor cells, but usually in smaller numbers than in cells of hyperplastic mammary tissue. In acini of hyperplastic mammary-gland tissue, in which a tumor had originated, the number of particles was extremely large. Iron-containing pigment probably consisting partly of ferritin was abundantly present in hyperplastic mammary tissue, whereas in tumor cells this pigment was practically nonexistent.