Bauhinia purpurea and Pisum sativum lectin binding in human breast.

The binding of biotinylated bauhinia purpurea (BPA) and pisum Sativum (PSA) lectins to paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 10 normal breast and 55 breast carcinoma has been investigated by applying avidin biotin peroxidase method (ABC). BPA showed very low affinity for normal breast epithelium and the binding was confined to the luminal surface. Eighty-seven percent carcinoma bound BPA, and the staining patterns varied depending on the histologic grade of tumors: luminal surface binding in grade 1 carcinomas; diffuse, granular cytoplasmic with para- or perinuclear deposits and staining along the plasma membrane in grade 2 and grade 3 carcinomas. PSA bound consistently to the luminal surface of all ducts and acinar cells of normal breast tissue. PSA was reactive with all carcinoma but the staining profiles were similar regardless of the tumor differentiation. It is concluded that the lectins used in this study have limited usefulness in routine diagnosis.

Lectin histochemistry of normal lung and pulmonary carcinoma.

Normal bronchopulmonary tissues and pulmonary carcinomas including three major types (squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and small-cell carcinoma) were studied using three biotinylated lectins (Bauhinia purpurea [BPA], Phaseolus vulgaris [PHA], and Maclura pomifera [MPA]) by avidin biotin peroxidase complex (ABC) method. The study demonstrated that BPA binds with macrophages and pneumocytes of normal tissue, and with adenocarcinoma and small-cell carcinoma, but nonreactive with squamous cell carcinoma. PHA and MPA bound to all the normal components of bronchopulmonary tree and carcinomas of all types. Adenocarcinoma showed the highest density of reacting sites for BPA and MPA, and squamous cell carcinoma showed the highest binding sites for PHA, while small-cell carcinoma were the lowest reacting variant for all lectins. Lectins used in this study have limited usefulness for the diagnosis of pulmonary neoplasms.

Tumor marker studies of cervical smears: an immunohistochemical approach.

Immunoreactivity with monoclonal antibodies against epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), vimentin, squamous epithelium-specific keratin, nonsquamous epithelium-specific keratin, and polyclonal antibodies epithelial cells of 55 cervical smears using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex and indirect immunoperoxidase methods to detect antigens. Most of the abnormal squamous cells with few normal cells were reactive for EMA but the intensity of the reaction was variable in both cases. There was no correlation in the reactivity between normal and abnormal cells with different cytokeratins varying in their molecular weight. Vimentin was also reactive with both cells. The results of this experiment suggest that antibodies used, appear to be of limited usefulness in the diagnosis of cervical smears.

Bauhinia purpurea agglutinin (BPA) binding sites in human gastrointestinal tract.

The binding of biotinylated BPA to parraffin sections of 18 normal gastrointestinal tract mucosa, 5 nonneoplastic polyps (NNP), 12 adenomas, and 59 carcinomas was studied by using avidinbiotin peroxidase complex (ABC) technique. In normal mucosa BPA appeared to bind both mucus and nonmucus glycoproteins but goblet cell mucus showed a decrease in binding and increase in binding of nonmucus glycoproteins as the cells lose their differentiation. BPA showed characteristic binding patterns in adenoma and carcinoma that differed from the pattern in normal mucosa. In normal mucosa linear binding to the apical cytoplasm in the columnar cells of the surface epithelium was observed, whereas in adenomas and carcinomas, in addition to the linear binding to the apical cytoplasm, diffuse cytoplasmic and granular deposits in the supranuclear, paranuclear or infranuclear zones were seen. Our findings suggest that BPA binding patterns in normal and neoplastic mucosa are related to the degree of cellular differentiation. In the process of malignant transformation the carbohydrate distribution undergoes progressive changes through the adenoma carcinoma sequence. These changes are related to the degree of dysplasia in adenomas and to the degree of differentiation in carcinomas.

Effect of PEMF on fresh fracture-healing in rat tibia.

The present experiment was designed to find out whether PEMF can act as a healing agent on induced fracture of rat tibia. Eighty rats were taken for this experiment. Under general anaesthesia mid-shaft of tibia and fibula of all rats were osteotomied, Intramedullary nailing was done for proper alignment of the fractured fragments. The animals were then divided into two groups: group-1 and Group-II. Each group contained forty animals. Out of these forty animals twenty were treated as experimental and twenty as control. From the third day of osteotomy, PEMF was applied to experimental rats around the osteotomy sites for a period of nine hours a day. PEMF was not applied to the control rats. The animals of group-1 and group-II were sacrificed after applied one week and three weeks of PEMF, respectively. Radiological and microscopical examination of the callus were performed. Gross and microscopic measurements of the callus were statistically analysed. The growth of callus was taken as a criterion of fracture healing. The results of the present experiment revealed significant enhancement of fracture healing in group-I. The results of the radiological evaluation of group-II experimental animals were also consistent with the morphological analysis. It was concluded that healing of fractured rat tibia was enhanced by the application of PEMF and this effect of PEMF was more pronounced at the end of third week.

Role of immunoperoxidase staining in serous effusions.

Immunoreactivity with monoclonal antibodies against epithelial membrane antigen, vimentin, keratin-squamous epithelium, keratin-nonsquamous epithelium and with polyclonal antibodies against keratin, involucrin, S-100 protein, desmin and varies; is directly proportional to-1 antitrypsin was done in 30 pleural and peritoneal effusion fluids; 15 each of benign and malignant origin using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) technique to differentiate between the mesothelial cells and the adenocarcinoma cells. In the present study we have demonstrated that desmin and S-100 protein are distributed in the cancer cells and the mesothelial cells of the effusion fluids. Neither EMA nor keratin has the specific reactive pattern which could lead to the differentiation of the mesothelial cells from the cancer cells, but vimentin and keratin could be used for the diagnosis of the mesothelial cells since they had maximum reactivities compared to the cancer cells.