Mucosubstance histochemistry of the normal mucosa and epithelial neoplasms of the lung.

Histochemical properties of mucosubstances in normal lung tissue and carcinoma of 30 operated cases were investigated using various histochemical methods. Epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract were characterized by their specific mucosubstances. Namely, the ciliated cells had a thick surface coat consisting of sulfomucins. Basal cells showed intense reactivity to Ulex europeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) and Arachis hypogaea agglutinin (PNA). The goblet cells differed from the glandular mucous cells in their PNA and UEA-I reactivities. The Clara cells and type II pneumocytes resembled each other in having a surface coat consisting of PNA- and Maclura pomifera agglutinin (MPA)-reactive sialomucins. Carcinoma cells also had mucosubstances varying with cases and with cells of the same case, but surface coat-type mucin of Clara cell-type adenocarcinoma resembled that of the Clara cell and type II pneumocyte. Squamous cell carcinoma had only a small amount of mucosubstance which was histochemically similar to that of the basal cell.