Glycoconjugates in the colons of New World monkeys with spontaneous colitis. Association between inflammation and neoplasia.

A spontaneously occurring experimental model of chronic colitis has been described in three closely related species of New World monkeys. One species, Saguinus oedipus oedipus, has the additional feature of developing adenocarcinoma of the colon in this setting. Pathological and lectin histochemistry studies were undertaken in 50 such colonic specimens to determine if pathological or histochemical features were associated with the concomitant development of cancer. Chronic inflammation was found in all of the colons examined, and 14% had features of acute inflammation, which was significantly associated with those animals that developed cancer. An oncofetal glycoconjugate structure has been defined in human colons by the ability to bind peanut lectin. A similar glycoconjugate, probably a mucin, was expressed in the colons of 65% of these animals. A marked degree of expression of the mucin was significantly associated with those animals that developed cancer. A highly significant association was found between the presence of acute inflammation and the expression of the mucin. These studies demonstrate similarities in glycoconjugate expression between the human colon and the New World monkey model of spontaneous colitis. A form of mucin is expressed in these animals that is highly associated with both the presence of acute inflammation and the development of cancer elsewhere in the colon. In addition, an association between acute inflammatory activity and neoplasia was found, suggesting a potential etiologic linkage between the two.