Ultrastructural localization of alkaline phosphatase in the calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor.

The localization of alkaline phosphatase in a calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor obtained from a 53-year-old man was examined cytochemically. The majority of enzyme activity was associated with the epithelial cell membranes of the tumor, and faint activity was found in the cell membranes facing the adjacent stromal tissue. The reaction product of ALP was also detected in some membrane-bound vacuoles (lysosomes) and the Golgi apparatus of tumor cells. It is suggested that the appearance of enzyme activity associated mostly with the epithelial cell membrane may be related to transport function of cell membranes.