Immuno-electron-microscopic localization of types III pN-collagen and IV collagen, laminin and tenascin in developing and adult human spleen.

The distribution of the extracellular matrix proteins types III pN-collagen and IV collagen, laminin and tenascin was investigated in fetal, infant, and adult human spleens by using immuno-electron microscopy. The presence of type III pN-collagen was assessed by using an antibody against the aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen. All the proteins other than type III pN-collagen were found in reticular fibers throughout development. In the white pulp of the fetus aged 16 gestational weeks, only an occasional type III pN-collagen-containing fibril was present, although type III pN-collagen was abundant in the reticular fibers of the red pulp. Conversely, in adults, most of the reticular fibers of the white pulp, but not of the red pulp, were immunoreactive for type III pN-collagen. Ring fibers, the basement membranes of venous sinuses, were well developed in both infant and adult spleens. The first signs of their formation could be seen as a discontinuous basement membrane, which was immunoreactive for type IV collagen, laminin, and tenascin in the fetus aged 20 gestational weeks. Intracytoplasmic immunoreactivity for all the proteins studied was visible in the mesenchymal cells of the fetus aged 16 gestational weeks and in the reticular cells of the older fetuses, which also showed labeling for type IV collagen and laminin in the endothelial cells. The results suggest that proteins of the extracellular matrix are produced by these stationary cells.