No abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to study the histogenesis of the mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the salivary glands. Eleven cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the minor salivary glands and five of the major glands were extensively studied employing immunohistochemical and fluorescent microscopic techniques. Both the intermediate cells and the duct cells showed a rather similar pattern of reactivity for vimentin, actin and EMA. Also, the intermediate cells and the myoepithelial cells showed a similar reaction pattern for keratin and UGA-1. The intermediate, myoepithelial and duct cells shared a similar reaction pattern for desmin, myosin, CEA, and S-100 protein. However, the rest of the tumor markers studied (AFP, PNA and WGA) were found to be non contributary. We also found that the intermediate and to some extent the epidermoid tumor cells showed a positive reaction with Azophloxine GA, which is a selective stain for myoepithelial cells in the normal glands. Based on these findings, the duct cells, the myoepithelial cell in the normal glands and the intermediate cells of the mucoepidermoid carcinoma share certain similar characteristics. The intermediate cells may actually be a mixed population, some having characteristics of the myopithelial cells and others of duct cells. These findings are relevant to the possible role of the intermediate cell in the histogenesis of the mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

The early chemically induced epithelial dysplastic changes in the hamster's cheek pouch were studied using light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. Epithelial dysplasia was noticed on the light microscopic level by the sixth week of the experiment and became marked by the eighth week. At the scanning electron microscopic level, surface alterations with features previously reported in early epithelial dysplasis in human and oral mucosa were seen by the second week of the experiment and progressed over time. These early changes were also confirmed at the ultrastructural level. The usefulness of scanning and transmission microscopy in detecting early oral epithelial dysplastic changes in this animal model is discussed.

The histopathological and topographical alterations occurring during the early stages of chemical carcinogenesis in the hamster cheek pouch using 7, 12‐dimethylbenz (α) anthracene (DMBA) were studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. At the scanning electron microscopic level, cellular overlapping and mild disturbance of intercellular bridges were noticed as early as the second week of DMBA application; these changes progressed with time. Clear epithelial dysplastic changes at the light microscopic level were detected by the sixth week of the experiment. The results of this investigation demonstrate the usefulness of scanning electron microscopy as an adjunct tool to study early alterations in cell morphology which occur in the stratified squamous epithelium of the hamster cheek pounch in response to a chemical carcinogen.