J Korean Med Sci.  1990 Dec;5(4):197-203. 10.3346/jkms.1990.5.4.197.

Neoplastic Paneth cells in the experimental murine carcinoma of the small intestine

• Kim WH
• Kim YI

• KMID: 1421501
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.1990.5.4.197

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the participation of Paneth cells in experimentally induced adenocarcinoma of the intestine. The rats were fed with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) dissolved in drinking water ad libitum at a concentration of 100 micrograms/ml for 28 weeks. They were sacrificed 12 weeks after the last MNNG administration. A number of tumor cells containing large eosinophilic granules in their supranuclear cytoplasm (Paneth cells) were observed in about 20% of the experimentally induced adenocarcinoma of the small intestine. The granules were stained positively with Lendrum, periodic acid-Schiff, Masson's trichrome, and Mallory's phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin. Ultrastructurally, the granules were round, osmiophilic, and relatively even in size. We compared the morphologic features of the Paneth cell-containing small intestinal adenocarcinomas (Group I) with those without Paneth cells (Group II). Group I was distinguished from Group II by its better differentiation, larger tumor size and lower incidence of calcification. Although Paneth cells are extremely rare in human gastrointestinal carcinomas, twenty percent of MNNG-induced intestinal carcinomas harbor Paneth cells. The neoplastic Paneth cells in experimental carcinomas may differentiate from uncommitted cells in the deeper portion of the crypt.

Keyword

Paneth cells; Experimental carcinogenesis; N-methyl-N'-nitro-N'-nitrosogunanidine; Small intestinal carcinoma

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma/chemically induced/*ultrastructure
Animals
Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/chemically induced/ultrastructure
Intestinal Neoplasms/chemically induced/*ultrastructure
*Methylnitronitrosoguanidine
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Methylnitronitrosoguanidine