This study was undertaken to examine the histopathological changes of the bile duct in rabbits heavily infested with Clonorchis sinensis for 6-18 months, and then to investigate the histochemical properties and compositions of epithelial mucosubstance...
This study was undertaken to examine the histopathological changes of the bile duct in rabbits heavily infested with Clonorchis sinensis for 6-18 months, and then to investigate the histochemical properties and compositions of epithelial mucosubstances. In 9 rabbits, each rabbit was orally infested with about 500 metacercariae and was sacrificed when general conditions were poor. The specimens were stained with H-E, PAS, alcian blue (pH 2.5), alcian blue (pH 1.0), alcian blue (pH 2.5) -PAS, and FITC- conjugated lectins. The results obtained were as follow 1) The pathological changes in the infested rabbits were papillary and adenomatous hyperplasia, goblet cell and mucus-cell metaplasia, ductal wall fibrosis, and infiltration of eosinophils in the ductal wall, and then the metaplasia of ductal epithelium was more marked in the deep gland than in the surface. 2) The epithelial mucosubstances in the normal intrahepatic bile duct were produced in the border and supranuclear portion of the epithelium. The histochemical composition of these was a mixture of neutral and acid mucosubstances with a predominant acid group. 3) In infested rabbits, the epithelial mucosubstances were produced in the border and supranuclear portion of the covering epithelium, goblet cell, and hyperplasia and metaplasia cells of the deep gland. The mucosubstances were much more produced in the goblet cell, hyperplasia and metaplasia cell of deep gland, and the composition was mixture of neutral and acid substances with a predominance of the neutral group in goblet cell and adenomatous hyperplasia, and a predominance of the acid group in mucus-cell metaplasia of the deep gland. 4) In the normal intrahepatic bile duct, labeling of FITC-conjugated lectins of WGA and Con-A was weakly localized in the border of the epithelium and its grade was trace. 5) In infested rabbits, F1TC-WGA and FITC-Con-A labeling was seen in the border and supranuclear portion of the covering epithelium, goblet cell, and hyperplasia and metaplasia cells of the deep gland, but FITC-PNA and FITC-SBA labeling was graded from zero to trace. 6) Mucin secreting cell metaplasia stained by PAS and AB showed very significant labeling of E1TC-WGA and FITC-Con-A, which are lectins that are highly specific in their recognition of glycosylated residues.