[Detection of acid mucins in gastric metaplasia of the gallbladder].

BACKGROUND/AIM: In this paper we present a histological and histochemical study about the metaplastic changes in the gallbladder, and discussed the participation of the antral metaplasia in the genesis of gallbladder cancer.

METHODS

We collected 43 pieces of colecistectomy whit antral metaplasia, intestinal metaplasia and displasia. Presence of mucins were demonstrated by the alcian blue stain to ph 3 and ph 0.5 ph.

RESULTS

We found sulphated and not sulphated acid mucins. In all of the forms of antral metaplasia. The not freguent finding coas an intense staining of intracitoplasmie mucins in metaplastic cells. We alsa detected small globular deposits in isolated cells of surface epithelium.

CONCLUSIONS

This finding seems to associate antral metaplasia with intestinal metaplasia, at least in the mucins production. Antral metaplasia could be one of the first steps involved in the sequence displasia-cancer in the gallbladder.