Lectin histochemistry of the liver in biliary disease, following transplantation and in cholangiocarcinoma.

Evidence is accumulating that there are changes in the expression of antigens on biliary epithelium in early primary biliary cirrhosis and graft rejection. If any of the biliary diseases including rejection are associated with specific alterations in biliary glycoprotein structure, lectin histochemistry could be useful for detecting these abnormalities. Lectin histochemistry, using a panel of five lectins with differing carbohydrate specificities, was therefore performed on liver biopsies from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, sclerosing cholangitis, cholangiocarcinoma, liver transplantation, extrahepatic biliary obstruction and normal liver. Reproducible high-quality lectin histochemistry was obtained on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. In normal liver wheat germ agglutinin selectively bound to Kupffer cells, Griffonia simplicifolia II bound to hepatocytes, peanut agglutinin (PNA) bound to portal tract macrophages and liver capsule, and Ulex europaeus I (UEA I) bound to endothelium. Bile ducts were variably bound by all these lectins and soy bean agglutinin. In all the cholestatic biopsies PNA identified 'activated' Kupffer cells but there was no alteration in lectin binding specific to any of the benign conditions studied. Cholangiocarcinoma cells bound PNA and UEA I, so UEA I binding should not be regarded as specific for tumours of endothelial origin.