Mucin-producing cells and endocrine cells of gallbladder epithelium in patients with uncomplicated cholelithiasis.

In this study we have investigated various morphofunctional features of gallbladder mucosa in patients with uncomplicated cholelithiasis. The histological changes, endocrine cell types and their distribution, and mucin-producing cells were characterized by immunocytochemistry and mucin histochemistry; moreover, we attempted to correlate these findings to the number and size of gallbladder stones and the type of bacteria present in the bile. Our results indicate that, despite similar clinical parameters, a wide range of histological changes can occur in the gallbladder mucosa of these patients. Moreover, the presence of certain endocrine and mucin-producing cell types in so-called "pyloric metaplasia" led us to hypothesize that this finding may be a trivial event in the gallbladder epithelium.