Histochemical comparison of specificity of three bowel carcinoma-reactive lectins, Griffonia simplicifolia agglutinin-II, peanut agglutinin and Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I.

A comparison of the histochemical affinities of three lectins reputedly specific to human large bowel carcinoma, namely Griffonia simplicifolia agglutinin-II (GSA-II), peanut agglutinin (PNA) and Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I), was done using 28 specimens in which normal mucosa, adenoma and carcinoma tissue were present and in contact with each other. In the normal mucosa, GSA-II and PNA revealed only weak affinity to the Golgi region of epithelial cells, whereas UEA-I showed binding to the apical surface of columnar cells and goblet cell mucins, especially in the right colon. Adenoma was characterized by relatively intense reactivity of the Golgi regions of epithelial cells for GSA-II and PNA as well as reactivity of the apical surface of the columnar cells for UEA-I. In carcinomas the apical surface of columnar cell-type tumor cells was stained most intensely with UEA-I, and then in descending order with GSA-II and PNA. GSA-II- and PNA-reactive carcinoma cells occurred more frequently in invasive carcinoma than in intramucosal carcinoma. Goblet cell-type tumor cells retained the properties of their normal counterparts. Staining with these lectins, especially GSA-II-horseradish peroxidase, might be helpful in the identification of carcinoma cells and for analysis of carcinoma-associated antigens.