Ciliated cells in diethylnitrosamine-induced tracheal papillary tumors of Syrian golden hamster.

Tracheal papillomas in the Syrian golden hamster were induced by diethylnitrosamine. The occurrence of ciliated cells was quantitatively analysed on 134 step sectioned tumors by light microscopy and qualitatively by transmission (23 tumors) and scanning electron microscopy (24 tumors). Ciliated cells were observed in 40% of all tumors, mostly at the basal part of the tumor opposite the normal epithelium or in the folds between tumor lobes. In 6% of all tumors ciliated cells were located on the apical luminal surface of tumors. Since ciliogenesis was observed only in 2 tumors, we presume that most of the ciliated cells in papillary tumors were not developed from the neoplastic cells through de novo ciliogenesis, but were preexisting ciliated cells which migrated into tumor compartments during the neoplastic growth.