Lectin binding in retinoblastoma.

Lectins were used as cytochemical probes to examine the relationship between normal retina and retinoblastoma. Cases of retinoblastoma in which there were either Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes or fleurettes accompanied by nontumorous retina were studied with ten biotinylated lectins. Pineal and ocular tumors from cases of trilateral retinoblastoma were also studied. Con-A, LCA, PNA, WGA and RCA-I labeled tissue of each type to varying degrees, while BS-I, DBA, SBA, S-WGA and UEA-I bound neither tumor nor retina. The high degree of binding homology suggests biochemical as well as structural similarities between these tissues.