Ontogeny of neuroendocrine cells in human fetal lung. II. An immunohistochemical study.

Immunocytochemistry using horseradish peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique was performed on the lungs of 60 human fetuses and newborn infants of 8 to 40 weeks' gestation and from birth to 7 months' postnatal life. Tissue was stained for the peptide hormones, immunoreactive (IR) bombesin, IR calcitonin and IR Leu-enkephalin, as well as for IR serotonin. IR bombesin appeared in neuroendocrine cells and neuroepithelial bodies in the developing conducting airways of fetuses by 10 weeks' gestation and increased in number primarily in bronchioles as gestation progressed. They were most numerous in live-born infants with chronic respirator lung disease. In contrast, IR calcitonin-staining cells did not appear until late in the second trimester. They were present in small numbers from 20 weeks onward but were also most numerous in infants with chronic respirator lung disease. IR serotonin-staining cells were readily found in lungs of fetuses in the first trimester. By the second trimester many solitary neuroendocrine cells and neuroepithelial bodies staining for IR serotonin were present in developing terminal airways and a lesser number appeared in bronchioles and intrapulmonary bronchi. In premature infants, IR serotonin-staining cells were scarce in the presence of acute hyaline membrane disease but were numerous in lungs of infants with regenerating conducting airways associated with chronic respirator lung disease. IR Leu-enkephalin-staining cells were found only in one infant who survived 7 postnatal months of respirator care following neonatal hyaline membrane disease.