Localisation of C-terminal gastrin immunoreactivity in gastrinoma cells. An immunoelectron microscopy study on conventionally processed tissue.

Localisation of C-terminal gastrin immunoreactivity has been studied, using the immunogold staining procedure, on ultrathin sections of 6 human gastrinomas conventionally processed for electron microscopy. The specific labelling, whose density depended on the mean diameter of the gold marker, was restricted to endocrine secretory granules. However, in poorly differentiated cells from malignant tumours, a number of granules remained unreactive. The labelling pattern depended also on the functional state of each cell. The immunoreactive granules showed various morphological features. A moderate number of gold particles was demonstrated over the floccular content of the infrequent diagnostic G-type granules. Non-diagnostic round granules of varying size and electron density were prevalent in most cells; their usually strong immunostaining allowed immediate recognition of cell specificity. Dense granules which were large in size and angular in shape and present in one case, were also intensely labelled. In the same tumour, unequal labelling occurred over polymorphous, often elongated granules, of varying size. Granules of different types, including intermediate forms, could be found in the same cell, indicating a spectrum of granule maturation towards well-defined types of the fetal or adult normal tissues. The present methodology would help to identify gastrin-producing cells in prospective or retrospective electron microscopy studies of multi-hormonal endocrine tumours.