Distribution of concanavalin A binding sites on normal human urinary bladder mucosa and bladder tumors by transmission and scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis.

We used concanavalin A (con A)-peroxidase-iron dextran-diaminobenzidine (DAB) technique for the electron microscopic detection of con A binding sites on cell membranes. Normal bladder mucosa showed a sparse distribution of con A binding sites with both transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy, but bladder tumors showed a higher concentration in the distribution of con A binding sites in proportion to the histopathological grade of transitional cell carcinoma. Quantitative estimation of the con A binding sites was attempted using scanning X-ray pulse analysis of iron elements contained in the reaction complexes. Con A binding sites were quantitatively the smallest in normal mucosa, increasing proportionate to the grade of the bladder tumor. Some specimens were compared by the ferritin-labelled method and the pattern of ferritin conjugates distribution was similar to that seen with the con A-peroxidase-iron dextran method.