A cytochemical profile of mucus-secreting, ciliated and subcolumnar basal cells of the human cervical mucous membrane.

A range of enzymatic activities in cervical mucus-secreting, ciliated and subcolumnar basal cells were assessed using light and electron microscopic cytochemical techniques. Enzymes detected in all three cell types were those of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, pentose-phosphate and glycolytic pathways, other mitochondrial associated enzymes (NADH and NADPH dehydrogenase), acid phosphatase and non-specific esterase. Mucus-secreting and ciliated cells exhibited thiamine pyrophosphatase and 5' nucleotidase activities while leucine aminopeptidase was most convincingly demonstrated in mucus-secreting cells. Alkaline phosphatase, on the other hand, was detected only in mucus-secreting and subcolumnar basal cells. The profile of enzymatic activities in subcolumnar basal cells closely resembles that of mature lining cells and further supports the hypothesis that these cells differentiate into functioning columnar cells.