Succinylated wheat germ agglutinin lectin binding in intrahepatic vessels. A new histochemical tool.

Succinylated wheat germ agglutinin, specified by the amino sugar beta(4)-N-acetylglucosamine, bound frequently to the endothelial cells of the hepatic arterial branches and small vessels of the peribiliary capillary plexus, while it did not bind to the endothelial cells of venous vessels such as portal vein branches and hepatic venous radicles, nor to lymphatic vessels. Sinusoidal endothelial cells were also negative for succinylated wheat germ agglutinin. Proliferating small vessels in the enlarged portal tracts and fibrous septa in patients with extrahepatic biliary obstruction or chronic active hepatitis with or without cirrhosis tended to be positive for succinylated wheat germ agglutinin. Such findings have not been previously reported, to the best of our knowledge. Thus, succinylated wheat germ agglutinin may be a new and useful histochemical tool in routinely processed tissue sections to discriminate intrahepatic vessels into several categories, particularly into two categories (arterial and other vessels), in normal as well as diseased livers.