Ultrastructural features of normal epithelium and 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced carcinomas of the rat tongue.

An electron microscopical examination of normal rat lingual mucosa and 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO)-induced tongue carcinomas was undertaken. In normal rat tongue, the epithelium of papillae and interpapillary regions exhibited two distinct keratohyalin granule types and essentially similar ultrastructural cellular features in the different epithelial compartments. The interface between epithelium and connective tissue showed a continuous basal lamina. Compared with normal rat tongue epithelium, 4NQO-induced oral carcinomas revealed cellular and nuclear pleomorphism, atypical tonofilament aggregates, increased and swollen mitochondria, dilated intercellular spaces, local discontinuities and thickening of the basal lamina.