Histochemical studies of hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes in the human intestinal tumors.

The distribution and activities of five hydrolytic and eight oxidative enzymes were histochemically studied in 60 different tumors of the human intestines. Benign polyp showed similar activities of most enzymes as those in normal crypt cells of large intestine with exception of higher activity of succinic dehydrogenase in benign polyp than in crypt cells. Malignant polyp had higher activities of most oxidative enzymes. Reticulo-sarcoma had weak activities of all enzymes. Carcinoid had strong activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and isocitric dehydrogenase while very weak of succinic dehydrogenase. Carcinoma showed varying degrees of the activity of all enzymes. Alkaline phosphatase and aminopeptidase were almost negative in all cells but in the stromal elements their weak activities were sporadically observed. Most enzymes were decreased in the central area of the carcinoma cell nestle, while in the infiltrating area or in the margin of cell nestle they were not decreased and sometimes increased. ∗PMID: 4224241 [PubMed indexed for MEDLINE] Copyright c ©OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL Acta Med. Okayama 20, 37-52 (1965) HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF HYDROLYTIC AND OXIDATIVE ENZYMES IN THE HUMAN INTESTINAL TUMORS Takashi SErro, Takuro OGATA, Hideo NOBUTO, and Takao KAWASHIMA Department of Surgery, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan (Director: Prof. S. Tanaka) Received for publication, November 10, 1965 There are few brief reports about enzyme histochemical study of intestinal tumors (TOMITA, 1957, MONIS et at., 1959b'o, WACHSTEIN, 1962) and a systematic study is presented by WATTENBRG (1959) about five oxidative enzymes. Biochemically many observations are seen about enzyme activities of carcinomas and other tumors (AKAHORI and OKINAKA, 1964) since WARBURG'S hypothesis in 1928 (quoted from Science, 1956). Systematical enzyme histochemical studies about tumors are now in progress, such as KITAMURA (1963) about gastric carcinoma, NOBUTO (1965) about breast tumor and OGATA et at. (1962) about gastric carcinoma. This report deals with the distribution and activities of five hydrolytic and of eight oxidative enzymes in 60 intestinal tumors removed surgically. It was intended to see metabolic features of intestinal tumors, metabolic differences in various tumors, how the enzyme activity changes in the central region or marginal area of the tumor, and whether there is any relation of the enzymatic pattern among normal intestinal epithelium, polyp, early carcinoma and carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS All materials used were surgically removed human intestinal tumors, comprising 2 reticulum cell sascomas of the large and small intestines, 4 benign polyps of the large intestine, 1 carcinoid of the caecum, 1 malignant polyp of the large intestine, 47 carcinomas of the large intestine, 3 metastatic carcinomas of the small and large intestines and 2 squamous cell carcinomas of the rectum. Two specimens were obtained from distant part of the carcinoid tumor. Pathological diagnosis was made by the hematoxylin-eosin staining from the serial sections. Carcinomas were divided into three groups according to their cell atypism and structual atypism; namely, well differentiated, moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated carcinomas.