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Background: Recently, adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) of the liver, a sizable parenchymal nodule in the cirrhotic liver, has been considered a preneoplastic lesion in human hepatocarcinogenesis., Methods: The authors evaluated cell proliferative activity by immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in AH (n = 30), small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (n = 14), and their surrounding regenerative nodules (SRN)., Results: AH was categorized histologically as ordinary or atypical. Ordinary AH (n = 8) had no hepatocellular atypia, whereas atypical AH (n = 22) was composed of atypical hepatocytes that were equivocal as to benignity and malignancy. Three atypical AH contained overt malignant foci. The PCNA labeling index of ordinary AH was lower than that of SRN and the index of atypical AH was higher than that of SRN except in two cases. The PCNA labeling index of malignant foci within atypical AH was higher than that of nonmalignant areas of atypical AH and was similar to that of small HCC. For small HCC, the PCNA labeling index was much higher than that of SRN and correlated with small HCC grades., Conclusions: These data suggest that ordinary AH is a largely developed regenerative nodule with little proliferative activity and that it is not a preneoplastic lesion; the data also indicate that atypical AH has much proliferative activity, from which malignant foci with greater proliferative activity emerge. Atypical AH with or without malignant foci may represent an early stage of multi-step hepatocarcinogenesis in humans.

The existence of suppressor mononuclear cells were demonstrated in two lymphoproliferative disorders: giant lymph node hyperplasia and thymona. The three patients tested also showed cell-mediated immunodeficiency as expressed in the low number of T cells, negative graft versus host reactions and negative skin tests; the one patient tested with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concavalin A (Con A) showed a low response. Suppressor activity was tested with a new experimental model, the local xenogeneic graft versus host reaction. It is proposed that this model be used for testing suppressor activities in other human disorders as well.

Antiserum to a human prostate-specific antigen was raised in a rabbit and utilized by immunoperoxidase staining to evaluate its potential value as a diagnostic histologic marker for tumors of prostatic origin. All primary and metastatic prostatic malignancies reacted positively, whereas nonprostatic neoplasms did not stain with this procedure. This is the first immunohistochemical marker for prostate gland epithelium which does not represent prostatic acid phosphatase.

A combined histologic, immunohistologic, enzyme histochemical, and immunologic study has been carried out in a 7-year-old girl with recurring extramediastinal monocentric giant lymph node hyperplasia of hyaline-vascular type. A large panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to lymphoid and nonlymphoid cell markers were tested on frozen and paraffin-embedded lymph node tissue as well as on cell suspension and peripheral blood. Tissue enzyme histochemical study, including a conventional hematologic panel, was performed on frozen and plastic-embedded sections. The pattern was dominated by nodular aggregates of round BA-1+ Leu-14+ HLA-DR+ ATPase+ lymphocytes with polyclonal sIgD and sIgM positivity and lacking cIg and BA-2 staining. Leu-1+/Leu-4+, OKT6+, OKT10+, Leu-7+, and CALLA+ cells were few or absent in the nodules, whereas DRC-1+ BA-2+ HLA-DR+ 5'-Nuc+ cells formed a dendritic network in the outer portion of the nodules. No immunoreactivity for lymphoid and nonlymphoid cell markers, including cytokeratin and keratin, was detected in centrinodular histiocytic-like cells. Particularly, the Hassall's-like structures contained a target-like positivity for laminin, and consisted of flattened acid phosphatase (AP), alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase (ANAE), 5'-nucleotidase (5'-Nuc), and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) positive cells, whose enzyme profile overlapped with that of the histiocytic-like cells. The extranodular areas were mainly composed of Leu-1+/Leu-4+ lymphocytes with Leu-3a+/OKT4+ phenotype and, to a lesser extent, of OKT6+ OKT10+ lymphoid cells and scattered cells with markers of histiocytic lineage. The abundant vascular component was generally identified by laminin positivity and, in smaller proportion, it was positive for Factor VIII-related antigen. Most of the medium-sized vessels with high endothelium had marked AP, ANAE, and ATPase activities. The process observed resulted from vascularized nodular aggregates of nontransformed B-cells with the phenotype of primary follicle lymphocytes, associated to centrinodular histiocytic-like cells with a distinct enzyme profile.

Cryostat sections of lymph nodes from patients with Hodgkin's disease were stained with monoclonal antibodies reactive with T-cells including T-cell subsets. Lymph nodes showing reactive hyperplasia were used as controls. Using an eyepiece grid, the stained cells were counted and subset ratios determined. The ratio of helper T-cells to cytotoxic/suppressor T-cells, i.e., (formula; see text) in Hodgkin's disease was found to be significantly different from ratios obtained from reactive nodes. This difference may be explained by a relative increase in cytotoxic/suppressor T-cells and/or a decrease in helper T-cells. This finding may relate to the previously reported increase in suppressor cell activity in patients with Hodgkin's disease and may also correlate with diminished delayed-type hypersensitivity in such patients.