Abstract
Prolactin synthesis was investigated in trophoblastic cells in the metastatic tumors of choriocarcinoma of the liver by means of the fluorescent antibody technique and electron microscopy. Of interest is the morphological function of the trophoblast in choriocarcinoma which is presumably free from decidual interaction whereas the morphology of the tumor is very similar to that of the cell column in the normal placenta. In the tumor tissue, trophoblasts were observed, though randomly arranged, in gradations with their cell differentiation from cytotrophoblast to syncytium. The intermediate cell of the trophoblasts was demonstrated to be capable of synthesizing prolactin by fine granular distribution in cytoplasm while syncytium in the metastatic tumors was characterized by fluorescence and consisted of fine granules mixed with network formation.
