抄録
Alpha-lactalbumin (LA) was isolated and purified from fresh human milk and injected into rabbits for antiserum production. By a PAP technique, LA was demonstrated in the cytoplasm of secretory (26 positive cases out of 26 examined cases) and resting (11/43) normal mammary glandular cells from operated human breasts. Some epithelial cells in the cases of mammary dysplasia (53/229), fibroadenoma (15/94) and carcinoma (10/183), and of gynecomastia (1/12) showed positivity. Histochemical staining features, reticular, granular and compact, corresponded to the secretory state of the cells. The diffuse and sporadic distribution of LA-positive cells within the mammary lobules and foci would suggest the character of biological alterations. Moreover, LA secretion may be affected by the menstrual status of patients. LA has never been detected in normal parenchymal cells of the skin, stomach, colon, liver, pancreas, lung, testis, ovary, uterus, placenta, umbilical cord, thyroid or salivary gland. The immunohistochemical examination for LA, therefore, has no significant role as a tissue marker in histopathologic diagnosis of breast cancer, but it could serve as a specific marker for the mammary gland, especially its differentiation.
