A Study of Intracellular Inclusion Bodies Resembling Auer Rods in Plasma Cells from a Patient with Rectal Cancer

Abstract

Intracellular inclusion bodies resembling Auer rod in palsma cells from a patient with rectal cancer were cytochemically and electronmicroscopically studied.
Cytochemical findings revealed that these inclusion bodies were strongly positive both for acid phosphatase and β-glucuronidase staining, but were negative for the staining with peroxidase, Sudan black B, PAS and nonspecific esterase. They had no activity either by Congo red and Thioflavin-T staining, indicating that they were not amyloid.
In electronmicroscopic observation, the inclusion bodies were surrounded by single limiting membrane in rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum or in Golgi apparatus. These Auer rod like inclusions were found to be hexagonal crystalloid in the cross section, and showed 50 Å periodicity between light and dense lines in the longitudinal section.
These results suggest that the observed inclusion bodies are lysosome.