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Bronchial epithelium associated to lymphoid tissue does not selectively express vimentin
L.M. Alonso, A. Cortés, M.G. Barrutia, T. Romo, A. Varas and A.G. Zapata
Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain
Offprint requests to: Dr. A. G. Zapata, Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Summary. The existence of a lymphoepithelium
containing M cells in the bronchus-associated lymphoid
tissue (BALT) of several species has repeatedly been
questioned. In previous electron microscopical studies
we failed to ultrastructurally identify these cells in the
epithelium covering bronchial lymphoid tissue of adult
rats. In the present study, we analyze immunohistochemically
the expression of vimentin, an intermediate
filament, reported to be a sensitive marker for rabbit M
cells, in both BALT and Peyer's patches. Our results
demonstrate, however, the absence of vimentin
expression in the epithelium covering the bronchial
lymphoid aggregates as well as in the lymphoepithelium
of the Peyer's patches. On the contrary, both epithelia are
strongly cytokeratin positive. Furthermore, numerous
vimentin-positive lymphocytes appear in both lymphoid
organs. Results are discussed from a view of the possible
relationship between BALT and the so-called mucosaeassociated
lymphoid tissue (MALT). Histol Histopathol 12, 931-935 (1997)
Key words: M cells, Vimentin, Cytokeratins, BALT,
Peyer's patches
DOI: 10.14670/HH-12.931
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