Distribution and ultrastructure of S-100-immunoreactive cells in the human thymus |
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Authors: | Dr Tatsuo Ushiki Toshihiko Iwanaga Toru Masuda Yasuo Takahashi Tsuneo Fujita |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Anatomy, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan;(2) Department of Neuropharmacology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan;(3) Department of Anatomy, Niigata University School of Medicine, Asahimachi 1, 951 Niigata, Japan |
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Abstract: | Summary The present study deals with the localization and ultrastructure of S-100-immunoreactive cells in the human thymus. These immunoreactive cells are distributed mainly in the medulla with some scattered elements in the cortex. Electron-microscopic observation revealed that the cells are characterized by an irregularly shaped nucleus, tubulovesicular structures in the cytoplasm and characteristic interdigitations of the plasma membrane. The cells often embrace lymphocytes with their branched processes. On the basis of these morphological features, the immunostained elements were identified as interdigitating cells (IDCs). The immunocytochemistry for S-100 visualizes the precise distribution and extension of the IDCs under the light microscope and indicates that the IDCs form no structural networks such as those established by the thymic epithelial cells. Since the IDCs in human lymph nodes have also been reported to contain S-100-like immunoreactivity, S-100 protein can be regarded as a useful marker for identifying the IDCs in the human thymus and other lymphoid organs. |
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Keywords: | S-100 protein Thymus Interdigitating cells Immunocytochemistry Man |
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