Lectin-Binding Profiles for Normal Skin Appendages and Their Tumors

The study conducted a histochemical investigation on 60 skin appendage tumors and adjacent normal skin appendages using four biotinylated lectins. It found that in eccrine sweat glands, superficial dark cells showed strong cytoplasmic staining with UEA-1, while DBA and SBA stained the plasma membranes of basal clear cells. Apocrine sweat gland acinar cells showed sporadic apical membrane staining with all lectins. In hair follicles, the inner root sheath was positive for all lectins, and the outer root sheath was stained by PNA. Sebaceous ducts and the outer root sheath at the sebaceous duct insertion were labeled by all lectins, with sebaceous lobules showing staining of mature sebocytes with PNA and SBA. The study concluded that while sweat gland tumors showed differences in lectin binding compared to normal tissues, pilosebaceous tumors had a similar lectin-binding pattern to the pilosebaceous apparatus.