Immunohistochemical study of the uptake of serum proteins by neoplastic liver cells.

The uptake of various exogenous and endogenous serum proteins by ncoplastic liver cells was demonstrated with the aid of fluorescein-tagged antibodies to these proteins. The imbibed proteins were found in clusters of intracytoplasmic globules with marked variation in size. In hematoxylinand eosin-staincd sections these globules appeared as round, refraetile, and highly eosinophilie inclusions. This distribution contrasted sharply with that observed in Kupffer cells of non-neoplastic liver, where imbibed protein was found only in the form of small granules uniformly dispersed throughout the cytoplasm. Normal liver parenchymal cells did not take up protein.