Biomaterial Database

Bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma-cell of origin. 1975

S D Greenberg, and M N Smith, and H J Spjut

Bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma is the least common of the primary pulmonary carcinomas, and there is controversy as to its cell of origin. In this light- and electron microscopic study of five bronchiolo-alveolar carcinomas, at least two cell types were found, both of bronchiolar origin. One cell type is a metaplastic bronchiolar mucous cell and the other a bronchiolar stem cell that has ultrastructural features of both the respiratory ciliated and the respiratory nonciliated ("Clara") cell. It would not be unusual if tumors of the bronchiolo-alveolar region differentiate into cells of either the bronchiole or the alveolus, for embryologically they have a common origin. However, as information about the ultrastructure of these tumors accumulates, it is becoming apparent that an alveolar-cell carcinoma must be a rare occurrence. Hyperplastic Type II aleveolar epithelial cells may be found about the margins of these tumors and can be mistaken for the neoplastic cells.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007365	Intercellular Junctions	Direct contact of a cell with a neighboring cell. Most such junctions are too small to be resolved by light microscopy, but they can be visualized by conventional or freeze-fracture electron microscopy, both of which show that the interacting CELL MEMBRANE and often the underlying CYTOPLASM and the intervening EXTRACELLULAR SPACE are highly specialized in these regions. (From Alberts et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2d ed, p792)	Cell Junctions,Cell Junction,Intercellular Junction,Junction, Cell,Junction, Intercellular,Junctions, Cell,Junctions, Intercellular
D008175	Lung Neoplasms	Tumors or cancer of the LUNG.	Cancer of Lung,Lung Cancer,Pulmonary Cancer,Pulmonary Neoplasms,Cancer of the Lung,Neoplasms, Lung,Neoplasms, Pulmonary,Cancer, Lung,Cancer, Pulmonary,Cancers, Lung,Cancers, Pulmonary,Lung Cancers,Lung Neoplasm,Neoplasm, Lung,Neoplasm, Pulmonary,Pulmonary Cancers,Pulmonary Neoplasm
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D008928	Mitochondria	Semiautonomous, self-reproducing organelles that occur in the cytoplasm of all cells of most, but not all, eukaryotes. Each mitochondrion is surrounded by a double limiting membrane. The inner membrane is highly invaginated, and its projections are called cristae. Mitochondria are the sites of the reactions of oxidative phosphorylation, which result in the formation of ATP. They contain distinctive RIBOSOMES, transfer RNAs (RNA, TRANSFER); AMINO ACYL T RNA SYNTHETASES; and elongation and termination factors. Mitochondria depend upon genes within the nucleus of the cells in which they reside for many essential messenger RNAs (RNA, MESSENGER). Mitochondria are believed to have arisen from aerobic bacteria that established a symbiotic relationship with primitive protoeukaryotes. (King & Stansfield, A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)	Mitochondrial Contraction,Mitochondrion,Contraction, Mitochondrial,Contractions, Mitochondrial,Mitochondrial Contractions
D009077	Mucins	High molecular weight mucoproteins that protect the surface of EPITHELIAL CELLS by providing a barrier to particulate matter and microorganisms. Membrane-anchored mucins may have additional roles concerned with protein interactions at the cell surface.	Mucin
D002282	Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar	A carcinoma derived from epithelium of terminal bronchioles, in which the neoplastic tissue extends along the alveolar walls and grows in small masses within the alveoli. Involvement may be uniformly diffuse and massive, or nodular, or lobular. The neoplastic cells are cuboidal or columnar and form papillary structures. Mucin may be demonstrated in some of the cells and in the material in the alveoli, which also includes denuded cells. Metastases in regional lymph nodes, and in even more distant sites, are known to occur, but are infrequent. (From Stedman, 25th ed)	Carcinoma, Alveolar,Carcinoma, Bronchiolar,Carcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar,Adenocarcinoma, Alveolar,Alveolar Cell Carcinoma,Carcinoma, Bronchioloalveolar,Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo Alveolar,Adenocarcinomas, Alveolar,Adenocarcinomas, Bronchiolo-Alveolar,Alveolar Adenocarcinoma,Alveolar Adenocarcinomas,Alveolar Carcinoma,Alveolar Carcinomas,Alveolar Cell Carcinomas,Bronchiolar Carcinoma,Bronchiolar Carcinomas,Bronchiolo-Alveolar Adenocarcinoma,Bronchiolo-Alveolar Adenocarcinomas,Bronchiolo-Alveolar Carcinoma,Bronchiolo-Alveolar Carcinomas,Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma,Bronchioloalveolar Carcinomas,Carcinoma, Alveolar Cell,Carcinoma, Bronchiolo Alveolar,Carcinomas, Alveolar,Carcinomas, Alveolar Cell,Carcinomas, Bronchiolar,Carcinomas, Bronchiolo-Alveolar,Carcinomas, Bronchioloalveolar
D002462	Cell Membrane	The lipid- and protein-containing, selectively permeable membrane that surrounds the cytoplasm in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.	Plasma Membrane,Cytoplasmic Membrane,Cell Membranes,Cytoplasmic Membranes,Membrane, Cell,Membrane, Cytoplasmic,Membrane, Plasma,Membranes, Cell,Membranes, Cytoplasmic,Membranes, Plasma,Plasma Membranes
D002467	Cell Nucleus	Within a eukaryotic cell, a membrane-limited body which contains chromosomes and one or more nucleoli (CELL NUCLEOLUS). The nuclear membrane consists of a double unit-type membrane which is perforated by a number of pores; the outermost membrane is continuous with the ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM. A cell may contain more than one nucleus. (From Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2d ed)	Cell Nuclei,Nuclei, Cell,Nucleus, Cell
D002479	Inclusion Bodies	A generic term for any circumscribed mass of foreign (e.g., lead or viruses) or metabolically inactive materials (e.g., ceroid or MALLORY BODIES), within the cytoplasm or nucleus of a cell. Inclusion bodies are in cells infected with certain filtrable viruses, observed especially in nerve, epithelial, or endothelial cells. (Stedman, 25th ed)	Cellular Inclusions,Cytoplasmic Inclusions,Bodies, Inclusion,Body, Inclusion,Cellular Inclusion,Cytoplasmic Inclusion,Inclusion Body,Inclusion, Cellular,Inclusion, Cytoplasmic,Inclusions, Cellular,Inclusions, Cytoplasmic