Abstract
Benign lymphoepithelial lesions of the salivary glands associated with Sjbgren's syndrome are characterized by extensive infiltration of lymphoid cells, atrophy of acini and the presence of so-called epimyoepithelial islands. This report describes ultrastructural and three-dimensional reconstructive studies of epimyoepithelial islands performed at Tokyo Women's Medical College. Ultrastructural examination showed that these islands are composed mainly of epithelial cells containing intermediate filaments and/or tonofilament bundles, scattered lymphocytes and plasma cells. Myoepithelium-like cells containing myofilaments were sometimes found in the peripheral portion of the myoepithelial islands. Also, mitotic figures were rarely found in these islands. Three-dimensional reconstructive study revealed that the epimyoepithelial islands are not isolated cell clusters but are continuous hypertrophic duct-like structures. These results suggest that the epimyoepithelial islands are derived from proliferating duct epithelial cells, especially those of large peripheral ducts.
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Yoshihara, T., Morita, M. & Ishii, T. Ultrastructure and three-dimensional imaging of epimyoepithelial islands in benign lymphoepithelial lesions. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 252, 106–111 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00168030
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00168030