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Morphologic and Histochemical Features of Human Sarcomas in Tissue Culture^*

Maria Spatz

( Department of Pathology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Morphologic and some histochemical aspects of six human sarcomas were studied in tissue culture. The explants were incubated with polysaccharide-containing heparin only, heparin and/or hyaluronic acid, and ACTH nutrient media.

Cytoplasmic granular metachromasia, with toluidine blue stain, was found in fibrosarcoma cells after 72 hours' incubation with the mixed polysaccharide media. The metachromasia has been attributed to the capacity of fibrosarcoma cells to ingest and store heparin, hyaluronic acid, or both. The significance of this process is discussed in relation to the synthesis and breakdown of ground substance mucopolysaccharide.

^* Supported by the American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant 40A, Account 04030.

Present address: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Section on Histochemistry, Bethesda, Md.

Received 1/ 5/62.