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The paper reviews methods for studying functional morphology of endocrine cells histochemistry and immunohistochemistry, radioautography and methods of ultrastructural verification of secretory granules. Methodological approach is illustrated by the authors' results on the influence of ionizing radiation and tumor growth on the cells of the diffuse endocrine system.

Antral biopsies of 33 duodenal ulcer patients (15 with hypergastrinemia, group 1 and 18 with normal fasting serum gastrin, group 2) and also 13 healthy volunteers were studied for D- and G-cell density and HP-status. Basal acid output (BAO), maximal acid output (MAO) and serum somatostatin were also evaluated. G- and D-cell density was measured by PAP-immunostaining technique. Serum gastrin and somatostatin levels were studied by radioimmunoassay. HP-status was evaluated histologically with the use of semiquantitative enhanced method. Both groups of patients had decreased D-cell density compared with control (p < 0.05). Patients from group 1 had significantly increased BAO, MAO, G-cell density, index of infective load of HP, index of adherence of HP, comparing with group 2 (p < 0.05), and decreased serum somatostatin level and D-cell density compared with group 2. There were no significant differences found in serum somatostatin level, BAO, G-cell density, serum gastrin level between group 2 and control (p > 0.05). Hyperfunction of G-cells arose from impaired paracrine secretion of somatostatin, that strongly associated with increased index of infective load and increased index of adherence of HP to epitheliocytes of gastric antrum.

The lungs of 40 children who had died at the age of 1 month to 3 years were studied using special immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. Destructive lung processes were registered more frequently in children below one year of age with acute pneumonia having a similar viral-bacterial etiology. The content of apud-cells with an argyrophilic reaction, amine-containing APUD-cells and lymphocytes with cyclic nucleotides was significantly decreased and indices of the lymphocyte functional activity lowered comparing to the older age group. An essential role of the physiological immaturity of the biogenic amine synthesis by apud-cells is attributed in the acute pneumonia pathogenesis in children of early age. This aggravates immune deficiency and the development of the destructive forms of inflammation.

It was found that in patients with gastroduodenal hemorrhage the number of serotonin-, histamine-, and melatonin-producing apudocytes in the gastric mucosa increases while the number of cells producing gastrin, adrenaline, and noradrenaline reduces. In timely arrest of hemorrhage, the primarily increased number of melatonin-producing apudocytes diminishes with time from the onset of bleeding and reaches normal values gradually. The essential differences in the content of melatonin- and noradrenaline- producing apudocytes in patients with and without hemorrhage allow this morphological sign to be used as diagnostic and prognostic criteria in gastroduodenal hemorrhages.

Immunomorphological PAP method was used in 20 patients with duodenum ulcer and in 10 control individuals to study gastrin (G)-, somatostatin (D)- and calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) cells in biopsies of the stomach and duodenum. The gastrin and pepsinogen level in the blood, basal and acid production stimulated by pentagastrin were also studied. All patients are subdivided into two groups by their acid production: those with hypersecretion and those with normal secretion. The group with hypersecretion was not homogeneous: some patients had deficiency of D-cells (sometimes in combination with G-cell hyperplasia) and others had a relative and absolute decrease of the number of CGRP cells in combination with foci of parietal cells in pylorus. These patients showed a tendency to the hypergastrinemia and significant hyperpepsinogenemia I in the blood. Stomach hyperplasia in the duodenum, multiple duodenal ulcers, erosive gastroduodenitis and ulcers in close relatives occurred more frequently in these patients. G- and CGRP cells are found to be similar in the form and localization. It is not excluded that G-cell contains, apart from gastrin 1-17, calcitonin-gene related peptide.

Modified Grimelius method of the apudocyte identification on the semithin sections is described and used for the study of the duodenum endocrine cells. The method gives the possibility to study the distribution of secretory granules in the endocrine cell cytoplasm and increases the possibilities of taking samples for the ultrastructural analysis of apudocytes.

Seven ovarian tumours (3 mature teratomas, 2 strumas with malignancy 2 strumal carcinoids) have been examined histologically, hystochemically and electron-microscopically. It is shown that the cell composition of the strumal teratoma tissue is very similar to that of the ectopic thyroid. The follicular cells may proliferate either into the benign tumour (apudoma) or typical thyroid carcinoma. Parafollicular cells may give rise to C-cell hyperplasia with the amyloid deposits in the stroma. The so-called strumal carcinoid of the ovary represents probably the C-cell tumour. Its "strumal" component may be considered as preexisting follicles invaded by tumour apudocytes or as the site of tumour origin displaying the pattern of a non-medullary thyroid apudoma.

Synthesis of biologically active amines and peptides, and accumulation of them in the cytoplasm in the form of secretory granules of "neuroendocrine" type are among the most important characteristics of APUD cells. Apudomas, tumors consisting of cells with the properties of APUD elements, have many common morphological and functional features, although they are quite heterogeneous by clinical behavior and histogenesis. Histological diagnosis of apudomas requires the assessment of the endocrine function of the tumor cells for which histochemical and electron microscopic methods must be employed, as well as consideration of the clinical and biochemical indices of the hormonal activity of the tumors.

Grimelius reaction and immunohistochemical PAP method were used to study endocrine cells producing gastrin (G-cells), somatostatin (D-cells) and gamma-endorphin (GER-cells) in gastric and duodenal mucosa of 95 males with atrophic gastritis with intestinal and pyloric metaplasia. The number of cells was counted per 1 mm2 of the mucosa. In the cases of marked intestinal metaplasia the number of G-, GER- and especially D-cells in the pyloric region non-metaplastic epithelium decreases and is approaching to its number in the duodenum of the control group. In the foci of marked pyloric metaplasia of gastric corpus the number of G- and GER-cells is almost the same as in the zones of gastric metaplasia of duodenum, and is approximating their number in the pyloric region of controls, thus allowing the designation of pyloric metaplasia as a complete one.

The subcellular organization of 6 B-cell tumours of the human pancreas was studied. The tumour parenchyma consisted of processed light, dark, and moderately electron dense cells containing insulin granules. The presence of villi in the cytoplasm of tumour cells and intranuclear fibrills was demonstrated. The participation of tumour cells in formation of amyloid-like thin-fiber substance filling the intercellular and perivascular spaces was established. The similarity between endothelial cells of tumour vessels and parenchymatous cells was shown. A hypothesis on neuroectodermal origin of the endocrine tissue of the pancreas is supported.