ABSTRACT
The tubuloalveolar glands of the prostate are lined by an outer basal cell layer and an inner layer of secretory epithelial cells. The secretory epithelial cells exhibit strong prostate-specific acid phosphatase (PSAP) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) immunoreactivity. The basal cells reveal strong affinity toward toluidine blue staining; the secretory cells, however, do not take up the stain. Earlier investigations have suggested that the basal cells are actually myoepithelial elements. The cytoplasmic matrix of the basal cell is considerably more electron dense than that of the secretory cell. The nucleus of the basal cell is elongated and generally indented. The nuclear chromatin is concentrated at the inner membrane of the nuclear envelope. Concentration of chromatin material at the nuclear membrane is negligible. The nucleoli are somewhat more prominent in basal cells than in secretory cells. The basal cell is an undifferentiated pluripotential epithelial cell.
