The specialised structure of crypt epithelium in the human palatine tonsil and its functional significance

Material from 25 human palatine tonsils was studied by light microscopy, immunocytochemistry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Special attention was focused on the structure of the epithelium lining the tonsillar crypts in the context of its ascribed immunological functions. This epithelium was not uniform and contained patches of stratified squamous nonkeratinising epithelium and patches of reticulated sponge-like epithelium. The degree of reticulation of the epithelial cells and the infiltration of nonepithelial cells varied. Reticulated patches were associated with disruptions in the continuity of basement membrane, and often also with desquamation of the upper cell layers, and contained numerous small blood vessels. The epithelial cells showed considerable variation in their morphology when surrounded by infiltrating cells. The rearrangement of their cytoskeleton and redistribution of desmosomal contacts indicate the responsiveness and dynamic nature of such epithelium. Cytoplasmic glycogen granules, located in the upper strata, suggest the possibility of energy-demanding functions such as absorption and secretion. The numerous membrane-coating granules may have contributed to cell membrane thickening and possibly also to tonsillar mucosal protection. Some areas contained a few keratohyalin granules but there was little evidence of keratinisation. The presence, and sometimes the predominance, of nonepithelial cells was characteristic of the reticulated epithelium. T and B cells often infiltrated the whole epithelial thickness, and many plasma cells were located around intraepithelial vessels, while macrophages and interdigitating cells showed a patchy distribution. It is proposed that the major functions of the reticulated epithelium are: (1) to provide a favourable environment for the intimate contact between the effector cells of immune responses; (2) to facilitate direct transport of antigens; (3) to synthesise the secretory component continually; and (4) to contain a pool of immunoglobulins. Thus the reticulated epithelium lining the tonsillar crypts represents a specialised compartment, important in the immunological functions of the tonsil as a whole.