Summary
An immunocytochemical study of 30 retinoblastomas was carried out using antibodies to neuronal and glial markers. The tumours were found to react with antibodies to neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a marker for neuronal elements, and S-100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), both of which are proteins present in glia. Two distinct cell populations were found within the tumour: the first, composed of anaplastic tumour cells at various stages of differentiation, showed both NSE and S-100 immunoreactivity; the second cell type, which immunostained for S-100 and GFAP, resembled mature glial cells. The results of this study indicate that the retinoblastoma may arise from a pluripotential primitive cell partially retaining neuronal and glial characteristics.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Albert DM, Rabson AS, Dalton AJ (1970) Tissue culture study of human retinoblastoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 9:64–72
Albert DM, Rabson AS (1972) The role of viruses in the pathogenesis of ocular tumours. Int Ophthalmol Clin 12:195–224
Bignami A, Dahl D, Rueger DC (1980) Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA) in normal neural cells and in pathological conditions. In: Federoff S, Hertz L (eds) Advances in cellular neurobiology, vol 1. Academic Press, New York, pp 285–310
Bishop AE, Polak JM, Facer P, Ferri GL, Marangos PJ, Pearse AGE (1982) Neuron-specific enolase: a common marker for the endocrine cells and innervation of the gut and pancreas. Gastroenterology 83:902–915
Cocchia D, Michetti F (1981) S-100 antigen in satellite cells of the adrenal medulla and the superior cervical ganglion of the rat. Cell Tissue Res 215:103–112
Cocchia D, Polak JM, Terenghi G, Battaglia F, Stolfi V, Gangitano C, Michetti F (1983) Localisation of S-100 protein in Muller cells of the retina. 2: Electron microscopical immunocytochemistry. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 24:980–984
Dahl D, Bignami A (1976): Immunogenic properties of the glial fibrillary acidic protein. Brain Res 116:150–157
Dixon RG, Lawrence FE (1981) Glial fibrillary acidic protein in the retina of the developing albino rat: an immunoperoxidase study of paraffin-embedded tissue. J Comp Neurol 195:305–321
Duke-Elder S (1967) System of ophthalmology, vol 10. Kimpton, London, p 675
Dunphy EB (1964) The story of retinoblastoma. Tr Am Acad Ophthalmol Otol 168:249–252
Ferri GL, Probert L, Cocchia D, Michetti F, Marangos PJ, Polak JM (1982) Evidence for the presence of S-100 protein in the glial component of the human enteric nervous system. Nature 297:409–410
Gallie BL, Musarella MA, Chan HSL (1983) Ocular oncology. In: Crawford JS and Morin JD (eds) Eye in childhood. Grune and Stratton, New York, pp 307–320
Gu J, Polak JM, Van Noorden S, Pearse AGE, Marangos PJ, Azzopardi JG (1983) Immunostaining of neuron specific enolase as a diagnostic tool for Merkel cell tumours. Cancer 52:91–95
Holland GN, Cochran AJ, Wen D-R, Herschman HR, Lee WR, Foss RY, Straatsma BR (1983) Detection of S-100 protein in intraocular melanomas. ARVO, suppl to Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 24:50 (abstr)
Huang S, Minassian H (1976) Application of immunofluorescence staining on paraffin sections improved by trypsin digestion. Lab Invest 35:383–390
Huang W-M, Gibson SJ, Facer P, Gu J, Polak JM (1983) Improved section adhesion for immunocytochemistry using high molecular weight polymers of L-lysine as a slide coating. Histochemistry 77:275–279
Kyritsis AP, Tsokos M, Triche TJ, Chader GJ (1984) Retinoblastoma: origin from a primitive neuroectodermal cell? Nature 307:471–473
Lane JC, Klintworth GK (1983) A study of astrocytes in retinoblastomas using the immunoperoxidase technique and antibodies to glial fibrillary acidic protein. Am J Ophthalmol 95:197–207
Marangos PJ, Schmechel D, Parma AM, Clark RL, Goodwin FK (1979) Measurement of neuron specific (NSE) and non-neuronal (NNE) isoenzyme of enolase in rat, monkey and human nervous tissue. J Neurochem 33:319–329
Marangos PJ, Polak JM, Pearse AGE (1982) Neuron specific enolase - a probe for neurons and endocrine cells. TINS June, p 193–196
Nakamura Y, Becker LE, Marks A (1983) Distribution of immunoreactive S-100 protein in pediatric brain tumours. J Neuropath Exp Neurol 42:136–145
O'Dowd DK, Eng LF (1979) Immunocytochemical localisation of the glial fibrillary acidic (GFA) protein in the Müller cell of the human retina. Soc Neuros Abstr 5:431 (abst)
Ohnishi Y (1977) The histogenesis of retinoblastoma. Ophthalmologica, Basel 174:129–136
Parkhill EM, Benedict WL (1941) Glioma of the retina: a histopathologic study. Am J Ophthalmol 24:1354–1357
Perez VJ, Olney JW, Cicero TJ, Moore BW and Balm BA (1970) Wallerian degeneration in rabbit optic nerve: cellular localisation in the central nervous system of the S-100 and 14-3-2 proteins. J Neurochem 17:511–519
Popoff NA and Ellsworth RM (1971) The fine structure of retinoblastoma. Lab Invest 25:389–402
Reid TW, Albert DM, Rabson AS, Russel P, Craft J, Chu EW, Tralka S, Wilcox JL 1974) Characteristics of an established cell line of retinoblastoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 53:347–360
Rorke LB (1983) The cerebellar medulloblastoma and its relationship to primitive neuroectodermal tumors. J Neuropath Exp Neurol 42:1–15
Sang DN, Albet DM (1982) Retinoblastoma: clinical and histopathologic features. Human Pathology 13:133–147
Sano T, Saito H, Saito S, Kagawa N, Hizawa K (1981) Somatostatin-immunoreactive cells in human retina and retinoblastoma. Biomedical Res 2:709–713
Sheppard MN, Corrin B, Bennett MH, Marangos PJ, Bloom SR, Polak JM (1984) Immunocytochemical localisation of neuron specific enolase (NSE) in small cell carcinomas and carcinoid tumours of the lung. Histopathology 8:171–181
Sheppard MN, Marangos PJ, Bloom SR, Polak JM (1984) Neuron specific enolase (NSE): an immunocytochemical marker for early detection of nerves and neuroendocrine cells in human lung. Life Science 34:265–271
Stefansson K, Wollmann R, Jerkovic M (1982) S-100 protein in soft-tissue tumours derived from Schwann cells and melanocytes. Am J Pathol 106:261–268
Stell W, Marshak D, Yamada T, Brecha N, Karten HJ (1980) Peptides are in the eye of the beholder. TINS 292–295
Sternberger LA (1979) Immunocytochemistry, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York, p 104–169
Tapia FJ, Polak JM, Barbosa AJA, Bloom SR, Marangos PJ, Dermody C, Pearse AGE (1981) Neuron-specific enolase is produced by neuroendocrine tumours. The Lancet 1:808–811
Tarkkanen A, Eranko L, Tervo T, Tervo K, Eranko O, Cuello AC (1983) Substance P immunoreactivity in normal human retina and in retinoblastoma. In: Skrabanek P and Powell D (eds) Substance P Dublin. Boole Press, Dublin, p 202–203
Tascos NA, Parr J, Gonatas NK (1982) Immunocytochemical study of the glial fibrillary acidic protein in human neoplasms of the central nervous system. Human Pathology 13:454–458
Taylor HR, Caroll N, Jack I, Crock GW (1979) A scanning electron microscopic examination of retinoblastoma in tissue culture. Br J Ophthalmol 63:551–559
Terenghi G, Cocchia D, Michetti F, Diani AR, Peterson T, Cole DF, Bloom SR, Polak JM (1983) Localisation of S-100 protein in Müller cells of the retina. 1. Light microscopical immunocytochemistry. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 24:976–980
Tso MOM, Fine BS, Zimmerman LE (1969) The Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes in retinoblastoma. Arch Pathol 88:664–671
Tso MOM, Zimmerman LE, Fine BA (1970) The nature of retinoblastoma. 1. Photoreceptor differentiation: a clinical and histopathologic study. Am J Ophthalmol 69:339–349
Tso MOM, Zimmerman LE, Fine BS (1970) The nature of retinoblastoma 2. Photo receptor differentiation: an electron microscopic study. Am J Ophthalmol 69:350–359
Tso MOM (1980) Clues to, the cells of origin in retinoblastoma. Int Ophthalmol Clin 20:191–210
Virchow R: Die Krankhaften Geschwülste. Berlin, A. Hirschwald, Vol 2 (1864)
Wharton J, Polak JM, Cole GA, Marangos PJ, Pearse AGE (1981) Neuron-specific enolase as an immunocytochemical marker for the diffuse neuroendocrine system in human foetal lung. J Histochem Cytochem 29:1359–1364
Zimmerman LE (1970) Changing concept concerning the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Am J Ophthalmol 69:947–964
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Terenghi, G., Polak, J.M., Ballesta, J. et al. Immunocytochemistry of neuronal and glial markers in retinoblastoma. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 404, 61–73 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00704251
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00704251