Facultative polyploidy in endocrine tissues.
Adrenal tissue from 44 autopsies and 30 biopsies of thyroid gland were analyzed by flow--and scanning-cytophotometry. Most nuclei were diploid and the 4C fraction ranged from 1.9 to 6.1% according to the technique, but with no significant difference between controls and adenomas, hyperplasias, adenomatous goiters, or two carcinomas of the thyroid gland. The only significant increase of 4C fraction was found in normal adrenals of patients above 50 years of age (P less than 0,025). Similarly constant was the proportion of 8C nuclei which ranged from 0.5 to 1.3 per thousand. However, in one of 23 adenomatous goiters a total polyploidization was was observed. Comparable results in the literature show that the thyroid gland like the epithelium of seminal vesicles can facultatively become polyploidized, in contrast to the obligatory polyploid orgnas namely the liver and heart. This is not related to malignancy.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology; D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D004171:Diploidy; D005260:Female; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011123:Polyploidy; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology