Immunoreactive somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in adrenal pheochromocytoma. An immunochemical and ultrastructural study.
An adrenal pheochromocytoma producing somatostatin (SRIF) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in a 17-year-old boy is presented. High concentrations of immunoreactive (IR)-SRIF were found in plasma taken from the antecubital vein (31.0-33.0 pg/ml) and the inferior caval vein near the tumor (54.6 pg/ml), but after removal of the tumor the values became normal (11.0-15.2 pg/ml). In two portions of the resected tumor, considerable but different amounts of IR-SRIF (151.7 and 12.1 ng/g wet wt) and IR-VIP (13.0 and 5.5 ng/g wet wt) were demonstrated with size heterogeneities. Immunohistochemically, many IR-SRIF cells and a few IR-VIP cells were observed, but no cell reacting with both anti-SRIF and anti-VIP sera was found. Electronmicroscopically, many tumor cells had catecholamine-like granules (250-350 nm in diameter) while some others had VIP-like granules (110-140 nm in diameter). However, no granules resembling the SRIF granules seen in the pancreatic D cells were found. This seems to be the first report of an adrenal pheochromocytoma that produces SRIF and VIP simultaneously. It provides information on the histogenesis of hormone-producing neurogenic tumors.
D000293:Adolescent; D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D005768:Gastrointestinal Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
D005768:Gastrointestinal Hormones; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D013004:Somatostatin