Tubular adenoma of the choroid plexus: evidence for glandular differentiation of the neuroepithelium.
A case of tubular adenoma arising in the right ventricular choroid plexus of a 4-month-old boy is described. A basic pattern of neoplastic glandular epithelium and lack of papillary architecture distinguished this tumor from a papilloma. Coexpression of S -100 protein, transthyretin and cytokeratin identified the neoplastic cells as being of choroid plexus origin. Immunohistochemical detection of MIB-1 showed a proliferation rate (16%) similar to adenomas in more conventional locations, but not encountered in benign brain tumors. In situ detection of DNA-derived oligonucleosomal fragments by TUNEL analysis, on the other hand, detected apoptotic activity in 5-8% of tumor cells. The indolent course of the disease in the present case, thus, might suggest a compensatory elimination of proliferating cells by apoptosis. This possibly points to mechanisms of neoplastic transformation different from those involved in choroid plexus papillomas.
Institute of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland.
Z
Z
Varga
I
I
Vajtai
S
S
Marino
B
B
Schäuble
Y
Y
Yonekawa
A
A
Aguzzi
D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D016545:Choroid Plexus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009417:Nerve Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*