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Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma: Ultrastructural study and origin of the tumor
Author(s) -
Nakamura Saburo,
Furuichi Makoto,
Yoshida Kenshi
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
neuropathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1440-1789
pISSN - 0919-6544
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1789.1998.tb00079.x
Subject(s) - basal lamina , pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma , hemidesmosome , ultrastructure , biology , pathology , cytoplasm , immunostaining , intermediate filament , electron microscope , perivascular space , microbiology and biotechnology , anatomy , cell , immunohistochemistry , cytoskeleton , astrocytoma , glioma , medicine , immunology , genetics , physics , cancer research , optics
An origin for the tumor cells of a pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) in a 50‐year‐old female is proposed on the basis of electron microscopic findings. The tumor was located in the superficial supratentorial region. Cytoplasmic positivity for GFAP in both the spindle cells and most of the bizarre giant cells was revealed by immunostaining, indicating an astocytic origin of the tumor. The presence of relatively few organelles, abundant filaments and microtubules, as demonstrated by electron microscopy, also indicated characteristics of astrocytes. Ultrastructural examinations revealed the existence of basal laminas in the extracellular space surrounding the surface of the tumor cells and the presence of localized cytoplasmic densities associated with the plasma membrane adjacent to the basal lamina resembling hemidesmosomes. This suggests a close relationship between the basal lamina and astrocytes, such as that between astrocytes and the investing basal in the glia limitans. The structures strongly indicated a cell origin for PXA that was not from non‐specific astrocytes with secondary proliferation of meningeal fibroblasts, but from astrocytes in the glia limitans with investing basal lamina.