Summary
Ten cases of cerebellar haemangioblastoma were studied using the immunoperoxidase technique for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), Factor VIII-related antigen (F8RA),Ulex europeus agglutinin 1 (UEA-1), S-100 protein, neurone-specific enolase (NSE), leucocyte common antigen, synaptophysin, chromogranin and eight polypeptide hormones (bombesin, pancreatic polypeptide, somatostatin, thyroglobulin, calcitonin, glucagon, insulin and gastrin). GFAP and S-100 were demonstrated at the periphery of all tumours and in small groups of cells in the centre of four cases. Most of these cells had the morphology of reactive astrocytes but some had the appearance of stromal cells. In general stromal cells gave negative results. F8RA and UEA-1 stained the endothelial cells in each case but there was no stromal cell reactivity. NSE was present in the stromal cell component of all tumours. There was no staining for synaptophysin, for chromogranin, or any of the polypeptide hormones. It therefore appears that some haemangioblastomas contain and admixed non-neoplastic astrocytic element. NSE, F8RA and UEA-1 staining demonstrates that the endothelial and stromal cell parts of the tumour are antigenically distinct. Recent reports of polypeptide hormone expression cannot be confirmed and it is therefore unlikely that stromal cells originate from primitive peptidergic neurones.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asa SC, Ryan N, Kovacs K, Singer W, Marangos PJ (1984) Immunohistochemical localisation of neuron-specific enolase in the human hypophysis and pituitary adenomas. Arch Pathol Lab Med 108:40–43
Bohling T, Paetau A, Ekblom M, Haltia M (1983) Distribution of endothelial and basement membrane markers in angiogenic tumours of the nervous system. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 62:67–72
Churukian CJ, Schenk EA (1979) A modification of Pascual's argyrophil method. J Histotechnol 2:102–103
Cushing H, Bailey P (1928) Tumours arising from the blood vessels of the brain: angiomatous malformations and haemangioblastomas. Thomas, Springfield, pp 105–203
Deck JHN, Rubinstein LJ (1981) Glial fibrillary acidic protein in stromal cells of some capillary haemangioblastomas: significance and possible implications of an immunoperoxidase study. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 54:173–181
Epstein JI, White CL, Mendelsohn G (1984) Factor VIII-related antigen and glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity in the differential diagnosis of central nervous system haemangioblastomas. Am J Clin Pathol 81:285–292
Feldenzer JA, McKeever PE (1987) Selective localisation of alpha-enolase in stromal cells of cerebellar haemangioblastomas. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 72:281–285
Gibbons FE, Hedinger C (1987) Hippel-Lindau-Syndrom: Morphologie und immunhistochemisches Verhalten einiger dem Syndrom zugeordneter Tumoren. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 117:23–27
Gould VE, Lee I, Wiedenmann B, Moll R, Chejfec G, Franke WW (1986) Synaptophysin: a novel marker for neurons, certain neuroendocrine cells and their neoplasms. Hum Pathol 17:979–983
Haimoto H, Takahashi Y, Koshikawa T, Nagura H, Kato K (1985) Immunohistochemical localisation of alpha-enolase in normal human tissues other than nervous and neuroendocrine tissues. Lab Invest 52:257–263
Ismail SM, Jasani B, Cole G (1985) Histogenesis of haemangioblastomas: an immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study in a case of Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome. J Clin Pathol 38:417–421
Jakobiec FA, Font RL, Johnson FB (1976) Angiomatosis retinae, an ultrastructural study and lipid analysis. Cancer 38:2042–2056
Jellinger K, Denk H (1974) Blood group isoantigens in angioblastic meningiomas and haemangioblastomas of the central nervous system. Virchows Arch [A] 364:137–144
Jurco S, Nadji M, Harvey DG, Parker JC, Font RL, Morales AR (1982) Hemangioblastomas: histogenesis of the stromal cells studied by immunocytochemistry. Hum Pathol 13:13–18
Kato K, Ishiguro Y, Suzuki F, Ito A, Semba R (1982) Distribution of nervous system specific forms of enolase in peripheral tissues. Brain Res 237:441–448
Kepes JJ, Rengachary SS, Lee SH (1979) Astrocytes in haemangioblastomas of the CNS and their relationship to stromal cells. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 47:99–104
Leader M, Collins M, Patel J, Henry K (1986) Staining for Factor VIII-related antigen andUlex europaeus agglutinin 1 (UEA-1) in 230 tumours. An assessment of their specificity for angiosarcoma and Kaposi's sarcoma. Histopathology 10:1153–1162
Lindau A (1926) Studien über Kleinhirncysten: Bau, Pathogenese und Beziehungen zur Angiomatosis Retinae. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand [Suppl] 1:1–128
McComb RD, Jones RT, Pizzo SV, Bigner DD (1982) Localisation of Factor VIII/Von Willebrand Factor and glial fibrillary acid protein in the haemangioblastoma: implications for stromal cell histogenesis. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 56:207–213
Mepham BL, Frater W, Mitchell BS (1979) The use of proteolytic enzymes to improve immunoglobulin staining by the PAP technique. Histochem J 11:345–357
Miettinen M, Holthofer H, Lehto VP, Miettinen A, Virtanen I (1983) Ulex europeus 1 lectin as a marker for tumours derived from endotheliac cells. Am J Clin Pathol 79:32–36
O'Connor DT, Frigon RP (1984) Chromogranin A, the major catecholamine storage vesicle protein. J Biol Chem 259:3237–3247
Pahlman S, Esscher T, Nilsson K (1986) Expression of gamma subunit of enolase neuron-specific enolase in human non-endocrine tumours and derived cell lines. Lab Invest 54:554–560
Roussy G, Oberling C (1930) Les tumeurs angiomateuses des centres nerveux. Presse Med 38:179–185
Russel DS, Rubinstein LJ (1977) Pathology of tumours of the nervous system, 4th ed. Arnold, London, pp 120–125
Schmechel D, Marangos PJ, Brightman M (1978) Neuronspecific enolase is a molecular marker for peripheral and central neuroendocrine cells. Nature 276:834–836
Silver ML, Hennigar G (1952) Cerebellar haemangioma (haemangioblastoma). A clinico-pathological review of 40 cases. J Neurosurg 9:484–494
Tanimura A, Nakamura Y, Hachisuka H, Tanimura Y, Fukumura A (1984) Haemangioblastoma of the central nervous system: nature of the stromal cells as studied by the immunoperoxidase technique. Hum Pathol 15:866–869
Wilson BS, Lloyd RV (1984) Detection of chromogranin in neuroendocrine cells with a monoclonal antibody. Am J Pathol 115:458–468
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grant, J.W., Gallagher, P.J. & Hedinger, C. Haemangioblastoma. Acta Neuropathol 76, 82–86 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00687683
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00687683