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Biomedical subjects

M Altmannsberger

Publications and source records attributed to M Altmannsberger.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Immunohistochemical localization of neurofilaments and neuron-specific enolase in 29 cases of neuroblastoma.

Twenty-nine neuroblastomas have been examined with the use of rabbit antibodies specific for each of the three neurofilament polypeptides, with a monoclonal antibody specific for the NF-L polypeptide, and with a rabbit antibody specific for neuron-specific enolase. When frozen material was used, all neuroblastomas were positive with the neurofilaments antibodies. When alcohol-fixed paraffin-embedded material was used, neurofilament staining was weaker and the fixation procedure appeared to destroy the epitopes recognized by the NF-L antibodies preferentially. Although all neuroblastomas were positive for neurone-specific enolase, so were two rhabdomyosarcomas, suggesting that NSE is not an appropriate marker to distinguish the different small blue cell tumors of children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Monoclonal antibodies to titin in conjunction with antibodies to desmin separate rhabdomyosarcomas from other tumor types.

Titin is a major constituent protein of sarcomeric muscles and is thought to give rise to an elastic filament component underlying the myofibrillar organization. Monoclonal antibodies to titin have been characterized on normal and pathological human material and on human cell lines in culture. A positive immunocytochemical reaction was restricted to sarcomeric muscles and did not occur on visceral or vascular smooth muscles or on various nonmuscle tissues. When different tumor types were examined titin antibodies reacted solely with rhabdomyosarcomas and did not react with leiomyosarcoma or leiomyoma, or with the nonmuscle tumor types tested. In rhabdomyosarcomas a noticeably smaller population of cells were positive with antibodies to titin than with antibodies to desmin showing that individual cells within a rhabdomyosarcoma achieve different degrees of myogenic differentiation. The results reinforce the use of desmin as a marker for muscle sarcomas and show that a positive identification of rhabdomyosarcoma can be achieved by immunocytochemistry with the parallel use of desmin and titin antibodies.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Granular cell tumour in the third ventricle. Case report with histological, electron-microscopic, immunohistochemical and necropsy findings.

A rare granular cell tumour was found in the third ventricle of a 56-year-old woman. Histological and electron-microscopic features obtained from the biopsy material were identical to those of previously recorded cases. Immunohistochemical study demonstrated vimentin but not S-100 protein in the tumour cells. The possibility should be re-considered that granular cell tumours may have more than one cell of origin.

Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms↗
PubMed1985

An ultrastructural and immunohistological study of the rat olfactory epithelium: unique properties of olfactory sensory cells.

The olfactory epithelium contains three cell types: basal cells, supporting cells and sensory neurons. Electron microscopy as well as immunofluorescence microscopy with intermediate-filament antibodies were used to study the rat olfactory epithelium in order to obtain more information about these different cell types and to try to investigate their histogenetic origins. We found mitoses in the basal-cell layer, as well as multiple centrioles and tonofilaments in some basal cells. As revealed by electron microscopy, the supporting cells contained tonofilaments and reacted strongly with antibodies to keratin, in line with their known epithelial nature. When antibodies to other intermediate-filament types were used, i.e. glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin, desmin and neurofilaments, no reaction was seen in the cells of the olfactory epithelium, with the exception of occasional staining of a few axons in the subepithelial layer by neurofilament antibodies. In particular, the cell bodies, dendrites and most axons of the sensory neurons were negative for a variety of antibodies against neurofilaments. Olfactory sensory neurons therefore belong to the very few cells in adult animals which seem to lack intermediate filaments. We discuss whether this finding is related to the fact that these cells are also unique among neurons in that they are not permanent cells but constantly turn over.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Desmin is a specific marker for rhabdomyosarcomas of human and rat origin.

Putative human rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) has been divided into two groups according to desmin content. Twenty-five tumors with histologic features consistent with but not necessarily sufficient to prove a diagnosis of RMS were desmin-positive. More than 95% of the tumor cells were desmin-positive, suggesting a muscle origin and supporting the diagnosis of RMS. Nine tumors for which the preferred first histologic diagnosis was also RMS were desmin-negative. Reexamination of the original histologic slides together with results from intermediate filament typing resulted in a diagnosis other than RMS for all tumors in this second group, and in several instances other tests were used to prove the correctness of the final diagnosis. The results on human material were extended to a rat model system in which RMS was induced by nickel sulfide. Again, all 24 tumors tested were desmin-positive. Vimentin was coexpressed in a varying percentage of tumor cells in RMS of human and rat origin. The results show that desmin is an excellent marker for rhabdomyosarcoma, yielding few if any false-positive or false-negative results in frozen or alcohol-fixed material.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Diagnostic value of intermediate filament antibodies in clinical cytology.

Antibodies to intermediate filament (IF) proteins can distinguish the major tumour groups as shown by results with sectioned human material. In this study we evaluate the use of similar methods in the cytology of human tumors. Smears obtained from fine needle aspiration biopsies were investigated using well characterized antibodies, each specific for only one of the five types of intermediate filaments. Tumor cells of different carcinomas, thymomas, and the epithelial part of pulmonary blastomas were positive with antibodies recognizing cytokeratins. Tumor cells in non-muscle sarcomas, including lymphoma and Ewing's sarcoma, could be specifically identified with antibodies to vimentin. Tumor cells of muscle sarcomas were desmin-positive. Finally, tumor cells in pheochromocytoma and bronchus carcinoid were positive with antibodies specific for neurofilaments. Specimens were also examined in parallel using conventional cytochemical stains, such as May-Grünwald-Giemsa. In addition, in most cases sections of the tumor were examined both by histology and IF typing of frozen sections to confirm the diagnosis made on the cytologic specimens. The results show that IF typing is a valuable diagnostic aid in clinical cytology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Typing of intermediate filaments in malignant fibrous pleural tumors.

We report two cases of a malignant fibrous pleural tumor, one of the localized type and one of the diffuse type. In both cases, typing of intermediate filaments by immunofluorescence microscopy showed that the tumor cells were positive for vimentin and negative for (cyto)keratin and desmin. This result supports the concept that malignant fibrous pleural tumors do not arise from the (cyto)keratin-positive pleural mesothelium but from the submesothelial fibrous tissue. Thus, instead of the usual term "malignant fibrous mesothelioma", the term "malignant submesothelial fibrosarcoma" should be preferred.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Esthesioneuroblastoma: ultrastructural, immunohistological and biochemical investigation of one case.

A case of esthesioneuroblastoma, the pathological diagnosis of which almost always causes great difficulties, was investigated ultrastructurally, biochemically, and immunohistologically, using antibodies against the five known types of intermediate filaments [keratin, vimentin, desmin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilaments]. The tumour cells did not react with antibodies against any of the five intermediate filament proteins. Ultrastructural investigations showed dense cored secretory granules in the cytoplasm and cell processes. Thus, immunohistology offers by "exclusion" a differential diagnosis to avoid often misdiagnosed tumours (undifferentiated carcinomas, embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas, and malignant lymphomas), since carcinomas react with antikeratin, embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas with antibodies to desmin and malignant lymphomas show immunofluorescence with antibodies to vimentin. The biological behaviour (age distribution, tendency to metastasize), the normal values of biochemical parameters, homovanillic acid and vanilmandelic acid (HVA, VMA), and the absence of neurofilaments distinguish this type of tumour from the peripheral sympathetic neuroblastoma.

Cytoplasmic Granules↗
PubMed1984

Distinction of nephroblastomas from other childhood tumors using antibodies to intermediate filaments.

Ten nephroblastomas were investigated by antibodies to intermediate filaments. In seven cases, which in light microscopy were characterized by the presence of blastema and tubules, immunofluorescence microscopy with IF-specific antibodies reveals expression of cytokeratin and vimentin in blastema cells, while tubules were only labelled by the cytokeratin antibodies. This result was independent of whether the conventional cytokeratin antibody or monoclonal antibodies specific for cytokeratin 18 were used. Stroma cells were vimentin-positive. In two cases nephroblastomas were undifferentiated and also lacked tubuli formation. In both these tumors blastema cells were vimentin-positive and cytokeratin-negative. Finally one case of clear cell sarcoma of the kidney could only be labelled by the vimentin antibody. Thus antibodies to intermediate filaments seem to be useful tools to distinguish nephroblastomas from neuroblastomas or rhabdomyosarcomas, especially in cases of metastasis.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Antibodies to different intermediate filaments as histogenetic tumormarkers.

Fifty primary carcinomas, nineteen nonmuscular sarcomas, ten rhabdomyosarcomas, one malignant ependymoblastoma and seventeen sympathetic derived tumors have been studied to determine what type of intermediate filaments they express, using affinity purified antibodies to prekeratin, vimentin, desmin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA) and to the different neurofilament proteins. The tissue was ethanol fixed and paraffin embedded before use. In all carcinoma cases the tumor cells are stained by antibodies to prekeratin, whereas tumor cells in nonmuscular sarcomas could only be labeled by antibodies to vimentin. In the cases of rhabdomyosarcomas tumor cells are clearly decorated by antibodies to desmin. The one case of malignant ependymoblastoma was positive when tested with antibodies directed against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA). While most of the sympathetic derived tumors react positively with sera directed against the different neurofilament proteins, three neuroblastomas did not react with sera against any of the known intermediate filament types. Wider use of such sera would seem particularly useful in cases such as neuroblastomas, undifferentiated carcinomas, lymphomas and rhabdomyosarcomas.

Antibodies, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1984

[Differential diagnosis of tumors of the head and neck using immunohistologic and electron optic studies].

With indirect immunofluorescence microscopy it is possible to visualize intermediate-sized filaments which show a cell-specific distribution and in this manner establish a light-microscopical diagnosis in certain cases which are difficult or impossible to differentiate using conventional methods. We applied the same method to tumours of the head and neck region. Intermediate-sized filaments were studied in four malignant lymphomas, seven carcinomas and four metastases of carcinomas. Malignant lymphomas showed a positive reaction with antibodies to vimentin, carcinomas a positive reaction with antibodies to keratin. Using a monoclonal antibody against a single keratin polypeptide (cytokeratin 18) a further subdivision of the carcinomas was possible. The keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma and two non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinomas showed a positive reaction with the conventional antibody against keratin, but a negative reaction with the monoclonal antibody against cytokeratin 18. One adenocarcinoma, two anaplastic carcinomas and one lymphoepithelial carcinoma were positive with the conventional antibody against keratin and with the monoclonal antibody against cytokeratin 18. Thus lymphoepithelial carcinomas and anaplastic carcinomas should probably not be regarded as special variants of squamous cell carcinoma. In all metastases the same intermediate-sized filaments were demonstrable as in the primary tumour. Certain advantages of immunofluorescence microscopy when compared to diagnostic electron microscopy are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1984

[Malignant soft tissue tumors].

This article is a survey of actual aspects. With regard to frequency, the malignant fibrous histocytoma comes first, followed by lipo- and fibrosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, malignant schwannoma, malignant tumours proceeding from arteries and veins and the unstriated musculature. Staging and grading of these tumours are difficult. Until now their overall TNM-classification was not possible due to insufficient hard criteria.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Early stages of chemically induced liver carcinogenesis by oral administration of the antihistaminic methapyrilene hydrochloride.

The antihistaminic drug methapyrilene hydrochloride, which induces liver tumors in rats, was administrated orally to female Wistar rats. The animals were killed after 21, 38, 77, 119, 181, and 196 days. The activities of adenosine-5-triphosphatase (ATPase) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (gamma-GT) in the liver were investigated histochemically. At 21 days, a homogeneous decrease of ATPase activity as well as a slight increase of gamma-GT activity was found in the periportal zone. Additionally, after 38 days hepatocellular foci with reappearance of gamma-GT occurred mainly in the periportal zone. After 119 days, foci with increased gamma-GT activity as well as a significant reduction of ATPase activity could be observed predominantly in the periportal region. The size and number of these putative preneoplastic foci were increased according to the time of administration of methapyrilene hydrochloride. After 181 days of methapyrilene hydrochloride treatment three of five animals developed hyperplastic nodules with corresponding alterations of enzyme activities. Methapyrilene hydrochloride-a carcinogen with an unknown mechanism of reaction-produces preneoplastic changes that are analogous to the well known preneoplastic lesions in the liver observed after administration of other carcinogenic agents.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1983

[Lymphangioma--a rare cause of a space-occupying lesion at the base of the skull].

A case of an extremely rare lymphangioma of the sphenoid sinus in a 58-year-old woman is described in order to discuss the histogenesis, histopathology, and clinical symptomatology of lymphangiomas located in the base of the skull. The clinically silent course for many years is typical, as is the onset of acute symptoms after bleeding into the tumour. The therapy of choice is to achieve decompression. Prior to this, an aneurysma or a hemangioma should be excluded by fine-needle puncture or by puncture cytology.

Female↗