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PubMed1981

"Pop-off" technic. The ultrastructure of paraffin-embedded sections.

Stained paraffin embedded sections sometimes contain a precise area that warrants further investigation at an ultrastructural level. A technic is described whereby an area in question may be reembedded into plastic and sectioned for examination under the electron microscope. The decoverslipped paraffin section is "popped-off" into an inverted BEEM capsule. Suspected viral inclusions in sections may be identified or ruled out with this technic. Special stains, especially heavy metal applications, not able to be utilized in conventional plastic embedding may be reembedded into plastic. The metallic granules may be visualized ultrastructurally without further grid staining. This method is especially helpful for cell smears and cell monolayers since they may be the only material available for study. Although ultrastructural detail is often poor, one does have the ability to study the identical section under both the light and the electron microscopes.

Glomerulonephritis↗
PubMed1988

Ultrastructural studies of peripheral blood of neonates with Down's syndrome and transient abnormal myelopoiesis.

Ultrastructural studies were performed on blood samples from five neonates with Down's syndrome and transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM). Three methods of fixation were employed to detect diaminobenzidine (DAB) reactivity. The first method used glutaraldehyde solution, while the second and third methods used tannic acid-glutaraldehyde mixtures. Before fixation by the second method, specimens were washed in order to eliminate plasma, and before fixation by the third were diluted to lessen the effects of plasma protein. The latter two methods were more sensitive than the first for detection of DAB reactivity, while the third also resulted in better preservation of morphology than did the second. Even the first method was able to detect DAB reactivity in cells of megakaryocyte-platelet series in appropriate sections. Although the majority of blasts appeared with light microscopy to be undifferentiated, their ultrastructural morphology and ultrastructural cytochemistry were in fact found to be quite heterogeneous, consisting of cells of the megakaryocyte-platelet and granulocytic series, including basophils, and erythroid precursors. This finding supported the view that TAM was the result of unstable hematopoiesis rather than true leukemia.

3,3'-Diaminobenzidine↗
PubMed2005

Anatomical features and ultrastructure of Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae) leaves from different growing habitats.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The leaf anatomy and ultrastructure of Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae) plants growing in three different habitats (a dry site in the Antarctic tundra, a wet site in a zone exposed to sea spray and a greenhouse) were investigated. The ultrastructure of the leaves of D. antarctica has not been studied before. METHODS: Semi-thin sections of the D. antarctica leaves were stained with toluidine blue and viewed using a light microscope. Ultra-thin sections stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate were examined using a transmission electron microscope. KEY RESULTS: Plants growing in the Antarctic tundra and in a greenhouse had stronger xerophytic features than those growing at the seashore. The stress response of D. antarctica plants growing in the wet environment, exposed to high salinity and flooding, included: irregular mesophyll cells, large intercellular spaces in the parenchymatic layer, bulliform epidermal cells and vascular bundles surrounded with deformed outer and inner bundle sheaths of leaves. The highest number of sclerenchymatic fibres is characteristic of the leaves of plants growing in a greenhouse, whereas the smallest was of plants growing in a wet habitat. Stress conditions can disturb the formation of sclerenchymatic fibres. In plants growing in the Maritime Antarctic the chloroplasts of the mesophyll cells of leaves are of an irregular shape, with pockets or invaginations inside the organelles and outgrowths. Both of them make the surfaces of chloroplasts larger, and result in an increase in the amount of substances exchanged between the chloroplasts and cytoplasm or the other organelles. The leaf mesophyll cells of D. antarctica plants growing in Antarctica contain atypical structures including numerous vesicles of different sizes and concentrically arranged membranes. CONCLUSIONS: The anatomical and ultrastructural features of the leaf and their changes under stress conditions are considered in relation to the adaptations of D. antarctica to the climate conditions in the Maritime Antarctic.

Antarctic Regions↗
PubMed2005

Floral nectar production and nectary anatomy and ultrastructure of Echinacea purpurea (Asteraceae).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In spite of the impressive species diversity in the Asteraceae and their widespread appeal to many generalist pollinators, floral-nectary ultrastructure in the family has rarely been investigated. To redress this, a study using Echinacea purpurea, a plant of horticultural and nutraceutical value, was undertaken. Nectar secretion of disc florets was compared with floral nectary ultrastructure taking into account nectar's potential impact upon the reproductive success of this outcrossing species. METHODS: Micropipette collections of nectar in conjunction with refractometry were used to determine the volume and nectar-sugar quantities of disc florets throughout their phenology, from commencement of its production to cessation of secretion. Light, scanning-electron and transmission-electron microscopy were utilized to examine morphology, anatomy and ultrastructure of nectaries of the disc florets. KEY RESULTS: Florets were protandrous with nectar being secreted from anthesis until the third day of the pistillate phase. Nectar production per floret peaked on the first day of stigma receptivity, making the two innermost whorls of open florets most attractive to foraging visitors. Modified stomata were situated along the apical rim of the collar-like nectary, which surrounds the style base and sits on top of the inferior ovary. The floral nectary was supplied by phloem only, and both sieve elements and companion cells were found adjacent to the epidermis; the latter participated in the origin of some of the precursor cells that yielded these specialized cells of phloem. Companion cells possessed wall ingrowths (transfer cells). Lobed nuclei were a key feature of secretory parenchyma cells. CONCLUSIONS: The abundance of mitochondria suggests an eccrine mechanism of secretion, although dictyosomal vesicles may contribute to a granulocrine process. Phloem sap evidently is the main contributor of nectar carbohydrates. From the sieve elements and companion cells, an apoplastic route via intercellular spaces and cell walls, leading to the pores of modified stomata, is available. A symplastic pathway, via plasmodesmata connecting sieve elements to companion, parenchyma and epidermal cells, is also feasible. Uncollected nectar was reabsorbed, and the direct innervation of the nectary by sieve tubes potentially serves a second important route for nectar-sugar reclamation. Microchannels in the outer cuticle may facilitate both secretion and reabsorption.

Carbohydrates↗
PubMed1975

Experimental kuru in the spider monkey. Histopathological and ultrastructural studies of the brain during early stages of incubation.

The brains of 10 spider monkeys inoculated intracerebrally with brain suspension from kuru patients have been studied histologically and ultrastructurally. The animals were killed by perfusion of fixative from four to forty-one weeks after inoculation, when healthy and free of neurological signs. Definite histopathological changes had occurred as early as four weeks after inoculation, when moderate numbers of bi-nucleated neurons were found within the limbic cortex, striatum, the hypothalamus and amongst the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. At later stages of incubation a moderate loss of neurons in the cerebral and cerebellar cortex and a mild to moderate proliferation of fibrous astrocytes here and also in the hypothalamus were the most striking features. None of our cases showed either status spongiosus or the generalized astrocytic proliferation and hypertrophy, characteristic of fully developed experimental kuru, in any region of the brain. The principal ultrastructural abnormalities consisted of the formation of membrane-bound intracytoplasmic vacuoles, predominantly within dendrites, and of concentric laminar arrays derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. The former were seen in all regions of the brain examined and at all stages of incubation. Concentric laminar arrays were confined to the cerebellar nodulus, where they were most numerous in dendrites and neuronal perikarya four weeks after inoculation. Both changes are interpreted as an indication that the kuru agent acts upon the plasma membrane from an early stage onwards and, by stimulating its growth, leads to the formation of complex, membrane-bounded vacuoles and to hyperplasia of the endoplasmic reticulum. The formation of vacuoles is further regarded as the first sign of status spongiosus on an ultrastructural level. Attention is drawn to the great similarities between the changes observed in the present material and those described in the brains of patients dying from kuru and of primates with fully developed experimental kuru. The significance of the relatively rapid spread of the kuru agent throughout the brain is discussed in relation to the concept of "slow virus" diseases.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Early lesions during pancreatic carcinogenesis induced in the Syrian hamster by DHPN or DOPN. II. Ultrastructural findings.

The ultrastructure of multi-locular cystic lesions and atypical epithelial proliferations arising in the Syrian hamster pancreas prior to the appearance of carcinomas during treatment with the related carcinogens di-hydroxy-di-n-propyl nitrosamine and di-oxo-di-n-propyl nitrosamine was compared in order to assess the role these lesions play in tumourigenesis in this model. Whereas the cells of low cuboidal ductular morphology forming multi-locular cystic lesions demonstrated basic fine structural similarities to normal ductular epithelium the columnar cells prevalent in atypical epithelial proliferations exhibited marked alterations reminiscent of ultrastructural features present in many cells of carcinomas. Most conspicuous amongst these changes were production of mucous granules and occurrence of goblet type cells, glycogen accumulation, nuclear abnormalities and thickening and interruption of the basement membrane. The ultrastructural findings support the view that the atypical proliferations showing alteration in carbohydrate metabolism are precursors for pancreatic carcinomas in the Syrian hamster.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Ultrastructural and biochemical alterations induced by tryptophan pyrolysis products on rat hepatocytes in primary culture. I. Action on the transcriptional process.

Adult rat hepatocytes in primary culture were used to study the effect of tryptophan pyrolysis products on the transcriptional process. Hepatocytes were treated with 1, 5 and 10 micrograms/ml of 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido-[4,3-b]-indole (Trp-P-1) or 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido-[4,3-b]-indole (Trp-P-2) for 2 and 4 h. The ultrastructural study revealed the appearance of nucleolar microsegregation accompanied by a reduction in peri- and interchromatin fibrils and granules in hepatocytes exposed to 10 micrograms/ml of each pyrolysate for 1 or 2 h. Biochemical investigation showed that the incorporation of [3H]uridine into nuclear RNA of treated hepatocytes was strongly decreased. Time- and concentration-related inhibition have been established; however, the inhibitory effect of Trp-P-1 was always superior to that of Trp-P-2. The determination of Mg2+-dependent RNA polymerase activity in an in vitro system functioning with isolated rat liver nuclei incubated in the presence of Trp-P-1 or Trp-P-2 showed a 40% inhibition of this activity. After a 1-h exposure of hepatocytes to 5 and 10 micrograms/ml of Trp-P-1, the recovery of RNA synthesis capacity was complete by 2 h and that of normal ultrastructural aspect was achieved within 4 h. All these results indicated that Trp-P-1 and Try-P-2 acted at the nucleolar level by a blockade of pre-rRNA synthesis and at the extranucleolar by decreasing the ultrastructural RNP responsible for hnRNA synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Protection by superoxide dismutase and catalase in the isolated rat heart reperfused after prolonged cardioplegia: a combined study of metabolic, functional, and morphometric ultrastructural variables.

To determine the protective effect during ischaemia and reperfusion of removing oxygen radicals two groups of isolated Langendorff perfused rat hearts were arrested with cardioplegic solution at 4 degrees C and kept ischaemic at 15 degrees C for 210 min before being reperfused for 60 min at 37 degrees C. To remove oxygen radicals superoxide dismutase and catalase were added to the cardioplegic solution and to the buffer during the first 30 min of reperfusion in one group, the other group serving as control. At the end of reperfusion the first derivative of left ventricular developed pressure (dP/dt), coronary flow, high energy phosphate concentrations, and ultrastructure were determined. The ultrastructure was examined using a stereological method based on point counting and the results presented as volume fractions (Vv). DP/dt after 60 min of reperfusion was 61.6(5.6)% (mean (SEM)) of the initial values in the control group and 77.6(3.4)% in the superoxide dismutase and catalase supplemented group (p less than 0.05). In the supplemented group coronary flow was significantly higher than in the control group but only in the first part of reperfusion. The concentrations of adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate in the control group were 9.9(1.0) and 19.6(1.8) mumol.g-1 dry weight respectively; corresponding values in the supplemented group were 14.4(2.1) and 29.4(3.6) mumol.g-1 dry weight. The morphometric examination of the ultrastructure showed no significant difference in interstitial fluid accumulation evaluated by Vv(myocyte/myocardium) measurements and there was no difference in mitochondrial alteration between the two groups. There was, however, a significant reduction in the volume of cellular oedema (Vv(cell oedema/myocyte)) in the supplemented group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Acute effects of amiodarone on ultrastructure and electrical activity of isolated guinea pig hearts.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate the effects of tissue concentration of amiodarone on ultrastructure and electrical activity in isolated spontaneously beating Langendorff perfused guinea pig hearts. DESIGN: Group 1: The influence of 10 microM amiodarone over a period of 1 h in a non-recirculated perfusate on conduction intervals, heart rate, creatine kinase concentration in the coronary effluent, coronary flow, and drug accumulation was determined. Group 2: Ultrastructural changes after 30 min and 60 min perfusion with amiodarone were examined. Group 3: Cardiac refractoriness was evaluated following 30 min and 60 min of perfusion with amiodarone. EXPERIMENTAL PREPARATIONS: Isolated hearts of guinea pigs (200-300 g) were used: group 1, n = 6 animals; group 2, n = 3 for each time span; and group 3, n = 6 for each time span. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A steady state for the effects of amiodarone on atrioventricular and intraventricular conduction [+31(SEM 5)%, p less than 0.01% +47(12)%, p less than 0.01, respectively] and on heart rate [-30(9)%, p less than 0.01] was reached after 15 min, and on His bundle conduction [+38(17)%, p less than 0.01] after 30 min. QT duration was not affected throughout the duration of the experiment. Cardiac refractoriness was significantly prolonged following 30 min perfusion with 10 microM amiodarone, and was further significantly increased following 60 min perfusion. Amiodarone tissue concentration increased to 365(39) nmol.g-1 wet weight, and this was accompanied by an increase in creatine kinase concentration in the coronary effluent. Coronary flow stayed constant throughout the whole experiment. At the end of the experiment electron microscopic examination of the myocardium of the left ventricle showed accumulation, fusion, and vacuolisation of mitochondria, and perinuclear oedema. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that amiodarone, as well as exerting acute electrophysiological effects, creates ultrastructural changes which probably contribute to its effectiveness in arrhythmias caused by scarred myocardium.

Amiodarone↗
PubMed2004

Developmental rate and ultrastructure of vitrified human pronuclear oocytes after step-wise versus direct rehydration.

BACKGROUND: This study compared the viability of human pronuclear oocytes subjected to vitrification followed by post-thaw step-wise removal of cryoprotectants versus direct rehydration, in terms of their subsequent in vitro survival and ultrastructural features. METHODS: A total of 115 three-pronuclei stage oocytes were cryopreserved in super-open-pulled straws by vitrification in 40% ethylene glycol + 0.75 mol/l sucrose for either 1 min or 10 s at 38 degrees C, followed by direct plunging into liquid nitrogen. After thawing, oocytes vitrified for 1 min (group 1) or 10 s (group 2) were expelled into a graded series of sucrose solutions (1.0, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.12 mol/l) for removal of the cryoprotectant in five 2.5 min steps. A second batch of oocytes vitrified for either 1 min (group 3) or 10 s (group 4) were directly expelled into culture medium at 38 degrees C after thawing. Finally, the ultrastructural changes occurring in oocytes in each of the treatment groups were evaluated. RESULTS: Oocyte development (division to two-blastomere stage) rates after in vitro culture were 82, 83, 0 and 0% for groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The harsh osmotic process involved in direct rehydration provoked ultrastructural changes, including the disruption of cytoplasmic and pronuclear membranes as well as intracellular organelles. CONCLUSION: The direct post-thaw rehydration of human pronuclear oocytes has lethal osmotic effects, such that protocols for vitrifying human pronuclear oocytes should include the step-wise removal of the cryoprotectant.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The ultrastructure of fibromyomatous myometrium and its relationship to infertility.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the ultrastructure of the non-neoplastic myometrial portion (host myometrium) of fibromyomatous uteri is normal or abnormal when compared to that of fibromyomata and normal myometria. Myometrial samples from 23 normal and 54 fibromyomatous uteri were examined at the ultrastructural level using standard electron microscopy techniques. Ultrastructural abnormalities of certain cellular organelles were noted in myocytes of fibromyomata but not in those of normal or host myometria. The sarcolemmal dense bands of host myometrial myocytes were of significantly greater length than those of normal myometria, but not significantly different to those of fibromyomata. Consequently, the numbers of caveolae in host myometria and fibromyomata are conceivably decreased in comparison to normal myometria. Host myometria can be, therefore, considered to be structurally abnormal. The specific structural abnormality noted may affect calcium metabolism in these tissues by causing a decrease in the cellular calcium extrusion mechanism and thus raising intracellular calcium concentrations. Such an abnormality may provide an answer, in terms of contraction abnormalities, for the unexplained infertility that occurs in a small percentage of symptomatic myomatous patients.

Female↗
PubMed2006

Altered cytokinin metabolism affects cytokinin, auxin, and abscisic acid contents in leaves and chloroplasts, and chloroplast ultrastructure in transgenic tobacco.

Cytokinins (CKs) are involved in the regulation of plant development including plastid differentiation and function. Partial location of CK biosynthetic pathways in plastids suggests the importance of CKs for chloroplast development. The impact of genetically modified CK metabolism on endogenous CK, indole-3-acetic acid, and abscisic acid contents in leaves and isolated intact chloroplasts of Nicotiana tabacum was determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography, and alterations in chloroplast ultrastructure by electron microscopy. Ectopic expression of Sho, a gene encoding a Petunia hybrida isopentenyltransferase, was employed to raise CK levels. The increase in CK levels was lower in chloroplasts than in leaves. CK levels were reduced in leaves of tobacco harbouring a CK oxidase/dehydrogenase gene, AtCKX3. The total CK content also decreased in chloroplasts, but CK phosphate levels were higher than in the wild type. In a transformant overexpressing a maize beta-glucosidase gene, Zm-p60.1, naturally targeted to plastids, a decrease of CK-O-glucosides in chloroplasts was found. In leaves, the changes were not significant. CK-O-glucosides accumulated to very high levels in leaves, but not in chloroplasts, of plants overexpressing a ZOG1 gene, encoding trans-zeatin-O-glucosyltransferase from Phaseolus lunatus. Manipulation of the CK content affected levels of indole-3-acetic and abscisic acid. Chloroplasts of plants constitutively overexpressing Sho displayed ultrastructural alterations including the occasional occurrence of crystalloids and an increased number of plastoglobuli. The other transformants did not exhibit any major differences in chloroplast ultrastructure. The results suggest that plant hormone compartmentation plays an important role in hormone homeostasis and that chloroplasts are rather independent organelles with respect to regulation of CK metabolism.

Abscisic Acid↗
PubMed1990

How effectively does a clinostat mimic the ultrastructural effects of microgravity on plant cells?

Columella cells of seedlings of Zea mays L. cv. Bear Hybrid grown in the microgravity of orbital flight allocate significantly larger relative-volumes to hyaloplasm and lipid bodies, and significantly smaller relative-volumes to dictyosomes, plastids, and starch than do columella cells of seedlings grown at 1 g. The ultrastructure of columella cells of seedlings grown at 1 g and on a rotating clinostat is not significantly different. However, the ultrastructure of cells exposed to these treatments differs significantly from that of seedlings grown in microgravity. These results indicate that the actions of a rotating clinostat do not mimic the ultrastructural effects of microgravity in columella cells of Z. mays.

Cell Compartmentation↗
PubMed1992

Quantitative ultrastructural analysis of sperm tails reveals flagellar defects associated with persistent asthenozoospermia.

Sperm tail morphology was examined in 10 infertile asthenozoospermic men to determine whether poor sperm motility was caused by ultrastructural defects of the flagellum. In this quantitative analysis, the numbers of outer doublet and central pair microtubules, outer and inner dynein arms and radial spokes were counted in transverse sections of 75 axonemes from each patient and compared with similar data previously collected from 10 men with normal semen characteristics. Four patients had axonemal defects: two had severe microtubule abnormalities and two had more subtle but statistically significant deficiencies of dynein arms. These abnormalities would not have been detected by more commonly used qualitative examination. Three patients had no detectable ultrastructural abnormalities of the sperm tail, possibly indicating a metabolic deficiency. A further three patients had mid-piece abnormalities. Two had few, if any, flagellar mitochondria and the third patient had irregular and disorganized mitochondria. Quantitative ultrastructural analysis has revealed axonemal abnormalities in seven of 10 patients with previously unexplained asthenozoospermia.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Ultrastructural morphometry of bovine compact morulae produced in vivo or in vitro.

The objective of this study was to compare the ultrastructure of bovine compact morulae produced in vivo or in vitro using morphometric analysis. Compact morulae produced in vivo were obtained from superovulated Holstein cows. Compact morulae produced in vitro were obtained from cumulus-oocyte complexes aspirated from ovaries of Holstein cows. The complexes were matured and fertilized in vitro. At 20 h postinsemination (hpi), zygotes were distributed into 1 of 3 culture media: 1) IVPS (in vitro produced with serum): TCM-199 + 10% estrous cow serum (ECS); 2) IVPSR (in vitro produced with serum restriction): TCM-199 + 1% BSA until 72 hpi followed by TCM-199 + 10% ECS from 72 to 144 hpi; 3) mSOF (modified synthetic oviductal fluid): SOF + 0.6% BSA. At 144 hpi, five grade 1 compact morulae from each of the four treatments were prepared for transmission electron microscopy. The volume density occupied by cellular components was determined by the point-count method using a sampling of seven to nine random micrographs from each compact morula. The volume density of lipid was greater (P < 0.05) in compact morulae from IVPS, IVPSR, and mSOF treatments compared with those produced in vivo. There was a reduced proportional volume of total mitochondria in compact morulae from the IVPS treatment compared with those produced in vivo (P < 0.05). For compact morulae from the IVPS culture treatment, the volume density of vacuoles was greater than that for compact morulae produced in vivo (P < 0.05). The cytoplasmic-to-nuclear ratio for compact morulae from the IVPS treatment was increased (P < 0.05) compared with the ratio for those produced in vivo. In conclusion, compact morulae produced in vitro differed ultrastructurally from those produced in vivo. Compact morulae produced in IVPS culture medium possessed the greatest deviations in cellular ultrastructure.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Ultrastructural characteristics of fresh and frozen-thawed ovine embryos using two cryoprotectants.

Cryopreservation of sheep embryos with ethylene glycol as a protectant appears to be more effective than glycerol, particularly at the morula stage, as has been demonstrated on the basis of in vitro and in vivo development rates after thawing. In this study we compare the ultrastructure of fresh morulae, thawed morulae, and blastocysts cryopreserved with either ethylene glycol or glycerol at the electron microscopic level, to look for cellular damage that could be responsible for proven differences in embryo survival after transfer. Embryos cryopreserved with glycerol showed unequal degrees of conservation even among blastomeres within a single embryo. In morulae, inner blastomeres were completely damaged, whereas external ones appeared to be intact. Both morulae and blastocysts cryopreserved with ethylene glycol showed a higher uniformity in blastomere conservation than embryos with glycerol. The most remarkable features in this experimental group were the presence of desmosomes following tight junctions between blastomeres and the presence of many microvilli on the outer surface of external blastomeres. These characteristics are similar in fresh embryos of the control group. Our results show that ethylene glycol protects membrane and cytoplasmic structures of embryonic cells from cryoinjury much better than glycerol. In vivo survival of embryos confirmed the ultrastructural observations. A limited permeability of glycerol would explain the observed ultrastructural differences in blastomere integrity, which depends on blastomere location and the differences between morulae and blastocysts. We conclude that the low reproductive yield after cryopreservation using glycerol can be attributed to the lack of protection of inner cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Tripartite differentiation (squamous, glandular, and melanocytic) of a primary cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma. An immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study.

We report a case of primary cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma (PCNEC) with squamous, glandular, and melanocytic differentiation and associated Bowen disease. The paranuclear globular positivity of low-molecular-weight cytokeratins agrees with the ultrastructural observations of paranuclear fibrous bodies in the small neuroendocrine cells, while the diffuse cytoplasmic positivity corresponds to the sparse intermediate filaments in large cells with squamous differentiation. "Transitional forms" are characterized by both diffuse and globular cytoplasmic positivity for cytokeratins and by the ultrastructural evidence of neuroendocrine and squamous features. Therefore the ultrastructural demonstration of intracytoplasmic tonofibrils and tonofilaments, intercellular glandular lumina, lined by well-formed microvilli, and immature premelanosomes in the neurosecretory cells supports the proposed tripartite differentiation of neuroendocrine cells of this case of PCNEC.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Primary histiocytic lymphoma of bone: a light and ultrastructural study of four cases.

The light and ultrastructural features of primary histiocytic lymphoma of bone are indistinguishable from similar studies of respective cell types of nodular and diffuse large cell nodular and extranodal lymphomas. These ultrastructural features add further support to their lymphocytic histogenesis. There was no relationship between increasing nuclear clefts and convolutions in individual cases and the ultrastructural presence of increasing "histiocytic" features. Primary histiocytic lymphoma of bone is not a completely uniform monomorphic tumor cell population, but may vary in percentage of large noncleaved, large cleaved, large convoluted lymphocytic, histiocytic, and small atypical lymohocytic cells. Detailed study of four cases enabled division into two primary subgroups: Type I, consisting of a predominance of large noncleaved cells; and Type II, consisting of a mixture of cleaved, noncleaved, and convoluted cells. Further cases are being studied to determine whether these two groups are distinct or merely represent part of a continuous spectrum of cellular pleomorphism. In contrast to nodal lymphomas, there is no evidence at this time that proportional variations in the tumor cell population bear any relationship to biologic behavior or survival. Glycogen may be present in histiocytic lymphomas but was very rare (less than 1% total cells). Therefore, this feature as an isolated observation will not differentiate histiocytic lymphoma from Ewing's sarcoma.

Adult↗