Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The American Journal of Pathology logoLink to The American Journal of Pathology
. 1989 Dec;135(6):1065–1072.

Human chorionic gonadotropin alpha-subunit in rectal carcinoids. Its mode of presence and the change of granule morphology.

M Fukayama 1, Y Hayashi 1, Y Shiozawa 1, S Okabe 1, M Koike 1
PMCID: PMC1880487  PMID: 2480712

Abstract

To investigate the nature of endocrine cells immunoreactive for human chorionic gonadotropin alpha-subunit (hCG alpha), rectal carcinoid tumors were studied with immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. There were two types of rectal carcinoids: Type A (n = 5) was diffusely argyrophilic and immunoreactive for serotonin with many hCG alpha-positive cells (16.7%-91.1%). Type B (n = 5) was dispersedly argyrophilic and contained, at most, 5% positive cells for pancreatic polypeptide (PP) with hCG alpha cells in 1.4% to 9.7%. By double immunostaining, 55.0% to 89.7% of hCG alpha cells were synchronously immunoreactive for serotonin in Type A and 3.2% to 11.8% of hCG alpha cells showed PP-positivity in Type B. HCG alpha-positive granules had a constant relationship between perimeter (P) and area (A), log10 A approximately D log10 P, in each case (n = 5). The inverse correlation was found between the value of D and the frequency of hCG alpha in the tumor or in the neoplastic cells (P less than 0.05). HCG alpha may represent the quantitative difference of rectal carcinoids and its expression may have some relation with granule morphology in neoplastic endocrine cells of the rectum.

Full text

PDF
1065

Images in this article

1068Figure 2
on p.1068
1068Figure 1
on p.1068
1069Figure 3
on p.1069
1070Figure 4
on p.1070
1070Figure 5
on p.1070
1071Figure 7
on p.1071

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alumets J., Alm P., Falkmer S., Håkanson R., Ljungberg O., Mårtensson H., Sundler F., Tibblin S. Immunohistochemical evidence of peptide hormones in endocrine tumors of the rectum. Cancer. 1981 Dec 1;48(11):2409–2415. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19811201)48:11<2409::aid-cncr2820481112>3.0.co;2-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beck-Peccoz P., Bassetti M., Spada A., Medri G., Arosio M., Giannattasio G., Faglia G. Glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit response to growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone in patients with active acromegaly. Evidence for alpha-subunit and GH coexistence in the same tumoral cell. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1985 Sep;61(3):541–546. doi: 10.1210/jcem-61-3-541. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bordi C., Pilato F. P., Bertelé A., D'Adda T., Missale G. Expression of glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit by endocrine cells of the oxyntic mucosa is associated with hypergastrinemia. Hum Pathol. 1988 May;19(5):580–585. doi: 10.1016/s0046-8177(88)80208-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fetissof F., Arbeille B., Guilloteau D., Lanson Y. Glycoprotein hormone alpha-chain-immunoreactive endocrine cells in prostate and cloacal-derived tissues. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1987 Sep;111(9):836–840. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fiocca R., Capella C., Buffa R., Fontana R., Solcia E., Hage E., Chance R. E., Moody A. J. Glucagon-, glicentin-, and pancreatic polypeptide-like immunoreativities in rectal carcinoids and related colorectal cells. Am J Pathol. 1980 Jul;100(1):81–92. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fukayama M., Hayashi Y., Koike M., Hajikano H., Endo S., Okumura H. Human chorionic gonadotropin in lung and lung tumors. Immunohistochemical study on unbalanced distribution of subunits. Lab Invest. 1986 Oct;55(4):433–443. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fukayama M., Hayashi Y., Koike M. Human chorionic gonadotropin in the rectosigmoid colon. Immunohistochemical study on unbalanced distribution of subunits. Am J Pathol. 1987 Apr;127(1):83–89. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fukayama M., Hayashi Y., Takizawa T., Koike M., Endo S., Okumura H. Glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit in human stomach. J Histochem Cytochem. 1986 Aug;34(8):995–1001. doi: 10.1177/34.8.3525666. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Heitz P. U., Kasper M., Klöppel G., Polak J. M., Vaitukaitis J. L. Glycoprotein-hormone alpha-chain production by pancreatic endocrine tumors: a specific marker for malignancy. Immunocytochemical analysis of tumors of 155 patients. Cancer. 1983 Jan 15;51(2):277–282. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19830115)51:2<277::aid-cncr2820510219>3.0.co;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Holm R., Sobrinho-Simões M., Nesland J. M., Sambade C., Johannessen J. V. Medullary thyroid carcinoma with thyroglobulin immunoreactivity. A special entity? Lab Invest. 1987 Sep;57(3):258–268. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Iwafuchi M., Watanabe H., Ishihara N., Shimoda T., Iwashita A., Ito S. Peptide YY immunoreactive cells in gastrointestinal carcinoids: immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies of 60 tumors. Hum Pathol. 1986 Mar;17(3):291–296. doi: 10.1016/s0046-8177(83)80222-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kamisawa T., Fukayama M., Koike M., Tabata I., Okamoto A. So-called "papillary and cystic neoplasm of the pancreas." An immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study. Acta Pathol Jpn. 1987 May;37(5):785–794. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Landolt A. M., Heitz P. U. Alpha-subunit-producing pituitary adenomas. Immunocytochemical and ultrastructural studies. Virchows Arch A Pathol Anat Histopathol. 1986;409(4):417–431. doi: 10.1007/BF00705414. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Maruyama M., Fukayama M., Koike M. A case of multiple carcinoid tumors of the rectum with extraglandular endocrine cell proliferation. Cancer. 1988 Jan 1;61(1):131–136. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19880101)61:1<131::aid-cncr2820610123>3.0.co;2-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. O'Briain D. S., Dayal Y., DeLellis R. A., Tischler A. S., Bendon R., Wolfe H. J. Rectal carcinoids as tumors of the hindgut endocrine cells: a morphological and immunohistochemical analysis. Am J Surg Pathol. 1982 Mar;6(2):131–142. doi: 10.1097/00000478-198203000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Orloff M. J. Carcinoid tumors of the rectum. Cancer. 1971 Jul;28(1):175–180. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197107)28:1<175::aid-cncr2820280135>3.0.co;2-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sariola H., Lehtonen E., Saxén E. Breast tumors with a solid and uniform carcinoid pattern. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study of two cases. Pathol Res Pract. 1985 Jan;179(3):405–411. doi: 10.1016/S0344-0338(85)80150-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Solcia E., Capella C., Buffa R., Usellini L., Frigerio B., Fontana P. Endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract and related tumors. Pathobiol Annu. 1979;9:163–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Taxy J. B., Mendelsohn G., Gupta P. K. Carcinoid tumors of the rectum. Silver reactions, fluorescence, and serotonin content of the cytoplasmic granules. Am J Clin Pathol. 1980 Dec;74(6):791–795. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/74.6.791. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wilander E., El-Salhy M., Lundqvist M., Grimelius L., Terenius L., Lundberg J. M., Tatemoto K., Schwartz T. W. Polypeptide YY (PYY) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) in rectal carcinoids. An immunocytochemical study. Virchows Arch A Pathol Anat Histopathol. 1983;401(1):67–72. doi: 10.1007/BF00644790. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Yang K., Ulich T., Cheng L., Lewin K. J. The neuroendocrine products of intestinal carcinoids. An immunoperoxidase study of 35 carcinoid tumors stained for serotonin and eight polypeptide hormones. Cancer. 1983 May 15;51(10):1918–1926. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19830515)51:10<1918::aid-cncr2820511027>3.0.co;2-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Zurschmiede C., Landolt A. M. Distribution of growth hormone and prolactin in secretory granules of the normal and neoplastic human adenohypophysis. Virchows Arch B Cell Pathol Incl Mol Pathol. 1987;53(5):308–315. doi: 10.1007/BF02890257. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The American Journal of Pathology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Investigative Pathology

RESOURCES