Neuronal Differentiation and Expression of Neural Epitopes in Pituitary Adenomas

Mahlon D. Johnson ^1*, Xuemo Fan ¹, Pat Bourne ¹ and Daniele Walters ¹

¹ Division of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York (MDJ,PB,DW), and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California (XF)

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mahlon_johnson{at}urmc.rochester.edu.

Submitted on July 2, 2007
Accepted on 23 August 2007

	Abstract

Neural transdifferentiation is increasingly recognized in neural crest and neural stem cell tumors. Neuronal differentiation has been anecdotally described primarily in somatotroph cell adenomas associated with acromegaly but its prevalence in adenomas and relationship to adenoma type has not been completely established. In this study, we performed a retrospective morphologic and immunohistochemical analysis of neurofilament, phosphoneurofilament, Neu-N, class III tubulin and Hu. in WHO grade I pituitary adenomas. Limited numbers of cells with neuronal features and neuron-associated epitopes, may be more common in pituitary adenomas than previously recognized. These may occur in many forms of adenomas including somatotroph, lactotroph, mixed somatotroph and lactotroph, null cell/gonadotroph cell and rarely corticotroph cell adenomas.

Key Words: pituitary adenoma, neuronal differentiation, neurofilament, phosphoneurofilament, Neu-N, anti-Hu, ganglion cells, class III tubulin

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