Immunocytochemistry of neuronal and glial markers in retinoblastoma

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Abstract
An immunocytochemical study of 30 retinoblastomas was carried out using antibodies to neuronal and glial markers. The tumours were found to react with antibodies to neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a marker for neuronal elements, and S-100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), both of which are proteins present in glia. Two distinct cell populations were found within the tumour: the first, composed of anaplastic tumour cells at various stages of differentiation, showed both NSE and S-100 immunoreactivity; the second cell type, which immunostained for S-100 and GFAP, resembled mature glial cells. The results of this study indicate that the retinoblastoma may arise from a pluripotential primitive cell partially retaining neuronal and glial characteristics.