Immunoreactive somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in adrenal pheochromocytoma an immunochemical and ultrastructural study

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Abstract
An adrenal pheochromocytoma producing somatostatin (SRIF) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in a 17‐year‐old boy is presented. High concentrations of immunoreactive (IR)‐SRIF were found in plasma taken from the antecubital vein (31.0–33.0 pg/ml) and the inferior caval vein near the tumor (54.6 pg/ml), but after removal of the tumor the values became normal (11.0–15.2 pg/ml). In two portions of the resected tumor, considerable but different amounts of IR‐SRIF (151.7 and 12.1 ng/g wet wt) and IR‐VIP (13.0 and 5.5 ng/g wet wt) were demonstrated with size heterogeneities. Immunohistochemically, many IR‐SRIF cells and a few IR‐VIP cells were observed, but no cell reacting with both anti‐SRIF and anti‐VIP sera was found. Electronmicroscopically, many tumor cells had catecholamine‐like granules (250–350 nm in diameter) while some others had VIP‐like granules (100–140 nm in diameter). However, no granules resembling the SRIF granules seen in the pancreatic D cells were found. This seems to be the first report of an adrenal pheochromocytoma that produces SRIF and VIP simultaneously. It provides information on the histogenesis of hormone‐producing neurogenic tumors. Cancer 52:282‐289, 1983.

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