Abstract
The histogenesis of the stromal cells in cerebellar hemangioblastomas is still a subject of controversy.
In this study, 13 cerebellar hemangioblastomas were examined immunohistochemically for S-100 protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and human factor VIII-related antigen in an attempt to elucidate the histogenesis of the stromal cells in these tumors. An unequivocally positive immunoperoxidase reaction for S-100 protein was observed in most of the stromal cells in 10 of the 13 cerebellar hemangioblastomas examined, whereas GFAP and human factor VIII-related antigen assays were essentially negative. The positive GFAP reaction occurred sporadically, in what we thought to be astrocytes trapped within the tumor. Human factor VIII-related antigen was positive exclusively in the capillary endothelial cells of the tumor. Thus, our results suggest that the stromal cells are derived from either vestigial cells of the neural crest or histiocytic cells of the reticuloendothelial system, which potentially produce S-100 protein.
Our results, considered in light of certain previous observations, imply that the stromal cells are the principal neoplastic cells of hemangioblastoma and are associated with the proliferation of vascular channels, possibly as a secondary effect of this tumor.
