Type VIII collagen in the normal and diseased human brain

Type VIII collagen has been localized to specialized extracellular matrices in fetal tissues and has been suggested to be associated with cellular proliferation and angiogenesis (Sage and Iruela-Arispe 1990). In view of this hypothesis we studied its distribution in the normal and diseased human brain. Focal immunoreactivity was seen in histologically abnormal vessels of all 10 angiomas and 40 of 52 brain tumors. Staining was very weak in 3 embryonal and fetal brains, and it was absent in 20 normal adult brains and in 15 adult brains showing various cerebrovascular abnormalities. Our results provide additional evidence for the participation of type VIII collagen in some types of angiogenesis.