An immunohistochemical study of neuroepithelial (colloid) cysts

Monoclonal and polyclonal antisera were used against 12 cases of neuroepithelial (colloid) cysts to determine the specific antigenic profile of the cyst epithelium. Intermediate filament markers (cytokeratin, vimentin, neurofilament, and glial fibrillary acidic protein) and epithelial markers (epithelial membrane antigen and monoclonal antibody lu-5) demonstrated that colloid cyst epithelium has a unique antigenic profile in contrast to that of choroid plexus or glial tissue. Theories raised to explain the etiology of colloid cysts have included derivation from the embryonic paraphysis, detachments of developing neuroepithelium from the tela choroidea, and remnants of respiratory epithelium; a more recent theory suggests that these cysts are products of developing choroid plexus or ependyma. The present study shows that colloid cyst epithelium is distinct from that of choroid plexus or ependyma and therefore does not represent a product of their formation, nor does it represent a form of immature glia. This finding supports the conclusion that colloid cysts in any ventricular location represent a developmental anomaly of primitive neuroectoderm in the embryo, which remains unique from other products of neuroectodermal derivation.