Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Isolation and Characterization of Tumor-initiating Cells from Sarcoma Patient-derived Xenografts
Published on: June 13, 2019
Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma With Hyaline Globules (Thanatosomes)
Mitsuhiro Tachibana1, Kei Tsukamoto2, Mitsuru Takahashi3
1Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Shimada City General Medical Center, Shimada, JPN.
Hyaline globules (HGs) are intracytoplasmic inclusions found in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS). These globules may indicate increased cell turnover or ischemia in soft tissue sarcomas.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pathology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Hyaline globules (HGs) are eosinophilic, round intracytoplasmic inclusions linked to altered cellular metabolism.
- Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is a high-grade soft tissue sarcoma with diverse morphology.
Observation:
- A case of left thigh UPS exhibited diffuse CD99 and p16INK4a, and focal alpha-smooth muscle actin immunoreactivity.
- Multifocal clusters of HGs were observed within the cytoplasm of UPS tumor cells.
- Ultrastructural analysis visualized HGs within UPS cells.
Findings:
- Microscopically, HGs were PAS-positive (diastase-resistant) and fuchsinophilic.
- HGs showed immunoreactivity for cleaved caspase-3 but were negative for ubiquitin.
- Ultrastructurally, HGs appeared as electron-dense globules within apoptotic tumor cells, containing granular material.
Implications:
- HG formation in UPS is hypothesized to be related to tumor cell apoptosis.
- While nonspecific, HGs in soft tissue sarcomas may serve as a histologic marker for enhanced cell turnover or ischemic injury.
- This report is the third to describe HGs in UPS, contributing to the understanding of this finding in sarcoma.
More Related Videos
08:57Author Spotlight: Genetically Engineered Mouse Models and Pathological Characterization of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Associated Tumors
Published on: May 17, 2024
09:21Tumorsphere Derivation and Treatment from Primary Tumor Cells Isolated from Mouse Rhabdomyosarcomas
Published on: September 13, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Satellite Stem Cells and Muscular Dystrophy
Abnormal Proliferation
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Differentiation of Common Myeloid Progenitor Cells