Ultrastructural pathology of dendritic spines in epitumorous human cerebral cortex

Ultrastructural changes in the human epitumorous cerebral cortex were examined. A swelling of nerve cell perikarya, dendrites and axon terminals, and an occasional hyperplasia and disarray of microtubules and neurofilaments were observed. Accumulations of lysosomes, tubuloreticular structures and intracytoplasmic or intramitochondrial crystalloid inclusions were also found. Some myelinated axons were degenerated. Astrocytes and their processes were focally swollen. A mild swelling was found also in microgliocytes. Oligodendrocytes occasionally contained accumulations of dense bodies. Special attention was paid to dendritic spines. The spine surface morphology changed distinctly on swollen dendritic segments. The necks of most spines were short and wide, and numerous sessile forms were present in this location. The spine apparatus was often hypertrophied and disorganized. Smoothing out of spines on swollen dendrites is described and a possible functional significance of the observed changes in the symptomatology of brain tumors is hypothesized.