Immunocytochemistry of neuronal and glial markers in retinoblastoma

An immunocytochemical study of 30 retinoblastomas was carried out using antibodies to neuronal and glial markers. The tumours were found to react with antibodies to neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a marker for neuronal elements, and S-100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), both of which are proteins present in glia. Two distinct cell populations were found within the tumour: the first, composed of anaplastic tumour cells at various stages of differentiation, showed both NSE and S-100 immunoreactivity; the second cell type, which immuno-stained for S-100 and GFAP, resembled mature glial cells. The results of this study indicate that the retinoblastoma may arise from a pluripotential primitive cell partially retaining neuronal and glial characteristics.