Creatine kinase isoenzyme patterns in neoplasms of peripheral nerve

Normal peripheral nerve and neoplastic lesions of peripheral nerve varied in their creatine kinase (CK; EC 2.7.3.2) isoenzyme pattern, as assessed both with electrophoresis and with column chromatography. All three isoenzymes were seen in normal peripheral nerve, but the peripheral nerve tumors, neurofibroma and neurilemmoma, demonstrated predominantly CK-1 isoenzyme activity, with a trace amount of CK-3. No CK-2 activity was demonstrated in these tumors. In contrast, malignant schwannoma tissue contained all three isoenzymes, but in a different proportion than in normal peripheral nerve.