Pulmonary blastoma: an ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study with special reference to nuclear filament...

A case is presented of pulmonary blastoma occurring in the right upper lobe of a 25-year-old man without distinct clinical features and laboratory abnormality. Light microscopic analysis revealed that the tumor was composed of branching glands and morulae embedded in a primitive but bland mesenchyme. Immunohistochemically the epithelial cells were immunoreactive for cytokeratins, S-100 protein, protein gene product 9.5, chromogranin A, calcitonin, and Ki-67 (MIB-1); the mesenchymal cells were immunoreactive for vimentin, actin, cytokeratins, and Ki-67; and all the tumor cells were negative for p53, estrogen receptor protein, and human chorionic gonadotropin beta. Characteristically, many epithelial cells contained optically clear nuclei which were immunoreactive for biotin (M743). Electron microscopic analysis revealed that the optically clearing change was due to replacement of the central area of the nuclei by a mass of parallel-arranged 7- to 10-nm filaments, and biotin-immunoreactive products were mainly localized in the nuclear matrix. Additionally, spherical bodies were identified in the cytoplasm of the nuclear filament-aggregated cells, suggestive of an intimate pathogenetic association of the two morphological abnormalities. The similarity of the aggregated nuclear filaments to those observed in gestational endometrium and ovarian endometrioid carcinoma implies that a similar mechanism plays a role in the pathogenesis of these abnormalities.