bcl-2 expression in normal adrenal glands and in adrenal neoplasms

Archival paraffin-embedded tissue from 5 normal adrenal glands (including 1 from a fetus of 28 weeks' gestation), 6 cases of adrenal cortical hyperplasia, 9 cortical adenomas, 14 cortical carcinomas, and 11 pheochromocytomas were immunostained with monoclonal antibody against bcl-2. Ultrastructural localization of bcl-2 protein was also performed on selected cases. Positive immunostaining for bcl-2 was seen in all of the layers of the normal adrenal cortex, with different staining characteristics. bcl-2 expression was never observed in the normal adrenal medulla. Electron microscopic studies revealed bcl-2 to be localized predominantly to mitochondria, with a small number of labels along the nuclear envelope. Analysis of adrenal neoplasms showed expression of bcl-2 in cortical tumors, but only one positive case in pheochromocytomas. Restriction of bcl-2 expression to adrenal cortex-derived tissue versus adrenal medulla-derived tissue might prove to be helpful for the differential diagnosis between cortical and medullary tumors.