Subcellular organelle analysis applying confocal laser scanning microscopy to the steroid-producing epithelial ovarian tumor: a technical note

Ovarian epithelial carcinoma with estrogen-producing stroma

Malignant ovarian neoplasms derived from ovarian epithelium that produce estrogen are rare among postmenopausal women. Presented herein is a case of stage Ic(a) endometrioid adenocarcinoma in the right ovary of an 81-year-old woman, who complained of mammary tenderness, pain and atypical genital bleeding. Her serum estradiol (E2) concentration was 83 pg/mL before treatment, and the endometrial thickness measured by transvaginal ultrasonography was 5 cm, much thicker than that expected for a woman in her 80s. After surgery, her complaints disappeared and her serum E2 level decreased to normal postmenopausal levels. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that the enzymes required to produce estrogen were present in the tumor. Immunohistological data indicated that this epithelial ovarian cancer could produce estradiol by itself, through potential interactions between cancer cells and stromal cells, and that the high level of estradiol in the patient's serum was caused by intratumoral production. This case indicates that in addition to stromal tumors, such as granulosa cell tumors, theca cell tumors, adenofibroma and so on, malignant epithelial tumors with a functioning stroma should also be considered when evaluating ovarian tumors with estrogen production in the elderly.

Differentiation of necrotic cell death with or without lysosomal activation: application of acute liver injury models induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCL4) and dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)

We investigated the relationship between DNA degradation and lysosome activity (loss of lysosomal integrity) in necrotic cell death induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and dimethylnitrosamine (DMN): coagulation necrosis and hemorrhagic necrosis, respectively. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) and enzyme histochemistry for acid phosphatase were performed in both models and results were analyzed by light microscopy, electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). In the CCl(4)-injected liver, TUNEL staining was closely associated with release of lysosomal enzymes into the cytoplasm, and intranuclear deposition of lysosomal enzymes took place at an early stage of subcellular damage. In the DMN-injected liver, TUNEL-positive nuclei tended to have well-preserved lysosomes and centrally localized TUNEL signals. It was assumed that acute hepatocellular damage in the CCl4-injected liver would be characterized by necrotic cell death with lysosome activation and that damage in the DMN-injected liver would be necrotic cell death without lysosome activation. In the DMN-injected liver, DNA degradation may be selectively induced in the nuclear center, in which heterochromatin (including inactive chromatin) is believed to be a target. We concluded that necrotic cell death, i.e., DNA degradation, would be at least divided into two types, with/without association with lysosome activation, represented by necrotic cell death in the CCl4-injected liver and that in the DMN-injected liver.

Three-dimensional appearance of Langerhans cells in human gingival epithelium as revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Detailed three-dimensional morphological information of the cell without distortion due to thin sectioning can be obtained from thick sections using a confocal laser scanning microscope. Here that microscope was used to evaluate human gingival Langerhans cells stained with anti-CD1a antibody. Optical sectioning and reconstruction by laser scanning microscopy revealed not only three-dimensional aspects of Langerhans cells but also spatial information on the distribution of their dendritic processes towards the gingival surface. The orientated configuration of those processes may reflect the reaction of the gingival Langerhans cell to the surrounding moist environment containing antigenic stimuli originating in saliva.