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J V Johannessen

Publications and source records attributed to J V Johannessen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Null cell adenomas of the pituitary gland. An immunohistochemical study.

Fourteen null cell adenomas of the pituitary gland were examined immunohistochemically with antisera against three general neuroendocrine markers and 22 hormones. All cases showed positive immunostaining for neuron-specific enolase, ten cases for synaptophysin, and six cases expressed chromogranin immunoreactivity. Hormone immunoreactivity was detected in a few cells in ten of the 14 cases studied and the number of hormones demonstrated in each case was one or two. Thyroid-stimulating hormone was detected in five of the 14 cases, gastrin in four, beta-endorphin in two, calcitonin gene related peptide in one, prolactin in one, and follicle-stimulating hormone in one.

Adenoma

Ultrastructural and electron immunohistochemical features of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

An ultrastructural study, both morphological and immunohistochemical, has been carried out on eight thyroglobulin-positive and nine thyroglobulin-negative medullary carcinomas of the thyroid. The morphometric analysis of granule size showed that all tumours contained cells with small granules and cells with medium size granules, whereas eight tumours had additional cells with large granules. The small granules had an electron dense core, while the medium and large sized granules were both pale-cored and dense-cored. The cells with small, medium or large secretory granules were all immunoreactive for calcitonin and CGRP. No ultrastructural differences were observed between thyroglobulin-positive and thyroglobulin-negative cases of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid.

Adult

Mixed growth hormone- and prolactin cell adenomas of the pituitary gland. An immunoelectron microscopic study.

The morphological features of seven pituitary adenomas producing both growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) are reported. Up to five different cell types within the same tumour were observed by applying single and double immunoelectron microscopical staining methods. Despite the occurrence of some mammosomatotropic cells in three of the seven cases all fit into the group of mixed GH- and PRL cell adenomas. The mammosomatotropic cells in two cases were found to express GH and PRL in the same and different granules whereas in the third case the hormones were packed only in different granules.

Adenoma

Neuroendocrine differentiation in breast lesions.

A review of neuroendocrine features in breast carcinomas is presented and markers for neuroendocrine cells are discussed. Immunostaining for neuron specific enolase is the best screening marker for neuroendocrine cells in breast carcinomas, but immunoreactivity for hormones is not present in all neuron specific enolase (NSE) positive cases. Normal myoepithelial cells are also NSE positive. Thirty per cent of breast carcinomas are NSE positive. Biochemical demonstration of ACTH, PTH and calcitonin, and immunohistochemical demonstration of ACTH, bombesin, serotonin, prolactin, gastrin, VIP, leu-enkephalin, pancreatic polypeptide, beta-endorphin and sub P has been reported in breast carcinomas. Neuroendocrine cells have not been convincingly demonstrated in the normal breast or in benign breast lesions.

Breast

Columnar-cell carcinoma. Another variant of poorly differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid.

An unusual case of poorly differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid is reported. The tumor occurred in a 60-year-old man, who died with widespread metastases 5.5 years after primary treatment. The unencapsulated tumor measured 8 X 5 X 9.5 cm and was composed of columnar cells. Two to three mitotic figures per 10 high-power fields were present. The cells were thyroglobulin positive and not stained for calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The light microscopic appearance was similar to that of a metastasis from a carcinoma of the bowel. The authors conclude that columnar cell carcinoma is a separate type of thyroid carcinoma that shares the clinical properties of both follicular and papillary carcinoma and carries a poor prognosis. However, for practical purposes, the authors think that the tumor should be included in the category of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas together with the so-called insular carcinomas, mucoepidermoid carcinomas, and mucinous carcinomas.

Carcinoma

Neuroendocrine activity in metastatic breast carcinomas.

The expression of NSE and hormone immunoreactivity were examined in lymph node metastases from 15 primary breast carcinomas (6 NSE-positive and 9 NSE-negative). NSE immunoreactivity was expressed in metastases in 7 cases. Both the primary tumour and lymph node metastasis(es) were NSE-positive in 3 cases. In 4 cases NSE-negative primary tumours were associated with NSE-positive lymph node metastases. In 2 of the 7 cases with NSE-positive metastases, the metastatic lesions did not express uniform NSE immunoreactivity. Immunoreactivity for hormones (gastrin (1 case), prealbumin (2 cases), ACTH and beta-endorphin (1 case) and somatostatin (1 case] was present in 5 of the 7 NSE-positive lymph node metastatic lesions. In one case only the same hormone (gastrin) was expressed in both the primary tumour and its lymph node metastasis. The present study shows that no relationship exists between primary tumours and the corresponding lymph node metastases with regard to NSE and hormone immunoreactivity.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone

Neuron specific enolase-positive breast carcinomas.

Ninety-eight patients treated for breast carcinomas were followed from 54 to 75 months after primary diagnosis. All had undergone a modified radical mastectomy with removal of axillary lymph nodes. 36 breast carcinomas were NSE-positive and 62 were negative. NSE-positive tumours were significantly more frequently estrogen receptor-positive than the NSE-negative tumours, and the estrogen receptor values were higher in the NSE-positive groups. Patients with NSE-positive tumours and patients with NSE-negative tumours did not differ with regard to presence of lymph node metastases at the time of primary surgery. However, the study showed that patients with NSE-positive tumours had a tendency towards more lymph node metastases after primary surgical intervention, but a better outcome than patients with NSE-negative tumours and metastases. This study, with a 5-year follow up, failed to demonstrate any major prognostic significance of immunostaining for NSE.

Breast Neoplasms

Thyroid antibodies.

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Antigens, Neoplasm

Diagnostic problems in breast pathology: the benefit of ultrastructural and immunocytochemical analysis.

This report deals with the diagnostic importance of intracytoplasmic lumina. The separation between tubular carcinoma and sclerosing adenosis, and the ultrastructural features of variants of lobular carcinoma are discussed. The role of electron dense granules as well as other markers for neuroendocrine cells are evaluated, and finally, the difficult separation of both small-cell and spindle cell tumors is considered.

Adenocarcinoma

Breast carcinomas with protein S-100 immunoreactivity. An immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study.

Protein S-100 immunoreactivity was observed in 5 of 50 breast carcinomas (3 infiltrating lobular and 2 infiltrating ductal carcinomas). A diffuse cytoplasmic staining was present in single cells and groups of cells. The majority of normal myoepithelial cells in ducts of unremarkable appearance next to tumor areas were stained in all 50 breast carcinomas. The 5 protein S-100 positive tumors all stained for prekeratin and 4 of them were vimentin-positive. No immunoreactivity for actin or NSE was observed in the 5 tumors. Electron microscopy did not distinguish the protein S-100 positive carcinomas from the 45 protein S-100 negative tumors. The significance of protein S-100 immunostaining in breast carcinomas is discussed.

Adult

Electron microscopy and immunostaining of the normal breast and its benign lesions. A search for neuroendocrine cells.

Specimens from 7 patients with normal breast tissue 26 patients with benign breast lesions (6 fibroadenomas, and 4 intraductal papillomas, 2 mammae lactantes, 10 cases of cystic disease and 4 fibrotic lesions) were studied by immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy. Excretory epithelial cells in 2 of the 4 papillomas were immunostained for NSE. Myoepithelial cells were frequently stained as well. All the breast specimens were nonreactive to the antichromogranin antibody we used. The 2 NSE positive intraductal papillomas were tested for presence of hormone immunoreactivity, but no positively stained cells were observed. No cells with neuroendocrine features were observed by electron microscopy. The present study did not reveal neuroendocrine cells in the normal breast specimens and undisputed proof of neuroendocrine differentiation in benign breast lesions was not established. We conclude that if neuroendocrine cells are present in the normal breast, they are very rare, and probably not the cellular origin of all breast carcinomas with neuroendocrine features.

Adenofibroma

Scanning electron microscopy of the human thyroid gland and its disorders.

The characteristic scanning electron microscopic features of the normal thyroid gland, benign thyroid lesions such as nodular (adenomatous) and colloid goitre, adenomas and thyroiditis, and malignant tumors such as papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, anaplastic carcinoma and medullary carcinoma are described. One or more cilia are present in the center of the follicular surface of almost every epithelial cell in the normal thyroid gland as well as in most goitres. Their number is reduced in adenomas and differentiated carcinomas. Medullary carcinomas and anaplastic carcinomas usually lack cilia. Variation in distribution and appearance of microvilli seems to be related to functional differences in the normal thyroid and goitres. In neoplastic conditions the abundance of microvilli steadily decreases from ordinary papillary carcinomas to follicular variants of papillary carcinoma and to follicular carcinoma. Most of the cells in medullary carcinoma and anaplastic carcinoma have few or no microvilli. Benign and neoplastic Hürthle cells have a very characteristic appearance. Distinct, smooth-surfaced cells are interspersed among cells rich in microvilli. The literature is reviewed. Our own experience from examinations of 264 thyroid specimens is included.

Adenoma

Medullary thyroid carcinoma with thyroglobulin immunoreactivity. A special entity?

Fourteen medullary carcinomas of the thyroid (MCT) immunoreactive for both thyroglobulin and calcitonin were studied by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Thyroglobulin immunoreactivity was seen in neoplastic follicles and/or in solid foci in the lymph node metastases of two cases. Colocalization of thyroglobulin and calcitonin was found in the same neoplastic cells of eight cases using a double immunostaining method; in three of these (including one with metastases), thyroglobulin was found to be colocalized with calcitonin gene related peptide as well. Our histological and immunohistochemical results support the assumption that MCT with thyroglobulin immunoreactivity is an unusual variant of the multihormone producing MCT and strengthen the hypothesis that a common stem cell is the origin of these tumors. The available clinical data suggest that thyroglobulin-positive MCT carry a better prognosis than thyroglobulin-negative MCT.

Adult