Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to perivascular endothelial-like cells during brain tumor angiogenesis.

Bone marrow (BM) cells have recently been shown to give rise to skeletal, hepatic, cardiac, neural, and vascular endothelial tissues. However, it has been shown that this is the result of cell fusion rather than transdifferentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). For this study, we established a mouse model of brain tumor growth to investigate the differentiation potential of HSC into endothelial cells during brain tumor-induced angiogenesis. Nontransgenic (GFP(neg)) recipient mice were lethally irradiated, and their hematopoietic cells were subsequently repopulated by transplantation of a single green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing HSC. Rat glioma (RT-2/RAG) cells were then injected into the striatum of the chimeric mice 6-8 weeks post-transplantation. The animals were sacrificed 3-9 days after tumor implantation, and the mobilization, temporal-spatial distribution, and lineage-specific marker expression profile of the GFP(+) cells within the growing tumor were analyzed. We saw that GFP(+) cells gave rise to elongated, CD34(+)/Flk-1(+) cells that incorporated into the endothelium of tumor blood vessels. However, all GFP(+) cells were also CD45(+), and the presence of CD45 on the HSC-derived endothelial-like cells supports the hypothesis that the hematopoietic cells were recruited into the tumor milieu. The fact that we failed to demonstrate the expression of von Willebrand factor in these cells argues against a true endothelial identity. Nevertheless, the recruitment of HSC-derived endothelial-like cells was an extremely rare event in normal brain parenchyma, and, thus, the permissive influence afforded by the growing tumor appeared to enhance the perivascular tropism and acquisition of an endothelial phenotypes by a population of HSC-derived cells.

von Willebrand factor is the most reliable immunohistochemical marker for megakaryocytes of myelodysplastic syndrome and chronic myeloproliferative disorders.

To find the best immunohistochemical marker for megakaryocytes in normal marrow, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD), 57 marrow biopsy specimens were studied semiquantitatively with immunohistochemical methods using a panel of 7 antibodies. The staining intensity was graded 0 to 3 for scoring 100 consecutive megakaryocytes in each stained section. The final score for each stain was the sum of these 100 megakaryocytes individually multiplied by their corresponding grade. In normal marrow (11 cases), the average scores for antivon Willebrand factor (vWF) and Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1) were 177.1 and 195.1, respectively. The scores for the other 5 markers, including anti-platelet-derived growth factor-BB, 2 anti-transforming growth factor-beta 3, anti-CD61, and anti-CD79a ranged from 96.1 to 124.1. In MDS (27 cases), the scores were 200.8 (vWF), 152.6 (UEA-1), and 28.7 to 98.5 (others). In CMPD (19 cases), the scores were 220.5 (vWF), 179.2 (UAE-1), and 64.8 to 101.2 (others). These results show that vWF and UEA-1 are good immunohistochemical markers for megakaryocytes in normal marrow, and vWF is the best marker in MDS and CMPD. For routine practice, vWF is the most reliable marker for identifying atypical megakaryocytes, especially in the cases of 5q-syndrome and agnogenic myeloid metaplasia.

Aneuploidy in the normal and diseased brain.

The brain is remarkable for its complex organization and functions, which have been historically assumed to arise from cells with identical genomes. However, recent studies have shown that the brain is in fact a complex genetic mosaic of aneuploid and euploid cells. The precise function of neural aneuploidy and mosaicism are currently being examined on multiple fronts that include contributions to cellular diversity, cellular signaling and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Constitutive aneuploidy in genetic diseases has proven roles in brain dysfunction, as observed in Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and mosaic variegated aneuploidy. The existence of aneuploid cells within normal individuals raises the possibility that these cells might have distinct functions in the normal and diseased brain, the latter contributing to sporadic CNS disorders including cancer. Here we review what is known about neural aneuploidy, and offer speculations on its role in diseases of the brain.