Distribution and immunoreactivity of cerebral micro-hamartomas in bilateral acoustic neurofibromatosis (neurofibromatosis 2).

Bilateral acoustic neurofibromatosis (neurofibromatosis 2, NF2) accounts for less than 10% of all cases of neurofibromatosis and manifests itself with bilateral acoustic schwannomas, multiple schwannomas of spinal nerve roots, meningiomas, glial tumors and hamartomatous CNS lesions. We have observed dysplastic foci of immature neuroectodermal cells in the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia of six patients afflicted with neurofibromatosis 2, ranging from occasional clusters of immature, dysplastic cells to numerous, confluent lesions. These cells, although often polymorphic and multinuclear did not show mitotic activity or a tendency for neoplastic transformation. To determine the histogenesis of these foci, extensive immunocytochemical reactions were carried out with antibodies to a variety of glial, neuronal and non-neural cell lineages. With the exception of S-100 protein, no immunoreactivity was detectable. S-100 was consistently expressed in these foci, irrespective of their size, location, and degree of polymorphism. On the basis of cytological appearance, distribution and immunoreactivity we tentatively designate these foci as glial micro-hamartomas. Although we did not systematically analyze the CNS of patients with von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis (neurofibromatosis 1, NF1), the present study strongly suggests that these micro-hamartomas constitute a morphological hallmark of bilateral acoustic neurofibromatosis (NF2).