Cardiac Neurilemmoma, Rat. In: Jones TC, Mohr U, Hunt RD, editors. Nervous System. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 1988. pp. 165-9. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-83516-2_28]

Proliferative and nonproliferative lesions of the rat and mouse central and peripheral nervous systems

Harmonization of diagnostic nomenclature used in the pathology analysis of tissues from rodent toxicity studies will enhance the comparability and consistency of data sets from different laboratories worldwide. The INHAND Project (International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria for Lesions in Rats and Mice) is a joint initiative of four major societies of toxicologic pathology to develop a globally recognized nomenclature for proliferative and nonproliferative lesions in rodents. This article recommends standardized terms for classifying changes observed in tissues of the mouse and rat central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS) nervous systems. Sources of material include academic, government, and industrial histopathology databases from around the world. Covered lesions include frequent, spontaneous, and aging-related changes as well as principal toxicant-induced findings. Common artifacts that might be confused with genuine lesions are also illustrated. The neural nomenclature presented in this document is also available electronically on the Internet at the goRENI website (http://www.goreni.org/).

Morphologic characterization of spontaneous nervous system tumors in mice and rats

Spontaneous rodent nervous system tumors, in comparison to those of man, are less well differentiated. Among the central nervous system (CNS) tumors, the "embryonic" forms (medulloblastoma, pineoblastoma) occur both in rodents and humans, whereas the human "adult" forms (gliomas, ependymomas, meningiomas) have fewer counterparts in rodents. In general, the incidence of spontaneous CNS tumors is higher in rats (>1%) than in mice (>0.001%). A characteristic rat CNS tumor is the granular cell tumor. Usually it is associated with the meninges, and most meningeal tumors in rats seem to be totally or at least partly composed of granular cells, which have eosinophilic granular cytoplasm, are periodic acid-Schiff reaction (PAS)-positive, and contain lysosomes. Such tumors are frequently found on the cerebellar surface or at the brain basis. Rat astrocytomas are diffuse, frequently multifocal, and they invade perivascular spaces and meninges. The neoplastic cells with round to oval nuclei and indistinct cytoplasm grow around preexisting neurons, producing satellitosis. In large tumors, there are necrotic areas surrounded by palisading cells. Extensive damage of brain tissue is associated with the presence of scavenger cells that react positively with histiocytic/macrophage markers. The neoplastic astrocytes do not stain positively for glial fibrillary acidic protein; they probably represent an immature phenotype. In contrast to neoplastic oligodendroglia, they bind the lectin RCA-1. Astrocytomas are frequently located in the brain stem, especially the basal ganglia. Rat oligodendroglial tumors are well circumscribed and frequently grow in the walls of brain ventricles. Their cells have water-clear cytoplasm and round, dark-staining nuclei. Atypical vascular endothelial proliferation occurs, especially at the tumor periphery. Occasionally in the oligodendrogliomas, primitive glial elements with large nuclei occur in the form of cell groups that form rows and circles. Primitive neuroectodermal tumors of rats, such as pineal tumors or medulloblastomas, appear to have features similar to those found in man. In mice, the meningeal tumors are mostly devoid of granular cells and the astrocytomas are similar to those occurring in rats, whereas spontaneous oligodendrogliomas are observed extremely rarely. Tumorlike lesions, such as lipomatous hamartomas or epidermoid cysts, are occasionally encountered in the mouse CNS. It is suggested that we classify rodent CNS lesions as "low grade" and "high grade" rather than as "benign" and "malignant." The size of CNS tumors is generally related to their malignancy. Tumors of the peripheral nervous system are schwannomas and neurofibromas or neurofibrosarcomas consisting of Schwann cells, fibroblasts, and perineural cells. Well-differentiated schwannomas are characterized by S-100 positivity and the presence of basement membrane. They show either Antoni A pattern with fusiform palisading cells or Antoni B pattern, which is sparsely cellular and has a clear matrix. The rat develops specific forms of schwannomas in the areas of the submandibular salivary gland, the external ear, the orbit, and the endocardium. Spontaneous ganglioneuromas occur in the rat adrenal medulla or thyroid gland. Compared to experimentally induced neoplasms, the spontaneous tumors of the rodent nervous system are poor and impractical models of human disease, although they may serve as general indicators of the carcinogenic potential of tested chemicals.

A retrospective survey of endocardial proliferative lesions in rats

Sixty, proliferative, endocardial lesions were diagnosed in 19,304 rats, for an overall incidence of 0.3%. This population consisted of 10,127 Fischer 344, 8,737 Wistar, 200 Sprague-Dawley, and 240 Long Evans rats from chronic/oncogenicity studies reported at Lilly Research Laboratories from 1976 to 1988. Of the 60 proliferative lesions, 44 were classified as endocardial hyperplasia, 15 as endocardial schwannomas, and one as an endocardial sarcoma for prevalence rates of 0.2%, 0.08%, and 0.005%, respectively. Affected rats ranged in age from 42 to 110 weeks. There were no sex or treatment-related differences in the prevalence of the rat endocardial proliferative lesions. A review of endocardial lesions in 18 of 233 Wistar rats treated with carbamate derivatives revealed endocardial hyperplasia in 12 rats, schwannomas in five rats, and a sarcoma in one rat. One of the 12 rats with endocardial hyperplasia also had an intramural schwannoma. Of 200 Wistar rats given N-nitroso-N-methylurea, two had endocardial hyperplasia, and one had an endocardial schwannoma. Morphologic features were similar in either spontaneous or treatment-associated hyperplasia or neoplasia of the rat endocardium. Probable Schwann cell origin of the endocardial proliferative lesions was indicated by positive immunohistochemical staining for S-100 antigen in 10/12 spontaneous and 11/14 carcinogen-associated endocardial hyperplastic lesions. Further, 15/16 spontaneous and 6/7 carcinogen-associated neoplasms were immunoreactive to S-100. No tumor metastasis was recorded in either the spontaneously affected or carcinogen-treated rats.

Contribution of immunohistochemistry toward the diagnosis of tumors of laboratory rats

A polyclonal antibody detecting S-100 protein (S-100) and a monoclonal antibody demonstrating epithelial cell (Lu-5) were used in addition to routine, hematoxylin-eosin stain to improve the identification of tumors of neural or epithelial origin diagnosed in conventionally treated tissue from rat bioassays. Among 108 lesions tested for S-100, 51 reacted positively; they included benign and malignant schwannoma, endomyocardial disease, some cases of benign and malignant thymoma, and renal tubular adenoma. S-100 protein is considered particularly useful for discriminating of neoplasms of Schwann cell origin from mesenchymal tumors. 31 of 51 lesions tested for Lu-5 reacted positively: they comprised adenoma, carcinoma, benign and malignant thymoma and atriocaval node tumor of the heart. Lu-5 was especially useful to distinguish epithelial from mesenchymal neoplasms and was capable of identifying epithelial elements in lymphocyte-rich thymomas as well as in dedifferentiated or autolytic tumors. The binding of both antibodies in neoplastic tissue was compared with a complete set of anatomically normal rat tissues.