Studies on experimental malignant nerve sheath tumors maintained in tissue and organ culture systems. II. Electron microscopy observations.

The sequential electron microscopic features of six malignant nerve sheath tumors (three cranial and three spinal) induced in rats by transplacental ethylnitrosourea and maintained in organ culture systems were compared with those of a human acoustic Schwannoma similarly cultured. After 4 weeks in vitro, the malignant tumor cells often showed progressive elongation of their processes, with the development of an interdigitating pattern resembling that seen in well-differentiated Schwannomas. This was accompanied by an increase of microtubules. Basal lamina formation, less well-developed and less complete than in the benign Schwannoma in this study, was maintained in culture. Some explants demonstrated an increase in number and width of collagen fibrils, accompanied by a relative concomitant decrease of inter-cellular basement membrane material. The malignant tumor cells also showed numerous micropinocytotic vesicles and various junctional complexes, which are characteristic of perineurial cells. Since the origin of the experimental tumors from adult Schwann cells seems well established, this apparent contradiction is best resolved by the concept that Schwann cells and perineurial fibroblasts are functional variants of the same cell type.