Collagen composition and ultrastructure of the so-called amianthoid fibres in palisaded myofibroblastoma. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study.

A very prominent feature of the recently described intranodal palisaded myofibroblastoma is the occurrence of stellate crystalline extracellular deposits known as 'amianthoid fibres', and thought to represent abnormally thick collagen fibrils. We showed at the ultrastructural level that these deposits are composed of fibrils with the periodicity and width typical of normal native collagen. Using antibodies directed against various extracellular components, we have determined that these structures contain type I and III collagens. Our results indicate that the crystalloid deposits in intranodal palisaded myofibroblastoma called 'amianthoid fibres' do not contain giant collagen fibrils widely regarded as characteristic of the morphological concept 'amianthoid' in other locations.