Tyrosine hydroxylase and choline acetyltransferase activity in human neuroblastoma. Correlations with clinical features.

Two neurotransmitter-synthesizing enzymes, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and choline acetyltransferase (CAT), were assayed in neuroblastoma tissues from 24 children, in human neuroblastoma tissues serially transplanted in nude mice, and in human neuroblastoma cells in culture. Among tissues from 24 children, five showed an adrenergic pattern with significant TH activity alone, seven showed a cholinergic pattern with significant CAT activity alone, and the remaining 12 specimens showed a "both-active" pattern with both TH and CAT activity. Enzymatic activities were maintained through many serial passages in vitro and in nude mice. All four specimens from children under one year of age exhibited the adrenergic pattern. In general, enzymatic activity was not correlated with degree of differentiation histologically. Among four cases of paravertebral dumb-bell type in this series, two were cholinergic, one was adrenergic, and the last was both-active. These results suggest that dumb-bell type tumors may arise from either sympathetic ganglia or dorsal root ganglia. This study supports the concept that neuroblastomas are a composite of adrenergic and cholinergic cells. Significant changes in the relative proportions of these two cell types were observed with time, and after extensive therapy. Different metastatic sites often exhibited important differences in enzymatic activity. These results help to account for clinical discrepancies between urinary VMA levels and tumor growth. Assays for TH and CAT can be useful for confirming a diagnosis of neuroblastoma, and have important potential for helping to clarify the natural history of neuroblastoma.