Evidence of chromaffin oxygen sensing in neuroblastoma

With the aid of IGF2 and VEGF in situ hybridization; tyrosine hydroxylase, chromogranin A, and Ki67 immunohistochemistry; and TUNEL staining applied t o a large series of clinical neuroblastomas and to an animal model, we show here that stroma-poor neuroblastomas show evidence of chromaffin different iation similar to that of type 1 small intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells an d that this occurs in a vascular-dependent fashion, indicating a role for l ocal tumor hypoxia in the differentiation process. Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 36: 149-153, 2001. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.