Summary
Immunohistological techniques demonstrate the alpha-subunit of glycoprotein hormones in the majority of endocrine-inactive, undifferentiated pituitary adenomas and pituitary oncocytomas. In about one-fifth of endocrine-active adenomas, the alpha-subunit is produced in combination with either adrenocorticotropic hormone or prolactin, and it is found in combination with growth hormone in about half of those adenomas causing acromegaly.
Pure alpha-subunit-producing, endocrine-inactive adenomas characteristically have small secretory granules that are destroyed by direct osmium fixation, but are well preserved after prefixation with glutaraldehyde. As only a few atypical prolactinomas show similar secretory granules, and as they display a positive reaction for the alpha-subunit only exceptionally, this ultrastructural feature can serve as a guide to differentiate such adenomas.
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Landolt, A.M., Heitz, P.U. Alpha-subunit-producing pituitary adenomas. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 409, 417–431 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00705414
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00705414