Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Intraneuronal cylindrical particles in Alzheimer's disease

  • Short Original Communications
  • Published:
Acta Neuropathologica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

In this report we describe an unusual form of intraneuronal cylindrical particles (CP) in the brain of a 69-year-old man with typical Alzheimer's disease (AD). A large number of CP were seen in cortical neurons in the frontal and parietal lobes. The CP were always seen within the cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum, had a 25-to 30-nm0thick trilaminar wall and measured 80–95 nm in cross-sectional diameter. In an occasional neuron, the CP were seen next to filamentous constituents of neurofibrillary tangles. The remaining neurons containing CP appeared normal. A similar finding has been reported in another case of AD and also in two cases with other conditions, thus indicating that the presence of CP is not limited to AD. Morphologically similar intracisternal CP have been observed in the macrophages in certain strain of mice following implantation of dibenzanthracene. The CP in human brains and experimental animals show a remarkable resemblance to rhabdovirus and certain murine endogenous virus particles. The nature of these intraneuronal CP in human brains and their significance, if any, remain undetermined.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Andrews JM, Gardner MB (1974) Lower motor degeneration associated with type C RNA virus infection in mice: neuropathological features. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 33:285–307

    Google Scholar 

  2. Dalton AJ, Potter M, Merwin RM (1961) Some ultrastructural characteristics of a series of primary and transplanted plasma-cell tumors of the mouse. J Natl Cancer Inst 26:1221–1267

    Google Scholar 

  3. ghadially FN (1988) Ultrastructural pathology of the cell and matrix, 3rd edn. Butterworths, London, pp 413–490

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ikuta F, Zimmerman HM (1964) Intramuscular precancerous lesions induced by carcinogenic hydrocarbons. Arch Pathol 78:377–389

    Google Scholar 

  5. Ikuta F, Zimmerman HM (1965) Virus particles in reactive cells induced by intracerebral implantation of dibenzanthracene. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 24:225–243

    Google Scholar 

  6. Iseki E, Matsumoto Y, Takahashi H, Ikuta F (1986) Virus-like particles in cultured C3H/St mouse cells treated with a carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbon. Acta Pathol Jpn 36:805–813

    Google Scholar 

  7. Kostianovsky M, Ghadially FN (1987) Intracisternal tubules in a case of chromic lymphocytic leukemia. J Submicrose Cytol 19:509–514

    Google Scholar 

  8. Luu J, Bockus D, Remington F, Bean MA, Hammer SP (1989) Tubuloreticular structures and cylindrical confronting cisternae. Hum Pathol 20:617–625

    Google Scholar 

  9. Matsumoto S (1963) Electron microscopic studies of rabies virus in mouse brain. J Cell Biol 19:565–591

    Google Scholar 

  10. Murphy FA, Harrison AK, Winn WC, Baur SP (1973) Comparative pathogenesis of rabies and rabies-like viruses. Lab Invest 29:1–16

    Google Scholar 

  11. Orenstein JM, Weinstein IB, (1973) Filamentous forms of enveloped A particles in cell cultures from chemically induced rat hepatomas. Cancer Res 33:1998–2004

    Google Scholar 

  12. Peña CE (1977) Virus-like particles in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: electron microscopic study of a case. Ann Neurol 1:290–297

    Google Scholar 

  13. Perk K, Dahlberg JE (1974) Murine intracisternal A type particles fail to separate from the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. J Virol 14:1304–1306

    Google Scholar 

  14. Popoff N, Sutton CH, Zimmerman HM (1968) Virus-like particles in reactive cells associated with crystals of implanted carcinogen. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 10:308–323

    Google Scholar 

  15. Powell HC, Braude AL, Lampert PW (1975) Meningoencephalitis with toroidal virus-like particles. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 31:273–279

    Google Scholar 

  16. Sloper JJ, Powell TPS, Barnard RO, Eglin RP (1986) Ultrastructural abnormality in alzheimer neocortex. Lancet I:511–512 (Letter)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Slowik F, Jellinger K (1989) Membranous changes in primary malignant CNS lymphomas. Acta Neuropathol 79:86–93

    Google Scholar 

  18. Suzuki Y, Atoji Y, Suu S (1978) Microtubules observed within the cistern of RER in neurons of the aged dog. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 44:155–158

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology (Neuropathology), Medical College of Virginia, Box 17, 23298, Richmond, VA, USA

    N. R. Ghatak

Authors
  1. N. R. Ghatak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ghatak, N.R. Intraneuronal cylindrical particles in Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathol 84, 105–109 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427223

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427223

Key words

Search

Navigation