Binding of peanut agglutinin to neuroblastomas and ganglioneuromas: a marker for differentiation of neuroblasts into ganglion cells.

Binding of peanut agglutinin (PNA), concanavalin A, Ricinus communis agglutinin, wheat germ agglutinin, soybean agglutinin, Ulex europaeus agglutinin 1, and Dolichos biflorus agglutinin was assessed in tissue sections of 4 cases of neuroblastoma (NB) to determine whether there were any differences in lectin binding among immature neuroblasts, maturing neuroblasts, and ganglion cells. Only PNA binding proved to be useful. This was assessed more fully in 17 cases of NB and 7 ganglioneuromas. PNA bound to immature neuroblasts in only 4 of 12 stroma-poor NB but to maturing neuroblasts and ganglion cells in 5 of 5 stroma-rich NB. PNA bound to ganglion cells in all 7 ganglioneuromas. The NB were categorized as favorable (7 cases) and unfavorable (10 cases), using the patients' ages and the histologic appearance and mitotic-karyorrhetic index of the resected tumor, and this was correlated with PNA binding. PNA bound to 6 of 7 NB with a favorable, and 3 of 10 with an unfavorable histologic type of NB (p less than 0.05). These studies suggest that neuroblasts acquire the capacity to bind to PNA as they differentiate into ganglion cells and that PNA binding is indicative of a favorable histologic type of NB.