Intestinal neuronal dysplasia-like submucosal ganglion cell hyperplasia at the proximal margins of hirschsprung disease resections

Maya Swaminathan, Assaf P. Oron, Sumantra Chatterjee, Hannah Piper, Sandy Cope-Yokoyama, Aravinda Chakravarti, Raj P. Kapur

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Intestinal neuronal dysplasia type B (IND) denotes an increased proportion of hyperplastic submucosal ganglia, as resolved histochemically in 15-mm-thick frozen sections. IND has been reported proximal to the aganglionic segment in patients with Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) and is putatively associated with a higher rate of postsurgical dysmotility. We developed and validated histological criteria to diagnose IND-like submucosal ganglion cell hyperplasia (IND-SH) in paraffin sections and used the approach to study the incidence and clinical and/or genetic associations of IND-SH at the proximal margins of HSCR pull-through resection specimens. Full-circumference paraffin sections from the proximal margins of 64 HSCR colonic pull-through specimens and 24 autopsy controls were immunostained for neuron-specific Hu antigen, and nucleated ganglion cells in each submucosal ganglion were counted. In controls, an age-related decline in the relative abundance of "giant" ganglia (≥7 nucleated Hu-positive [Hu+] ganglion cells) was observed. A conservative diagnostic threshold for IND-SH (control mean ± 3× standard deviation) was derived from 15 controls less than 25 weeks of age. No control exceeded this threshold, whereas in the same age range, IND-SH was observed at the proximal margins in 15% (7 of 46) of HSCR resections, up to 15 cm proximal to the aganglionic segment. No significant correlation was observed between IND-SH and length of or distance from the aganglionic segment, sex, trisomy 21, RET or SEMA3C/D polymorphisms, or clinical outcome, but analysis of more patients, with better long-term follow-up will be required to clarify the significance of this histological phenotype.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)466-476
Number of pages11
JournalPediatric and Developmental Pathology
Volume18
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2015

Keywords

  • Hirschsprung
  • Hyperganglionosis
  • Neuronal dysplasia
  • Observer bias
  • Transition zone

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine

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