Traditional cell block (TCB) sections serve as an important diagnostic adjunct to cytologic smears but are also used today as a reliable preparation for immunohistochemical (IHC) studies. There are many ways to prepare a cell block and the methods continue to be revised. In this study, we compare the TCB with the Cellient TM automated cell block system. Thirty-five cell blocks were obtained from 16 benign and 19 malignant nongynecologic cytology specimens at a large university teaching hospital and prepared according to TCB and Cellient protocols. Cell block sections from both methods were compared for possible differences in various morphologic features and immunohistochemical staining patterns. In the 16 benign cases, no significant morphologic differences were found between the TCB and Cellient cell block sections. For the 19 malignant cases, some noticeable differences in the nuclear chromatin and cellularity were identified, although statistical significance was not attained. Immunohistochemical or special stains were performed on 89% of the malignant cases (17/19). Inadequate cellularity precluded full evaluation in 23% of Cellient cell block IHC preparations (4/17). Of the malignant cases with adequate cellularity (13/17), the immunohistochemical staining patterns from the different methods were identical in 53% of cases. The traditional and Cellient cell block sections showed similar morphologic and immunohistochemical staining patterns. The only significant difference between the two methods concerned the lower overall cell block cellularity identified during immunohistochemical staining in the Cellient cell block sections. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2011;39:730-736. '

Human H-ferritin homopolymer was denatured in sodium dodecyl sulphate and injected in mice to obtain antibodies for dissociated H-subunit. The antisera and Moabs obtained were specific for the denatured H-chain with no cross-reactivity with assembled ferritins in immunoblotting experiments. In contrast the Moabs for native recombinant H-ferritin are specific for the assembled ferritin molecules with weak cross-reactivity with the denatured H-subunits. The epitope recognized by one of the anti-denatured H-chain Moabs was mapped on the C-terminal helix of ferritin. The antibodies were used to study H-ferritin conformation in cells. In immunocytochemistry experiments the antibodies for denatured H-ferritin stained HeLa and K562 cells weakly, with a different intensity and pattern to those obtained with anti-native H-ferritin antibody. In human bone marrow smears the anti-denatured ferritin antibodies stained only reticuloendothelial cells, and did not recognize the H-ferritin rich immature erythroblasts. It is concluded that assembled and denatured H-ferritins are immunogenically distinct, and that erythroid and reticuloendothelial cells within the bone marrow contain H-ferritin in different conformations.

Endocervical adenocarcinoma is an uncommon malignancy that is composed of multiple subtypes and accounts for approximately 15% of all cervical cancers. In this article, we describe the cytomorphology and differential diagnosis of an AJCC clinical stage IIIb, FIGO IB2 endocervical adenocarcinoma in a 17-year-old woman in a ThinPrep Pap test.The patient was a 17-year-old G0P0 white woman with no significant past medical history and no prior history of cervical dysplasia. She presented to her physician with a putrid vaginal discharge. A sample was sent to cytology that was interpreted as atypical endocervical cells, favor neoplasia. A subsequent cervical biopsy was diagnosed as endocervical adenocarcinoma with villoglandular features and ultimately, a hysterectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. The final diagnosis was endocervical adenocarcinoma with metastasis to three pelvic lymph nodes.The cytomorphology of endocervical adenocarcinoma on ThinPrep Pap test is similar to that described for conventionally-processed Pap smears. This difficult diagnosis should be considered on a ThinPrep Pap test, regardless of age when the characteristic cytomorphology is observed. On a cytology sample, it is advisable to state atypical endocervical cells, adenocarcinoma in situ, or endocervical adenocarcinoma without providing a specific subtype even if there is a predominance of features for a particular subtype.