African “Eosinophilic Bodies'’In Vivo in Two American Men with Kaposi's Sarcoma and AIDS

Abstract

Pink‐stained (hematoxylin and eosin), variably sized, round‐shaped, intracellular and extracellular “eosinophilic bodies,'’commonly observed in African cases of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), were discovered in cutaneous KS tumors of two American men with AIDS (the acquired immune deficiency syndrome). These “bodies'’were also identified in Gram‐, Giemsa‐, and Fite‐stained (acid‐fast) sections. The exact nature of eosinophilic bodies is unknown, but they are thought to be related to Russell bodies. Further study of eosinophilic bodies in KS may shed light on the pathogenesis of these tumors, as they occur in the epidemic of AIDS.