Rhabdomyomatosis of newborn lung: a case report with immunohistochemical and electronmicroscopic characterization of striated muscle cells in the lung.

Interstitial proliferation of striated muscle cells in the lung is rare. A few cases in the literature only document infants with associated lung and other major organ anomalies incompatible with long-term survival. In this report we document a case of diffuse patchy interstitial proliferation of striated muscle cells in the left lung and confirm their nature by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. In particular, we show that these skeletal muscle cells express alpha-sarcomeric actin, but not alpha-smooth muscle actin, indicating an antigenetically well-developed striated muscle phenotype despite morphologically embryonal features.