Choroid Plexus Biondi Bodies

Biondi bodies (the “silver rings of Biondi”) are filamentous, ring-like or arc-like structures in the epithelium of the choroid plexus (the portion of the ventricles of the brain that produce cerebrospinal fluid). Structurally these filamentous rings are associated with lipid droplets, and appear to develop within the epithelial cells themselves (and thus may be agents of cellular destruction) rather than in the extracellular matrix. Biondi bodies are characteristic of the choroidial epithelium of aged humans, but are thought to be absent in other primates. Their absence in non-humans primates, as well as their absence in various senescent mammals (rodents, dogs and cats) and birds, has led to suggestions that they may relate to differences in brain senescence between humans and other animals. However, Biondi-like inclusions have been identified in an aged (43 year old) male chimpanzee.