Clinical Cancer Research, Vol 2, Issue 3 569-575, Copyright © 1996 by American Association for Cancer Research

ARTICLES

Diagnostic and biological implications of mel-CAM expression in mesenchymal neoplasms

IM Shih, TL Wang and WH Westra
Departments of Pathology and Human Genetics, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-6971, USA.

Mel-CAM (previously MUC18) is an integral membrane glycoprotein involved in heterophilic intercellular adhesions. Mel-CAM is expressed specifically in certain normal mesenchymal tissues, including smooth muscle, endothelium, and Schwann cells. As a member of the immunoglobulin supergene family of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), Mel-CAM may play a pivotal role in the normal differentiation and functional activity of these tissues. To determine the distribution of Mel-CAM in mesenchymal neoplasms and to investigate its potential role as a factor in tumor progression, we evaluated a spectrum of mesenchymal neoplasms by immunohistochemistry using a Mel-CAM-specific polyclonal antibody on formalin-fixed tissues. Mel-CAM positivity was observed in 5 (100%) of 5 leiomyomas, 29 (91%) of 32 leiomyosarcomas, 5 (100%) of 5 hemangiomas, 5 (100%) of 5 angiosarcomas, 3 (100%) of 3 Kaposi's sarcomas, 8 (100%) of 8 schwannomas, 10 (100%) of 10 neurofibromas, 0 (0%) of 8 malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, 2 (15%) of 13 malignant fibrous histiocytomas, 0 (0%) of 8 fibrosarcomas, 0 (0%) of 7 synovial sarcomas, and 0 (0%) of 6 liposarcomas. These results show that Mel-CAM is expressed consistently in neoplasms of smooth muscle and vascular origin, and that immunostaining for Mel-CAM may serve as a useful adjunct in differentiating leiomyosarcomas, angiosarcomas, and Kaposi's sarcomas from other spindle cell neoplasms. Furthermore, the observation that Mel-CAM is expressed consistently in schwannomas and neurofibromas but not in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors implicates Mel-CAM as a potential modulator of malignant transformation in peripheral nerve tumors.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. C. McGary, A. Heimberger, L. Mills, K. Weber, G. W. Thomas, M. Shtivelband, D. C. Lev, and M. Bar-Eli A Fully Human Antimelanoma Cellular Adhesion Molecule/MUC18 Antibody Inhibits Spontaneous Pulmonary Metastasis of Osteosarcoma Cells In Vivo Clin. Cancer Res., December 15, 2003; 9(17): 6560 - 6566. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Maitra, D. E. Hansel, P. Argani, R. Ashfaq, A. Rahman, A. Naji, S. Deng, J. Geradts, L. Hawthorne, M. G. House, et al. Global Expression Analysis of Well-Differentiated Pancreatic Endocrine Neoplasms Using Oligonucleotide Microarrays Clin. Cancer Res., December 1, 2003; 9(16): 5988 - 5995. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Anfosso, N. Bardin, V. Frances, E. Vivier, L. Camoin-Jau, J. Sampol, and F. Dignat-George Activation of Human Endothelial Cells via S-Endo-1 Antigen (CD146) Stimulates the Tyrosine Phosphorylation of Focal Adhesion Kinase p125FAK J. Biol. Chem., October 9, 1998; 273(41): 26852 - 26856. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]