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Immunoreactivity for cadherins, HGF/SF, met, and erbB-2 in pleural malignant mesotheliomas
I Thirkettle1, P Harvey, P S Hasleton
1Department of Histopathology/Cytopathology, Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK.
Aims:
To assess the immunoreactivity of malignant mesotheliomas for N- and E-cadherins, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and the tyrosine kinase receptors, met and erbB-2.
Methods And Results:
Pleural malignant mesotheliomas were stained using a standard indirect immunoperoxidase method applied to paraffin sections. Malignant mesotheliomas were immunoreactive for N-cadherin (26/29; 90%), met (29/29; 100%) and erbB-2 (28/29; 97%). Focal immunoreactivity was present for E-cadherin in epithelioid or mixed tumours (14/25; 56%), and for HGF/SF (9/24; 38%).
Conclusions:
Expression of N-cadherin supports the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma and use of appropriate antibodies would be a useful addition to a diagnostic antibody panel. Focal staining for E-cadherin does not exclude mesothelioma. Signalling pathways mediated via met and erbB-2 may play a role in the growth and spread of malignant mesotheliomas.