[Ameloblastic fibrosarcoma: an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of the mesenchymal component]

To study the characteristics of the mesenchymal cells of ameloblastic fibrosarcoma (AFS), three cases of AFS were studied immunohistochemically and ultrastructurally. The results showed that the mesenchymal component of AFS consisted predominantly of fibroblastic cells with a small number of undifferentiated cells, a few histiocytes and occasionally myofibroblastic cells under electron microscope. The fibroblastic cells were Vimentin positive only, and myofibroblastic cells were positive for Vimentin, HHF35 and alpha-SMA. The histiocytes were positive both for kp1 and PG-M1, suggesting that these cells were infiltrating cells from peripheral blood rather than histiocytic differentiation of tumor cells. Compared with ameloblastic fibroma, AFS showed much higher PCNA labeling index, suggesting higher proliferation activity of AFS.