Dilated pore: a case report and an immunohistochemical study of cytokeratin expression

We report a 71-year-old Japanese female with a dilated pore in the form of a nodule above her right eyebrow. Histologic examination revealed a flask-shaped, keratinous cystic structure that was continuous with the surface epidermis and had numerous elongated rete ridges in the lower portion. An immunohistochemical study using a panel of monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratins (CKs) and involucrin detected CK1 and CK10 in the suprabasal cells of the cystic structure. CK8 and CK19 expression was observed in the outermost layer of some elongated rete ridges; it was composed of pallisading columnar cells. Most parts of the outermost layer of the cystic structure stained positively with AE1 antibody. From these immunohistochemical findings, we speculated that the dilated pore in our case was an isolated clinical entity is a follicular tumor differentiating mainly toward the infundibulum and partly toward the isthmus.