Immunohistochemical Detection of p16,p21,and TGF-β in Cutaneous Epithelial Tumors

BACKGROUND: It has been known that p16, p21, and TGF-β are related to cellular proliferation and malignant transformation but the results of the previous studies are controversial. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed in order to investigate the possible role of p16, p21, and TGF-β in relation to the cellular proliferation and malignant transformation in various skin tumors. METHODS: For immunohistochemical staining we examined sections (4um thick) of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from 11 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 13 cases of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), 7 cases of actinic keratosis, 5 cases of keratoacanthoma, and 4 cases of normal skin for control. Following conventional deparaffinization, the three step immunoperoxidase method was performed using the streptavidine-biotin complex and monoclonal antibodies. All sections were counterstained with hematoxylin. The expression of p16, p21, and TGF-β was evaluated and graded in relation to the intensity of cytoplasmic immunostaining of positive epidermal cells. RESULTS: p16, p21, and TGF-β were detected mainly in the cytoplasm. The p21 positive cells were localized exclusively in the upper squamous layer and were not visualized in the basal layer. The expression of p21 was higher in SCC than BCC (P value=0.03). The expression of p21 in normal control was higher than skin tumors, but there was no significant difference among these tumors. There was a significant loss in the expression of p16 and TGF-β in various skin tumors compared with normal control, but no difference in the expression of p16 and TGF-β among these skin tumors. CONCLUSION: 1. p21 is possibly related to the differentiation of epidermal cells, because p21 was observed not in basal cells but in squamous and granular cells of the normal epidermis and the higher expression of p21 was demonstrated in SCC compared to BCC. 2. It may imply that loss of expression of p16 may play a critical role in malignant trans-formation but not in tumor progression of human malignant skin tumors, because the significant loss of the expression of p 16 was found in SCC and BCC when normal skin and there was no difference in the expression of p16 among various skin tumors but the expression of p16 of SCC is higher than that of actinic keratosis (P value=0.04). 3. It may imply that the loss of the expression of TGF-β may play a critical role in malignant transformation, because the significant loss of expression of TGF-β was found in various skin tumors when compared to normal skin, but there was no difference in the expression of TGF-β among various skin tumors.

The Study of Latex Allergy in the Operating Room Nurses / 대한피부과학회지

No Abstract Available.

Two Cases of Congenital Onychodysplasia of the Index Fingers / 대한피부과학회지

Congenital onychodysplasia of the index fingers(COIF) is characterized by hypoplasia or dysplasia of the nails peculiarly restricted to the index fingers. The cause is unknown, but clinical study suggested that ischemia of the finger at a certain period of fetal life might play an important role in its pathogenesis. Major characteristics of this condition are anonychia, micronychia, and polyonychia restricted to the index fingers. We report two cases of COIF, one of which was presented with anonychia of the left index finger, micronychia of the right index finger, and ventricular septal defect of the heart in a 2-week-old male baby, and the other which was presented with polyonychia of the right index finger in a 1-month-old male baby.

A Case of Cutaneous Metastasis from Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder / 대한피부과학회지

Metastases to the skin from internal malignancy are very rare and have been reported to occur in 0.9% to 8% of patients with cancer. Particularly there are few cutaneous metastatic carcinomas from the urinary bladder and their incidence is 1% to 2% of the cutaneous metastasis. A 76-year-old man developed cutaneous metastasis six months later after the diagnosis of carcinoma of the bladder had been made. He was presented with asymptomatic erythematous indurated plaques on the left thigh and the inguinal area. This lesion was diagnosed histologically as poorly differentiated transitional cell carcinoma. We report a case of cutaneous metastasis from carcinoma of the urinary bladder showing the unusual clinical feature of an erythematous indurated plaque.

A Case of Congenitally Developed Alopecia Areata / 대한피부과학회지

Alopecia areata is a common cause of acquired circumscribed alopecia in childhood. In infancy alopecia areata is exceptional. No case of congenital alopecia areata has been documented yet. Thus, it is generally assumed that alopecia areata is acquired only postnatally, and it is believed that the presence of an alopecia at birth virtually excludes the diagnosis of alopecia areata. In this report, we document a case of congenitally developed alopecia areata that shows typical clinical and histological features of alopecia areata.