Distribution of cytokeratin polypeptides in epithelia of the adult human urinary tract

Abstract

Cytokeratin expression was studied in the epithelia lining the normal human urine conducting system using immunohistochemistry on frozen sections employing a panel of 14 monoclonal antibodies. Eleven of these anticytokeratin antibodies reacted specifically with one of the 19 human cytokeratin polypeptides. Profound differences were found in the cytokeratin expression patterns between the different types of epithelium in the male and female urinary tract. In the areas showing morphological transitions of transitional epithelium to columnar epithelium and of nonkeratinizing squamous epithelium to keratinizing squamous epithelium gradual shifts of cytokeratin expression patterns were observed, often anticipating the morphological changes. However, also within one type of epithelium, i.e. the transitional epithelium, two different patterns of cytokeratin expression were found. Expression of cytokeratin 7 was homogeneous in the transitional epithelium of renal pelvis and ureter but heterogeneous in the transitional epithelium of the bladder. Furthermore, intraepithelial differences in cytokeratin expression could be shown to be differentiation related. Using a panel of chain-specific monoclonal antibodies to cytokeratins 8 and 18 conformational and/or biochemical changes in the organization of these intermediate filaments were demonstrated upon differentiation in columnar and transitional epithelium.

Differences in clinicopathological and biological features between central-type and peripheral-type squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

“…In SCC tissue, CK 19 expression was more predominant in Ctype than in P-type SCC. Based on these findings and the fact that predominant squamous metaplasia was observed more frequently in C-type SCC, C-type SCC may arise from bronchial metaplastic epithelium, in agreement with previous reports [14,15,26,27]. The analysis of CK expression of squamous metaplasia has been sampled specifically, so there is a limitation in this analysis.…”

Comparison of hypoxia transcriptome in vitro with in vivo gene expression in human bladder cancer

“…A strip of ice-cooled fresh normal human ureter from a patient undergoing nephrectomy for renal cell cancer was placed in stripper medium (0.1% EDTA, 10 mM HEPES, Trasylol 500 000 IU in 500 ml Hank's Balanced Salt Solution minus calcium and magnesium) for 6 h at 41C. The urothelial lining was scraped off, digested with collagenase for 30 min and plated on collagen-coated plates (Becton Dickinson, NJ, USA) and cultured as previously described (Cordon-Cardo et al, 1984;Dubeau and Jones, 1987;Schaafsma et al, 1989). Cytospins were performed and cells stained for URO5 antibody, Cytokeratin 7 and Cytokeratin 20 confirming urothelium as the cell of origin.…”

Uroplakins and cytokeratins in the regenerating rat urothelium after sodium saccharin treatment

“…Numerous immunohistochemical data show that cell layers are variously stained when different antibodies to cytokeratins are applied. In human urothelium, cytokeratin 13 (CK13) is found mainly in basal cells and less in intermediate cells while cytokeratin 20 (CK20) is detected exclusively in superficial cells (Moll et al 1988;Schaafsma et al 1989;Moll et al 1992;Moll 1994;Harnden et al 1995). Cytokeratin 17 (CK17) expression in normal urothelium is restricted to basal cells (Troyanovsky et al 1992).…”