RhoA and vigilin are candidates for immunohistochemical markers for epithelioid malignant mesothelioma

Abstract

Diagnostic markers of malignant mesothelioma (MM) have been extensively investigated. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers, such as calretinin, have been used for pathologic diagnosis. However, more diagnostic markers are required to improve the specificity and sensitivity of pathologic diagnosis. This study proposed two proteins as diagnostic markers for epithelioid MM. One is RhoA, an MM mutation-susceptible locus-derived protein, and another is vigilin, a lung small cell carcinoma marker. IHC was performed using 93 MM (epithelioid, 71 cases; sarcomatoid, 13 cases; and biphasic, 9 cases), 64 lung adenocarcinoma (LAC), 60 lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSC), and 14 normal mesothelial (NM) tissues. The majority of epithelioid MM cases were positive for both RhoA and vigilin, whereas both IHCs showed lower stainability in biphasic and sarcomatoid MM. Besides, both IHCs showed significantly higher stainability for RhoA and vigilin in epithelioid MM than in LAC and LSC (p < 0.05). Chi-square tests showed that both RhoA and vigilin IHC positive rate in epithelioid MM was not significantly different from that of calretinin (p > 0.05). In the differential diagnosis of MM from lung cancer, the accuracy and specificity of RhoA, vigilin, and calretinin staining were almost equivalent. Further, H-score test showed that there was no significant difference between RhoA versus calretinin and vigilin versus calretinin in IHC positivity in epithelioid MM (p > 0.05). In conclusion, RhoA and vigilin may be candidates for immunohistochemical markers for epithelioid MM.

Mass Spectrometry Analysis Using Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Pathological Samples

“…Protein distribution and location information in pathological samples are expected to be useful biomarkers by correlating them with histopathological findings associated with clinical findings. We have previously reported its use in colon cancer [1], acute myocardial infarction [2][3][4][5], glioblastoma and metastatic lung cancer [6], systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its associated diseases [7][8][9], and malignant mesothelioma [10]. FFPE-based proteomics is a promising method for identifying disease biomarkers.…”

The high-density lipoprotein binding protein HDLBP is an unusual RNA-binding protein with multiple roles in cancer and disease

“…Changes in the amount for HDLBP could be identified in malignant mesothelioma (MM). The classification of MM is problematic since it is challenging to differentiate it from LAC (lung adenocarcinoma), ovarian cancer, or pleurisy, to just name a few examples [ 55 ]. To distinguish between MM types, an immunohistochemistry assay for the presence of HDLBP was performed.…”

“…It could be shown that epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic MM, as well as LAC (lung adenocarcinoma) and LSC (lung squamous cell carcinoma) showed different abundance of HDLBP, indicating different expression levels of this protein. Therefore, in immunostaining diagnostics HDLBP has potential to be used for the differentiation between MM and LAC [ 55 ]. Taken together, HDLBP is clearly linked to cancer progression.…”