Thrombomodulin as a marker for vascular tumors. Comparative study with factor VIII and Ulex europaeus I lectin.
Thrombomodulin (TM) is a newly described endothelial cell-associated protein that functions as a potent natural anticoagulant by converting thrombin from a procoagulant protease to an anticoagulant. Various vascular tumors were characterized with immunoperoxidase staining with the use of a polyclonal anti-TM serum. The staining patterns of TM were compared with those of Factor VIII-related antigen (FVIII-RAG) and Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I), which have been used as markers for endothelial cells. The results showed that TM is a specific and a highly sensitive marker for angiosarcomas in comparison with FVIII-RAG or UEA-I. In contrast, UEA-I is more sensitive for benign vascular tumors than TM or FVIII-RAG. The other mesenchymal tumors of nonvascular origin showed negative staining for three endothelial markers. These results indicate that TM is a new specific and sensitive tool for the diagnosis of angiosarcomas.
D000941:Antigens; D004727:Endothelium / Q000473:pathology; D005169:Factor VIII / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins; D009383:Neoplasms, Vascular Tissue / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D037121:Plant Lectins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D018179:Receptors, Thrombin; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013917:Thrombin; D014841:von Willebrand Factor
D000941:Antigens; D037102:Lectins; D037121:Plant Lectins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D018179:Receptors, Thrombin; C036850:Ulex europaeus lectins; D014841:von Willebrand Factor; D005169:Factor VIII; D013917:Thrombin