title: Phenotypic change of muscularis mucosae in early invasive colorectal adenocarcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Invasive colorectal adenocarcinomas have bundles of eosinophilic spindle cells, which are regarded as myofibroblasts, in their desmoplastic stroma, some of which are continuous with the muscularis mucosa.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relation between the eosinophilic spindle cells and the muscularis mucosa based on their cytoskeletal phenotypes in early invasive colorectal adenocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded tissues of 17 early invasive colorectal adenocarcinomas were immunostained for alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), desmin, and vimentin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The phenotype of the muscularis mucosa was alpha-SMA positive, desmin positive, and vimentin weakly positive, whereas the eosinophilic spindle cells showed a decreased degree of immunoreactivity for alpha-SMA and desmin in particular, and an increased degree of immunoreactivity for vimentin. The degree of phenotypic difference between the muscularis mucosa and the eosinophilic spindle cells was greater in the eosinophilic spindle cells in the centre of the invasive area that were not continuous with the muscularis mucosa than in the eosinophilic spindle cells continuous with the muscularis mucosa.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the smooth muscle cells of the muscularis mucosa change their phenotype to become eosinophilic spindle cells, namely myofibroblasts, in the early invasive area of colorectal adenocarcinoma.
authors: Department of Pathology, Saitama Medical School, 38 Morohongo, Moroyama, Iruma, Saitama 350-0495, Japan. shinba@saitama-med.ac.jp
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Ban
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Kamada
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Mitsuki
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Goto
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Shimizu
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Takahama
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Shibata
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D003893:Desmin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D003893:Desmin; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D014746:Vimentin