Ploidy and imprinting in hydatidiform moles. Complementary use of flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry of the imprinted gene product p57KIP2 to assist molar classification.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the combination of flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry for p57 expression is useful for the pathologic classification of diagnostically challenging hydatidiform moles.


METHODS
Six probable hydatidiform moles that were difficult to classify pathologically were reevaluated by histology, flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry for p57.


RESULTS
In all cases, the pathologic diagnoses were easily resolved: two cases were partial moles (triploid, p57 positive), two cases were early complete moles (diploid, p57 negative), and two cases were twin gestations with normal villi (diploid, p57 positive) admixed with villi from a complete hydatidiform mole (diploid, p57 negative).


CONCLUSIONS
Immunostaining for the paternally imprinted, maternally expressed p57 gene product is a practical and accurate adjunct to flow cytometry in the pathologic classification of hydatidiform moles.
Genest
David R
DR
Division of Women's and Perinatal Pathology, Hematology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. dgenest@partners.org
Dorfman
David M
DM
Castrillon
Diego H
DH
D050761:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p57; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000592:standards; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D006801:Humans; D006828:Hydatidiform Mole / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000592:standards; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011003:Ploidies; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*
C493964:CDKN1C protein, human; D050761:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p57; D009687:Nuclear Proteins