Immunohistochemical staining of cutaneous tumours with G-81, a monoclonal antibody to dermcidin.
BACKGROUND
Recently, the novel antimicrobial peptide named dermcidin (DCD) was reported in human eccrine sweat glands.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated the expression of DCD in a variety of cutaneous tumours in order to assess the usefulness of the monoclonal antibody (G-81), which recognizes a fragment of DCD.


METHODS
We studied the immunoreactivity of the G-81 antibody on 197 cutaneous tumours.


RESULTS
A total of 13 of 26 cutaneous mixed tumours showed substantial immunoreactivity. In contrast all the following cases were completely unreactive: (i) epithelial tumours (seborrhoeic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma, Bowen's disease, actinic keratosis, genital Paget's disease); (ii) follicular tumours (basal cell carcinoma, trichilemmoma, trichoepithelioma, trichoblastoma, keratoacanthoma, proliferating trichilemmal tumour, pilomatricoma); (iii) melanocytic tumours (malignant melanoma, naevus cell naevus, Spitz naevus, blue naevus); (iv) neural tumours (schwannoma, neurofibroma, Merkel cell neoplasm); (v) mesenchymal tumours (soft fibroma, dermatofibroma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, vascular leiomyoma, leiomyosarcoma, lipoma, juvenile xanthogranuloma, angiomyoma); and (vi) other sweat gland tumours (poroid neoplasms, syringoma, cylindroma, clear cell hidradenoma, spiradenoma, syringoid eccrine carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, apocrine cystadenoma, syringocystadenoma papilliferum, apocrine adenocarcinoma). Twenty-six cutaneous mixed tumours were considered from histopathological findings to be the apocrine type, but 13 of 26 mixed tumours contained some DCD-immunopositive cells that possibly differentiate into eccrine secretory glands.


CONCLUSIONS
We found the expression of DCD in tubular structures of 50% of cutaneous mixed tumours with apocrine differentiation. These results suggest that a number of cutaneous mixed tumours show both eccrine and apocrine differentiation in the same neoplasm.
Department of Dermatology, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama 641-0012, Japan. yminami@rapid.ocn.ne.jp
Y
Y
Minami
K
K
Uede
K
K
Sagawa
A
A
Kimura
T
T
Tsuji
F
F
Furukawa
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013544:Sweat Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D010455:Peptides; C442243:dermcidin