title: Spontaneous poorly differentiated carcinoma with cells positive for vimentin in a salivary gland of a young rat.
abstract: Spontaneous salivary gland tumors in rats are rare. The authors report a poorly differentiated carcinoma of a submandibular gland in a ten-week-old rat that was positive for vimentin. Microscopically, the neoplastic cells showed a diffuse growth pattern in most areas of the tumor mass and a nestlike structure in a part of the peripheral area. Immunohistochemically, the cells were positive for keratin and vimentin but not for alpha-smooth muscle actin. Ultrastructurally, desmosome-like structures were observed. Based on these findings, the tumor was diagnosed as a poorly differentiated carcinoma. The origin of the neoplastic cells would be either acinar or ductal cells. This suggests that acinar or ductal cells have the potential to transform into vimentin-expressing cells.
authors.affiliation: Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation-Safety Research Laboratory, Kisarazu, Japan. nishikawa.satomi@mk.mt-pharma.co.jp
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Miyoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takagi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D013365:Submandibular Gland Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014746:Vimentin; D007633:Keratins