Significance of CD44s and CD44v6 expression in pancreaticobiliary maljunction.
OBJECTIVE
Pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM) is a high risk factor in biliary tract cancer. The relation of CD44s and CD44v6 expression in biliary epithelium with PBM and the carcinogenetic process was immunohistochemically examined.


METHODS
One hundred and seven lesions were randomly selected from gallbladders and bile ducts, which were resected from 25 patients with PBM, and immunostaining for CD44s, CD44v6 and MIB-1 was carried out.


RESULTS
Among gallbladder lesions, cancerous lesions (dysplasia, cancer) had a higher immunoreactivity with statistical significance for CD44s and CD44v6 compared to non-cancerous lesions (normal, hyperplasia). In bile ducts as well, cancerous lesions had a higher immunoreactivity for CD44s and CD44v6. In both gallbladders and bile ducts, positive cases of CD44s and CD44v6 had a higher statistical significance of Ki-67 labeling index in comparison with negative cases.


CONCLUSIONS
In biliary epithelium with PBM, CD44 was indicated to be strongly related to cancer progression via an increase of cellular proliferative potential.
Third Department of Surgery, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. akihikot@tokyo-med.ac.jp
Akihiko
A
Tsuchida
Yuichi
Y
Nagakawa
Kazuhiko
K
Kasuya
Takaaki
T
Matudo
Bunso
B
Kyo
Yoshiaki
Y
Suzuki
Tatsuya
T
Aoki
Eiichi
E
Sato
Toshitaka
T
Nagao
Takao
T
Itoi
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry; D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000002:abnormalities*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010183:Pancreatic Ducts / Q000002:abnormalities*; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000032:analysis
C473647:CD44S antigen; C112697:CD44v6 antigen; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; C513496:MIB1 ligase, human; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases