title: Ghost cells in pilomatrixoma, craniopharyngioma, and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor: histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pilomatrixoma, craniopharyngioma, and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor are the main entities presenting ghost cells as an important histological feature, in spite their quite different clinical presentation; it seems that they share a common pathway in the formation of these cells. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the characteristics of ghost and other cells that form these lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-three cases including 21 pilomatrixomas, 14 craniopharyngiomas, and eight calcifying cystic odontogenic tumors were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for cytokeratins, CD138, β-catenin, D2-40, Glut-1, FAS, CD10 and also by scanning electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The CKs, CD138, β-catenin, Glut-1, FAS, and CD10 were more often expressed by transitional cells of craniopharyngioma and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor, compared with pilomatrixoma. Basaloid cells of pilomatrixoma showed strong positivity for CD138 and CD10. Differences on expression pattern were identified in transitional and basal cells, as ghost cells were negative for most antibodies used, except by low expression for cytokeratins. By scanning electron microscopy, the morphology of ghost cells were similar in their fibrillar cytoplasm, but their pattern varied from sheets in pilomatrixoma to small clusters in craniopharyngioma and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mechanisms involved in formation of ghost cells are unknown, but probably they follow different pathways as protein expression in the basal/transitional cells was not uniform in the three tumors studied.
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Section, Department of Oral Diagnosis, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas/UNICAMP, Piracicaba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rumayor
authors.forename: Román
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carlos
authors.forename: Hernán Molina
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kirsch
authors.forename: Bruno A Benevenuto
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.forename: Mario J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Romañach
authors.forename: Oslei Paes
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: de Almeida
mesh_terms: D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D006201:Hair Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007573:Jaw Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000378:metabolism; D018333:Odontogenic Cyst, Calcifying / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009808:Odontogenic Tumors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018296:Pilomatrixoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D053668:Syndecan-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; C508241:SDC1 protein, human; C495677:SLC2A1 protein, human; D053668:Syndecan-1; D051176:beta Catenin; D019014:fas Receptor; D007633:Keratins; D015260:Neprilysin
keywords: calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor; craniopharyngioma; ghost cells; immunohistochemistry; pilomatrixoma