Morphologic Differentiation (morphologic + differentiation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Diagnostic utility of mammaglobin and GCDFP-15 in the identification of metastatic breast carcinoma in fluid specimens

DIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 7 2009
Z. Yan M.D.
Abstract Morphologic differentiation of breast carcinoma from nonmammary malignancies in fluid specimens can be a diagnostic challenge. Immunocytochemistry is often employed in the differential diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated the expression of mammoglobin (MGB1) in body-cavity fluid specimens and compared its efficacy as a marker for metastatic breast carcinomas with that of gross cystic disease fluid protein-15 (GCDFP-15). Cell blocks from 40 fluid specimens were immunostained with monoclonal antibodies against MGB1 and GCDFP-15. They included 15 breast carcinomas and 25 nonmammary carcinomas (10 lungs, 10 ovaries, 3 gastrointestinal tracts, 1 kidney, and 1 urinary bladder). Positivity was defined as the presence of cytoplasmic staining in 10% or more carcinoma cells. Thirteen (87%) and seven (47%) breast carcinomas showed positive staining with MGB1 and GCDFP-15, respectively. Three (12%) nonmammary carcinomas (2 ovarian and 1 colonic) showed positive MGB1 staining; one (3%) nonmammary carcinoma demonstrated positive GCDFP-15 staining. The differences of MGB1 and GCDFP-15 staining between breast and nonmammary carcinomas were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Both MGB1 and GCDFP-15 are specific markers for metastatic breast carcinomas in cell block fluid specimens (88 vs. 96%). However, MGB1 is more sensitive than GCDFP-15 as a marker for metastatic breast carcinoma (87 vs. 46%). Diagn. Cytopathol. 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Timing and sequence of differentiation of embryonic rat hepatocytes along the biliary epithelial lineage

HEPATOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
Robbert G. E. Notenboom
To study the differentiation of hepatocytes along the biliary epithelial lineage in vivo, embryonic day 14 (E14) rat hepatocytes were isolated by differential centrifugation and transplanted as single-cell suspensions into the spleen of adult syngeneic rats. Hepatocytes and cholangiocytes were identified and their maturation characterized by the level of expression of ,-fetoprotein (AFP), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPS); annexin IV, annexin V, cytokeratin 19 (CK-19), and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR); and electron microscopy. By correlating morphologic changes with the timing in the expression of these markers, we show that the organization of the transplanted E14 hepatocytes into lobular structures is accompanied by the formation and maturation of bile ducts around these developing lobules. Morphologic differentiation of the emerging bile ducts was accompanied by a gradual loss of hepatocyte markers and a gradual acquisition of cholangiocyte markers, with markers identifying a large-cholangiocyte phenotype appearing latest. Once fully differentiated, the intrasplenic liver lobules developed cholestatic features. The accompanying proliferation of bile ducts was due to cholangiocyte proliferation, but ductular transformation of hepatocytes was also observed. In conclusion, (1) bile duct formation at the interface between hepatocytes and connective tissue is an inherent component of liver development and (2) the susceptibility of developing hepatocytes to bile duct-inducing signals is highest in the fetal liver but that (3) this capacity is not irreversibly lost in otherwise mature hepatocytes. [source]


Villin: A marker for development of the epithelial pyloric border

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 1 2002
Evan M. Braunstein
Abstract In the adult gastrointestinal tract, the morphologic borders between esophagus and stomach and between stomach and small intestine are literally one cell thick. The patterning mechanisms that underlie the development of these sharp regional divisions from a once continuous endodermal tube are still obscure. In the embryonic endoderm of the developing gut, region-specific expression of certain genes (e.g., intestine-specific expression of the actin bundling protein villin) can be detected as early as 9.0 days post coitum, although the morphologic differentiation of the gut epithelium proper does not begin until 4 to 5 days later. By using a mouse model in which a ,-galactosidase marker has been inserted into the endogenous villin locus, we examined the development of the stomach/intestinal (pyloric) border during gut organogenesis. The data indicate that the border is not sharp from the outset. Rather, the initial border region is characterized by a decreasing gradient of villin/,-galactosidase expression that extends into the distal stomach. A sharp epithelial border of villin/,-galactosidase expression appears abruptly at day 16 and is further refined over the next 3 weeks to form the distinct one-cell-thick border characteristic of the adult. These results indicate that an important previously unrecognized patterning event occurs in the gut epithelium at 16 days; this event may define an epithelial compartment boundary between the stomach and the intestine. The villin/,-galactosidase mouse model characterized here provides an excellent substrate with which to further dissect the mechanisms involved in this patterning process. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Stages of activation of hepatic stellate cells: effects of ellagic acid, an inhibiter of liver fibrosis, on their differentiation in culture

CELL PROLIFERATION, Issue 6 2003
G. H. BuniatianArticle first published online: 17 NOV 200
Sparse rat liver cell cultures were grown in media containing EA (3, 6, 30 and 100 µg/ml) and, as controls, without EA, and inspected until day 7 in culture. The cells were double-labelled with antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and smooth muscle alpha-actin (SMAA), marker proteins of quiescent and activated HSC, respectively. In EA-free culture conditions, the quiescent (SMAA,/GFAP+) HSC transiently acquired a semi-activated (SMAA+/GFAP+), phenotype and were further transformed into activated (SMAA+/GFAP,), pleomorphic HSC. Up to a concentration of 30 µg/ml, EA induced an early synthesis of SMAA in all HSC and inhibited their morphologic differentiation and individual growth throughout the culture period. At a concentration of 6 µg/ml, EA supported the semi-activated (SMAA+/GFAP+) phenotype of HSC throughout the culture period, whereas treatment with high EA concentrations (30 µg/ml) resulted in an early loss of GFAP expression. In conclusion: (i) the uniform response of HSC to EA by mild activation adds functional significance to cellular features preceding the transformation of HSC to myofibroblasts; (ii) the high sensitivity of HSC to EA treatment suggests their involvement in any mechanisms of protection by this antioxidant; (iii) the maintenance of HSC morphology might be one of the factors playing a role in the prevention or slowing down of liver fibrosis; (iv) because the effects of EA are concentration- and time-dependent, an arbitrary usage of this antioxidant is a matter of potential concern; (v) the various patterns of HSC activation observed might correspond to distinct activities of these cells, which, in turn, might lead to different outcomes of liver fibrosis. [source]