Expression of p53 in reactive mesothelium

Our plain-English summary of Expression of p53 in reactive mesothelium, by S. Dowell, N. Derias, P.O. Wilson, et al (Histopathology, 1993).

The study

• Authors: S. Dowell, N. Derias, P.O. Wilson, D.P. Lane, P.A. Hall
• Journal: Histopathology
• Published: 1993;22(1):96-7
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

This letter reported preliminary observations on p53 protein staining in reactive (non-cancerous) mesothelial cells. The authors were from Guy's and St Thomas's, London, and the CRC Laboratories, University of Dundee. They noted that immunostaining is widely used to look for abnormalities of the p53 tumour suppressor gene, but that the staining has become harder to interpret. In their earlier work on formalin-fixed, wax-embedded tissue, p53 immunoreactivity was present in 14 of 20 cases of malignant mesothelioma and in none of 20 reactive mesothelial proliferations. This suggested that p53 staining might help with diagnosis. In an ongoing prospective study of p53 in cytological material, more than 75 examples of reactive mesothelial proliferation had been examined by September 1992. The samples were acetone-methanol fixed and stained with the monoclonal antibody Do-1 and the polyclonal reagent CM-1. Nuclear p53 immunoreactivity was seen in 11 cases (14.7%) of reactive proliferations, both pleural and peritoneal. Results were similar with both antibodies and with both indirect and ABC detection systems. The authors said the biological basis of this staining was uncertain. They stood by their findings in tissue sections but advised caution in using p53 staining on mesothelial proliferations until its biology is better understood. They suggested the difference between cytological and histological material might reflect cells' response to mechanical contact as opposed to existing in suspension.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This is a letter to the editor, not a full research paper, and it does not mention asbestos. The authors wrote that their group had earlier reported, in formalin-fixed, wax-embedded tissue, staining for the p53 protein in 14 of 20 cases of malignant mesothelioma and in none of 20 examples of reactive (non-cancerous) mesothelial proliferation. In this letter they gave preliminary results from an ongoing prospective study of cytology samples, which are loose cells rather than tissue, fixed with acetone-methanol. More than 75 examples of reactive mesothelial proliferation, pleural and peritoneal, had been examined by September 1992. Of these, 11 (14.7%) showed p53 staining in the cell nucleus. Results were similar with two antibodies, Do-1 and CM-1. The authors said the biological reason for this staining was uncertain and that their preparation methods differed from the earlier study. They stood by their tissue findings. They concluded that caution should be used in applying p53 staining to mesothelial proliferations until the basis of p53 expression is better understood.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Letter to the editor (correspondence) reporting preliminary results from an ongoing prospective analysis of p53 immunostaining in cytology samples
• Who was studied: More than 75 cytology examples of reactive (non-cancerous) mesothelial proliferation, both pleural and peritoneal, examined up to September 1992. The letter does not state the location of the patients, but the authors' affiliations are in London and Dundee, UK.
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure was studied. The letter concerns laboratory staining for the p53 protein, using the monoclonal antibody Do-1 and the polyclonal antibody CM-1, on cytology samples fixed with acetone-methanol.
• Main results:
  • Nuclear p53 staining was seen in 11 cases (14.7%) of reactive mesothelial proliferations in cytology material, both pleural and peritoneal
  • Similar results were obtained with both the CM-1 and Do-1 antibodies, and with both indirect and ABC detection systems
  • Background, not new data in this letter: the authors' group had earlier reported p53 staining in formalin-fixed, wax-embedded tissue in 14 of 20 cases of malignant mesothelioma and in none of 20 reactive mesothelial proliferations
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stood by their earlier findings in tissue. They concluded that their preliminary cytology results indicate caution should be used in applying p53 staining to mesothelial proliferations until the biological basis of p53 expression is better understood. They suggested, as a possibility, that differences between cytology and tissue may reflect cells being in contact versus in suspension.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors describe the cytology results as preliminary, from an ongoing study
  • Fixation and processing conditions differed from those used in the earlier tissue study by Kafiri and colleagues
  • The biological reason for p53 expression in reactive mesothelium was uncertain

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelium, Mesothelial Cells, Malignant Mesothelioma, Monoclonal Antibody.

Related studies

• CD44H expression in reactive mesothelium, pleural mesothelioma and pulmonary adenocarcinoma — R.L. Attanoos, R. Webb, et al. (1997)
• p53 expression is common in malignant mesothelioma — G. Kafiri, D.M. Thomas, et al. (1992)
• Use of antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen and human milk fat globule to distinguish carcinoma, mesothelioma, and reactive mesothelium — R.J. Marshall, A. Herbert, et al. (1984)
• Immunohistological staining of reactive mesothelium, mesothelioma, and lung carcinoma with a panel of monoclonal antibodies — A.K. Ghosh, K.C. Gatter, et al. (1987)
• Immunocytochemistry of CD146 is useful to discriminate between malignant pleural mesothelioma and reactive mesothelium — A. Sato, I. Torii, et al. (2010)
• Immunoperoxidase localization of secretory component in reactive mesothelium and mesotheliomas — C.S. Ernst, J.J. Brooks (1981)

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