Expression of podoplanin and calretinin in meningioma: an immunohistochemical study

Our plain-English summary of Expression of podoplanin and calretinin in meningioma: an immunohistochemical study, by M. Shintaku, T. Honda, T. Sakai (Brain Tumor Pathology, 2010).

The study

• Authors: M. Shintaku, T. Honda, T. Sakai
• Journal: Brain Tumor Pathology
• Published: 2010;27(1):23-7
• Cited by: 19 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Meningioma is derived from arachnoid cells covering the surface of the brain and spinal cord, and it has characteristics shared by mesothelioma arising from the pleura and peritoneum in that it takes an epithelioid appearance despite its mesenchymal origin. We examined the immunohistochemical expression of podoplanin and calretinin, both of which are well-known markers of mesothelioma, in 24 surgical cases of meningioma of various types. In most cases, a linear immunoreactivity for podoplanin was found along the cell surface of most neoplastic cells. An intracytoplasmic, finely granular, or diffuse immunoreactivity was also noted in some cells. These findings corresponded well to immunoreactivity for epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), but immunoreactivity for podoplanin was more crisp or sharply delineated and clear compared with that for EMA. These findings indicate that podoplanin can be used as an immunohistochemical marker that is equivalent to EMA in the differential diagnosis of meningioma. However, most meningiomas did not contain calretinin-immunoreactive cells, a finding that differs from the diffuse immunoreactivity seen in mesothelioma.

In plain English

This laboratory study from Osaka Red Cross Hospital, Japan, examined tissue from 24 consecutive surgical meningioma cases from 2000 to 2008, limited to common subtypes with classical features; questionable cases and special subtypes were excluded. Meningioma is a tumor of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord. The authors stained the tumors for podoplanin and calretinin, two proteins used as markers for mesothelioma. For comparison, they also stained for epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). Two pleural mesotheliomas and one peritoneal mesothelioma served as positive controls. The study did not look at asbestos or any other exposure. Tumor cells stained for podoplanin in all but two of the 24 cases. This matched EMA staining well but looked crisper and more sharply outlined. Calretinin was absent from most meningiomas and, where present, was limited to a small number of cells. The authors concluded that podoplanin can be used as a marker equivalent to EMA in the differential diagnosis of meningioma, although it is not specific to meningioma. They also described the lack of calretinin as a clear difference from mesothelioma.

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: Immunohistochemical (tissue staining) study of surgical tumor specimens
• Who was studied: 24 consecutive surgical cases of meningioma from Osaka Red Cross Hospital, Japan, 2000 to 2008. They were limited to common or classical subtypes (meningothelial, transitional, fibrous, atypical, anaplastic) with classical features. Problematic or questionable cases and special subtypes were excluded. Normal arachnoid membrane from one 82-year-old man at autopsy was used for comparison. Two pleural mesotheliomas and one peritoneal mesothelioma were used as positive controls.
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure was studied. The study examined staining of meningioma tissue with antibodies to podoplanin (clone D2-40), calretinin (clone DC8) and, for comparison, EMA.
• Main results:
  • In the meningiomas, tumor cells stained for podoplanin in all but two of the 24 cases. Podoplanin staining was crisper and more sharply delineated than EMA staining.
  • In the meningiomas, calretinin was not found in most cases. In positive cases it was limited to the nuclei and nearby cytoplasm of a small number of cells.
  • The way podoplanin stained did not differ remarkably among meningioma subtypes. In transitional meningioma, staining was accentuated around cellular whorls or psammoma bodies.
  • In the normal arachnoid membrane, most cells showed intense podoplanin staining, and calretinin was not expressed.
  • In the pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma controls, podoplanin stained the cell membrane, and calretinin stained the cell nuclei as well as the membrane.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that podoplanin can be used as a marker equivalent to EMA in the differential diagnosis of meningioma, though it is not specific for meningioma. Because calretinin is expressed intensely in most mesotheliomas, they described its absence in most meningiomas as a clear difference between the two tumors.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors noted that podoplanin staining cannot be used to distinguish meningioma from hemangiopericytoma/solitary fibrous tumor, which is also reported to stain for podoplanin.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Podoplanin (D2-40), Calretinin, Mesothelioma, Pleura, Peritoneum, Epithelioid, Epithelial Membrane Antigen (EMA), Differential Diagnosis.

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