Podoplanin is Positive Not Only on Follicular Dendritic Cells and Their Tumoral Counterparts, But Also on Reticular Fibroblasts and in Some Tumors of Reticular Fibroblasts

Our plain-English summary of Podoplanin is Positive Not Only on Follicular Dendritic Cells and Their Tumoral Counterparts, But Also on Reticular Fibroblasts and in Some Tumors of Reticular Fibroblasts, by D. Suárez-Vilela, F.M. Izquierdo (Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology, 2016).

The study

• Authors: D. Suárez-Vilela, F.M. Izquierdo
• Journal: Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology
• Published: 2016;24(2):e11
• Type of article: Letter, Comment
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a short letter to the editor from two pathology departments in Spain. It responds to a published review by Ordóñez on podoplanin, a protein detected in tissue with the D2-40 antibody and used as a marker in tumor diagnosis. The letter reports no new patients or experiments and does not mention asbestos or mesothelioma. The authors noted that podoplanin marks follicular dendritic cells but also stains fibroblastic reticular cells (FBRCs), which are stromal cells of lymph nodes, spleen and tonsils. They compared two previously published cases of the very rare tumors thought to arise from FBRCs. In a case reported by Dong and colleagues, the tumor was negative for podoplanin. In a lymph node tumor the authors had described earlier, staining was stronger in cortical areas and lighter in the paracortex. Both studies used the same antibody, diluted differently. Because only two cases had been tested, the authors said firm conclusions were not warranted. They recommended including podoplanin in a wide panel of antibodies when diagnosing tumors suggestive of a dendritic cell origin.

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 commenting on a published review, with no new data; it discusses two previously published case reports
• Who was studied: No study population. The letter discusses two previously published cases of tumors of fibroblastic reticular cells: one reported by Dong et al and one lymph node tumor previously reported by the authors
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure is studied. The topic is laboratory staining of tissue for podoplanin with the D2-40 antibody
• Main results:
  • In the one tumor of fibroblastic reticular cells reported by Dong et al, podoplanin staining was negative
  • In the lymph node tumor of fibroblastic reticular cells the authors had described earlier, podoplanin (D2-40) staining was zonal: stronger in cortical areas and lighter in the paracortex
  • The two studies used the same antibody and antigen retrieval method. The authors' antibody was prediluted, while Dong et al's was used at a 1 in 250 dilution
  • The authors' tumor was negative for CD21, CD23 and CD35. These are markers that, according to the letter, are expressed in tumors of follicular dendritic cells
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that a wide panel of antibodies, including podoplanin, should be used for tumors suggestive of a dendritic cell origin. They said the podoplanin result should be combined with other markers such as CD21, CD23, CD35, CNA42, S100, cytokeratins and smooth muscle actin
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Podoplanin had been tested in only two cases of this uncommon tumor, so the authors said it was not warranted to be conclusive

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Podoplanin (D2-40), Fibroblast.

Related studies

• Value of podoplanin as an immunohistochemical marker in tumor diagnosis: a review and update — N.G. Ordóñez (2014)
• Mediastinal and pleuropulmonary myeloid sarcoma with HBME1 and podoplanin expression. A diagnostic pitfall — D. Suárez-Vilela, F.M. Izquierdo (2020)
• Nuclear Brachyury Expression Is Consistent in Chordoma, Common in Germ Cell Tumors and Small Cell Carcinomas, and Rare in Other Carcinomas and Sarcomas: An Immunohistochemical Study of 5229 Cases — M. Miettinen, Z. Wang, et al. (2015)
• Podoplanin is a useful marker for identifying mesothelioma in malignant effusions — A. Hanna, Y. Pang, et al. (2010)
• Expression of podoplanin and calretinin in meningioma: an immunohistochemical study — M. Shintaku, T. Honda, et al. (2010)
• RNA-binding protein LIN28 is a marker for primary extragonadal germ cell tumors: an immunohistochemical study of 131 cases — D. Cao, A. Liu, et al. (2011)

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