Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P10721 (c-kit)
 6,575 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Hepatoblastoma is a pediatric liver tumor with epithelial components resembling embryonal and fetal liver cells. The existence of teratoid hepatoblastoma suggests the presence of stem cells in hepatoblastoma. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of stem cell markers in hepatoblastomas. We studied specimens from 10 hepatoblastomas. Five of the hepatoblastomas were of epithelial and five of mixed type. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for the stem cell markers CD34, Thy1, c-kit, and the hepatic or biliary lineage markers CK-18, OCH, CK-7, and CD56 was performed. Double IHC for stem cell and lineage markers was used to identify putative liver stem cells. The different markers showed distinct distributions on the tumor cells. Cells in atypical ducts were found to express simultaneously stem cell markers and hepatocytic or biliary lineage markers. Other cells in connective tissue showed c-kit expression, but not hepatic or biliary marker expression. The data show the presence of different cell populations bearing stem cell markers in human hepatoblastoma. Ductal cells co-expressing stem cell markers and hepatic lineage markers phenotypically resemble hepatic stem-like cells. These findings support the thesis that stem cells play a role in the histogenesis of hepatoblastoma.
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PMID:Stem-like cells in human hepatoblastoma. 1550 44

Pancreatic hamartoma is a rare tumor, and its characteristic histopathologic features have not yet been fully evaluated. In this study, we collected 9 cases of pancreatic hamartoma to elucidate distinctive histopathologic features that can serve to establish this tumor as a clear disease entity and thus formulate useful histopathologic criteria for this tumor. The cases comprised 4 men and 5 women with a mean age of 62.7 years. The average tumor diameter was 3.3 cm. All patients underwent surgical treatment, and none showed any recurrence postoperatively. Macroscopically, pancreatic hamartomas were well-demarcated tumors with a solid or solid and cystic appearance. Microscopically, these tumors comprised mature acini and small-sized to medium-sized ducts showing a distorted architecture with various amounts of fibrous stroma. Strikingly, the tumors consistently lacked concentric elastic fibers in their duct walls, peripheral nerves, and well-formed islets of Langerhans, all of which exist in both the normal and atrophic pancreas. Immunohistochemically, scattered chromogranin A-positive neuroendocrine cells were observed in the acinar and ductal components. Ductal components were positive for S-100 protein. Spindle-shaped stromal cells expressed CD34 and/or c-kit. These histopathologic features were distinct from those of 5 cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, 3 cases of type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis (lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis), 3 cases of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis, and 5 cases of normal pancreas. In conclusion, pancreatic hamartomas share some distinctive histopathologic features and clinical outcomes (neither recurrence nor metastasis) that allow them to be interpreted as malformative lesions. The term "hamartoma" is appropriate for these unique lesions.
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PMID:Distinctive histopathologic findings of pancreatic hamartomas suggesting their "hamartomatous" nature: a study of 9 cases. 2371 57