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Prognostic significance of microvessel density determined by an anti‐CD105/endoglin monoclonal antibody in astrocytic tumors: Comparison with an anti‐CD31 monoclonal antibody
Author(s) -
Yao Yongxue,
Kubota Toshihiko,
Takeuchi Hiroaki,
Sato Kazufumi
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
neuropathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1440-1789
pISSN - 0919-6544
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1789.2005.00632.x
Subject(s) - endoglin , cd31 , angiogenesis , monoclonal antibody , medicine , vascular endothelial growth factor , astrocytoma , immunohistochemistry , pathology , microvessel , glioma , antibody , cancer research , immunology , biology , cd34 , vegf receptors , stem cell , genetics
There are conflicting reports as to whether the degree of angiogenesis as measured by microvessel density (MVD) has a prognostic value in astrocytic tumors. This may be due to the use of different antibodies against endothelial cells to highlight microvessels. It has been reported that unlike pan‐endothelial antibodies, such as CD31, anti‐CD105 antibodies preferentially react with endothelial cells in angiogenic tissues. To clarify the validity of anti‐CD105 antibody in the evaluation of angiogenesis, we assessed MVD using an anti‐CD105 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (CD105‐MVD) and an anti‐CD31 mAb (CD31‐MVD) in a series of 50 astrocytic tumors, and correlated MVD with expression of the key angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and prognosis. The mean CD31‐MVD and CD105‐MVD was 36.7 and 24.8 for low‐grade astrocytoma (LGA), 48.0 and 42.7 for anaplastic astrocytoma, 55.3 and 51.9 for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), respectively. CD105‐MVD was more closely correlated with VEGF expression than CD31‐MVD. Patients with LGA and GBM showing higher CD105‐MVD had a significantly shorter mean survival time (MST) than those with lower CD105‐MVD tumors ( P = 0.0381 and 0.0131, respectively). Whereas the MST of patients with higher CD31‐MVD tumors seemed to be shorter than that of lower CD31‐MVD patients within each tumor grade, the differences were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that anti‐CD105 mAb may be a better marker than anti‐CD31 mAb in evaluation of angiogenesis and prediction of prognosis in astrocytic tumors.