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Nucleolus organizer regions as useful proliferation markers in hyperproliferative epidermal lesions
Author(s) -
Heinisch G.,
Barth J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3083.1995.tb00533.x
Subject(s) - pathology , epidermis (zoology) , nucleolus organizer region , proliferating cell nuclear antigen , immunohistochemistry , nucleolus , psoriasis , basal (medicine) , medicine , biology , dermatology , anatomy , cytoplasm , insulin , biochemistry , endocrinology
Aim To study the suitability of the AgNOR technique for the determination of epidermal proliferative activity in hyperproliferative epidermal lesions. Background Nucleolus organizer regions are nuclear DNA segments of ribosomal genes, which can he visualized in histological sections by using a silver staining technique. Several studies in different tumors have demonstrated that the determination of AgNOR expression makes it possible to obtain precise information on cellular proliferative activity. Methods We investigated the epidermal AgNOR behavior in silver‐stained sections of different non‐neoplastic hyperproliferative epidermal lesions by image analysis. Results Psoriatic lesions showed the highest AgNOR expression, the lowest AgNOR status was found in senile atrophic epidermis. Acute‐exanthematic psoriasis could be distinguished significantly from chronic plaque‐type psoriasis. The AgNOR status of lichen planus and verrucous epidermal naevi corresponded to that of normal epidermis. We found a significant correlation with the values of PCNA expression. For analysis of AgNOR expression the count in the basal cell layer is sufficient. Conclusions The AgNOR technique is suitable for estimation of epidermal proliferative activity of hyperproliferative epidermal disorders. The method is easy and can he successfully used in paraffin‐embedded tissues.