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Ghost cells in pilomatrixoma, craniopharyngioma, and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor: histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural study
Author(s) -
Rumayor Alicia,
Carlos Román,
Molina Kirsch Hernán,
Andrade Bruno A. Benevenuto,
Romañach Mario J.,
Almeida Oslei Paes
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of oral pathology and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1600-0714
pISSN - 0904-2512
DOI - 10.1111/jop.12234
Subject(s) - pilomatrixoma , pathology , immunohistochemistry , odontogenic tumor , craniopharyngioma , biology , basal (medicine) , medicine , odontogenic , endocrinology , insulin
Background Pilomatrixoma, craniopharyngioma, and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor are the main entities presenting ghost cells as an important histological feature, in spite their quite different clinical presentation; it seems that they share a common pathway in the formation of these cells. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the characteristics of ghost and other cells that form these lesions. Methods Forty‐three cases including 21 pilomatrixomas, 14 craniopharyngiomas, and eight calcifying cystic odontogenic tumors were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for cytokeratins, CD 138, β‐catenin, D2‐40, Glut‐1, FAS , CD 10 and also by scanning electron microscopy. Results The CK s, CD 138, β‐catenin, Glut‐1, FAS , and CD 10 were more often expressed by transitional cells of craniopharyngioma and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor, compared with pilomatrixoma. Basaloid cells of pilomatrixoma showed strong positivity for CD 138 and CD 10. Differences on expression pattern were identified in transitional and basal cells, as ghost cells were negative for most antibodies used, except by low expression for cytokeratins. By scanning electron microscopy, the morphology of ghost cells were similar in their fibrillar cytoplasm, but their pattern varied from sheets in pilomatrixoma to small clusters in craniopharyngioma and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor. Conclusions Mechanisms involved in formation of ghost cells are unknown, but probably they follow different pathways as protein expression in the basal/transitional cells was not uniform in the three tumors studied.