519 Paranuclear cytokeratin aggregates help Merkel cell carcinoma evade extrinsic apoptosis

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer. Most MCC tumors are virus positive and express Merkel cell polyomavirus oncogenes, whereas virus negative MCC are associated with abundant UV signature mutations. The majority of MCC tumors express CK20. Staining for CK20 and other intermediate filaments in a paranuclear dot pattern is a histological feature used to diagnose MCC. The functional significances of these paranuclear protein aggregates is unknown. We immunostained native MCC tumors with a pan-CK antibody and found areas of paranuclear dot staining in 94% of tumors.

Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology - August 31, 2019 Category: Dermatology Authors: N.T. Hill, L. Collado, P.W. Harms, I. Brownell Tags: Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers Source Type: research