Merkel cells of human oral mucosa express the pluripotent stem cell transcription factor Sox2.

Merkel cells of human oral mucosa express the pluripotent stem cell transcription factor Sox2. Histol Histopathol. 2020 May 04;:18231 Authors: García-Caballero L, Caneiro J, Gándara M, González-Ortega N, Cepeda-Emiliani A, Gude F, Collado M, Beiras A, Gallego R Abstract Merkel cells are neuroendocrine cells associated to a neural sensitive ending and localized primarily in the epidermis, although they are also found in oral mucosa. Sox2 or SRY-box2 is a key transcription factor important in the maintenance of embryonic neural crest stem cell pluripotency. Sox2 has been described in Merkel cells of skin and in Merkel cell carcinomas, but not specifically in oral Merkel cells. The aims of the present study were to analyze the density of Merkel cells in human oral mucosa and to study the expression of Sox2 in these cells. For these purposes, immunohistochemical analyses for Sox2 and CK20 (the best marker for Merkel cells) were automatically performed on sections of normal human oral mucosa. Double immunofluorescence for Sox2 and CK20 was also performed. To analyze the density of Merkel cells, CK20 positive cells were counted in each sample and the length of the epithelial apical edge was measured (cells/mm). Merkel cells, demonstrated by CK20 immunoreactivity, were found in 95% of oral mucosa specimens studied (n=21). Mean density of Merkel cells in oral mucosa was 1.71±2.34 cells/mm. Sox2 immunoreactivity was found in the nuclei of...
Source: Histology and Histopathology - Category: Cytology Tags: Histol Histopathol Source Type: research