TY - JOUR
T1 - Craniopharyngiomas of adamantinomatous type harbor β-Catenin gene mutations
AU - Sekine, Shigeki
AU - Shibata, Tatsuhiro
AU - Kokubu, Akiko
AU - Morishita, Yukio
AU - Noguchi, Masayuki
AU - Nakanishi, Yukihiro
AU - Sakamoto, Michiie
AU - Hirohashi, Setsuo
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Second Term Comprehensive 10-Year Strategy for Cancer Control from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Japan.
PY - 2002/12/1
Y1 - 2002/12/1
N2 - Craniopharyngioma is a rare tumor occurring in the sellar region comprising 3% of all intracranial tumors. To elucidate the contribution of β-catenin gene mutation to tumorigenesis, we examined genetic alterations and expression of β-catenin in 10 cases of adamantinomatous and 6 cases of papillary craniopharyngiomas. β-Catenin gene mutations were found in all of the adamantinomatous and none of the papillary craniopharyngiomas. Immunohistochemically, all cases of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma showed cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of β-catenin. In contrast, papillary craniopharyngiomas showed exclusively membranous expression. The results suggest that adamantinomatous- and papillary-type craniopharyngiomas are not only clinicopathologically, but also genetically, distinctive variants. Mutation of the β-catenin gene therefore seems to play an important role in the tumorigenesis of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma. Among the adamantinomatous-type tumors, β-catenin-positive mesenchymal cells were observed in two cases. Microdissection-based mutational analysis revealed that these mesenchymal cells also harbor the same β-catenin gene mutations as those of epithelial cells, suggesting their tumorous nature. Thus, at least a subset of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma is considered to be biphasic.
AB - Craniopharyngioma is a rare tumor occurring in the sellar region comprising 3% of all intracranial tumors. To elucidate the contribution of β-catenin gene mutation to tumorigenesis, we examined genetic alterations and expression of β-catenin in 10 cases of adamantinomatous and 6 cases of papillary craniopharyngiomas. β-Catenin gene mutations were found in all of the adamantinomatous and none of the papillary craniopharyngiomas. Immunohistochemically, all cases of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma showed cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of β-catenin. In contrast, papillary craniopharyngiomas showed exclusively membranous expression. The results suggest that adamantinomatous- and papillary-type craniopharyngiomas are not only clinicopathologically, but also genetically, distinctive variants. Mutation of the β-catenin gene therefore seems to play an important role in the tumorigenesis of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma. Among the adamantinomatous-type tumors, β-catenin-positive mesenchymal cells were observed in two cases. Microdissection-based mutational analysis revealed that these mesenchymal cells also harbor the same β-catenin gene mutations as those of epithelial cells, suggesting their tumorous nature. Thus, at least a subset of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma is considered to be biphasic.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64477-X
DO - 10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64477-X
M3 - Article
C2 - 12466115
AN - SCOPUS:0036898018
VL - 161
SP - 1997
EP - 2001
JO - American Journal of Pathology
JF - American Journal of Pathology
SN - 0002-9440
IS - 6
ER -