Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 13;61(1):2707.
doi: 10.4081/ejh.2017.2707.

The multifaceted role of podoplanin expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Andreea Cioca  1 , Amalia R Ceausu, Irina Marin, Marius Raica, Anca M Cimpean
Affiliations

The multifaceted role of podoplanin expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Andreea Cioca et al. Eur J Histochem. .

Abstract

The role of podoplanin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not clear yet. The aim of our study was to evaluate the expression of podoplanin in HCC and to determine its role in hepatocarcinogenesis. We performed immunohistochemistry with monoclonal D2-40 antibody, on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 72 patients diagnosed with HCC. Lymphatic vessels density (LVD) was increased in patients who had vascular invasion at the time of diagnosis (P=0.018) and in those with associated cirrhosis (P=0.006). Tumor cells showing podoplanin expression were correlated with histological grade (P=0.040). Podoplanin-expressing cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were correlated with both LVD (P=0.019) and tumor cells (P=0.015). Our results sustain the dual role of podoplanin in HCC by its involvement in both HCC tumorigenesis, lymphatic neovascularization and tumor invasion invasiveness. A possible crosstalk between epithelial and stromal tumor cells in HCC tumor microenvironment may be mediated by podoplanin, but this hypothesis needs further studies to elucidate this interrelation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Podoplanin expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma showing: A) Positivity for lymphatic vessels and its absence in tumor cells; B) Positivity for cancer associated fibroblast (CAFs, yellow arrow) and stromal lymphatics (red arrow); C) Podoplanin cytoplasmatic staining of tumor cells at low magnification; D) Podoplanin cytoplasmatic staining at high magnification.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chuma M, Terashita K, Sakamoto N. New molecularly targeted therapies against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: From molecular pathogenesis to clinical trials and future directions. Hepatol Res 2015;45:E1-11. - PubMed
    1. Kaneko MK, Kato Y, Kitano T, Osawa M. Conservation of a platelet activating domain of Aggrus/podoplanin as a platelet aggregation-inducing factor. Gene 2006;378:52-7. - PubMed
    1. Kanner WA, Galgano MT, Atkins KA. Podoplanin expression in basal and myoepithelial cells: utility and potential pitfalls. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 2010;18:226-30. - PubMed
    1. Ordonez NG. Podoplanin: a novel diagnostic immunohistochemical marker. dv Anat Pathol 2006;13:83-8. - PubMed
    1. Jokinen CH, Dadras SS, Goldblum JR, van de Rijn M, West RB, Rubin BP. Diagnostic implications of podoplanin expression in peripheral nerve sheath neoplasms. Am J Clin Pathol 2008; 129:886-93. - PubMed