Differences between squamous cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma in angiotensin type-1 receptor expression.

Angiotensin II receptors are the specific receptors of angiotensin II of the renin-angiotensin system. The existence and role of the receptors in the skin have not been determined. We immunohistochemically studied the expression of angiotensin receptors in the human skin. The results demonstrated the expression of angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1) in the normal human suprabasal epidermis. The expression pattern suggests the role of AT1 in association with differentiation. In addition, we studied the expression of AT1 in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin, SCC of the lip, and keratoacanthoma (KA). Our experiments showed that high, intermediate, and low levels of AT1 were observed in 37 (74.0%), 7 (14.0%), and 2 (4.0%) of 50 cases of SCC of the skin, respectively, and the negative periphery pattern was observed in 17 (77.3%) of 22 cases of KA. These observations suggest that the immunohistochemical study of AT1 is useful to distinguish SCC from KA. Studying the role and distribution of AT1 may help in understanding the pathophysiology of the skin.