García-Mesa Yolanda, Martín-Sanz Raquel, García-Piqueras Jorge, Cobo Ramón, Muñoz-Bravo Saray, García-Suárez Olivia, Martín-Biedma Benjamín, Vega José Antonio, Feito Jorge
Departamento de Morfología y Biología Celular, Grupo SINPOS, Universidad de Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain.
Servicio de Oftalmología, IBSAL, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
J Pers Med. 2022 May 28;12(6):894. doi: 10.3390/jpm12060894.
As an essential component of mechano-gated ion channels, critically required for mechanotransduction in mammalian cells, PIEZO2 is known to be characteristically expressed by Merkel cells in human skin. Here, we immunohistochemically investigated the occurrence of Piezo channels in a case series of Merkel cell carcinoma. A panel of antibodies was used to characterize Merkel cells, and to detect PIEZO2 expression. All analyzed tumors displayed PIEZO2 in nearly all cells, showing two patterns of immunostaining: membranous and perinuclear dot-like. PIEZO2 co-localized with cytokeratin 20, chromogranin A, synaptophysin and neurofilament. Moreover, neurofilament immunoreactive structures resembling nerve-Merkel cell contacts were occasionally found. PIEZO2 was also detected in cells of the sweat ducts. The role of PIEZO2 in Merkel cell carcinoma is still unknown, but it could be related with the mechanical regulation of the tumor biology or be a mere vestige of the Merkel cell derivation.
作为机械门控离子通道的重要组成部分，对哺乳动物细胞的机械转导至关重要，已知PIEZO2在人类皮肤的默克尔细胞中具有特征性表达。在此，我们通过免疫组织化学方法研究了一系列默克尔细胞癌病例中Piezo通道的存在情况。使用一组抗体来鉴定默克尔细胞，并检测PIEZO2的表达。所有分析的肿瘤几乎在所有细胞中均显示PIEZO2，呈现出两种免疫染色模式：膜性和核周点状。PIEZO2与细胞角蛋白20、嗜铬粒蛋白A、突触素和神经丝共定位。此外，偶尔会发现类似神经-默克尔细胞接触的神经丝免疫反应性结构。在汗腺导管细胞中也检测到了PIEZO2。PIEZO2在默克尔细胞癌中的作用尚不清楚，但可能与肿瘤生物学的机械调节有关，或者仅仅是默克尔细胞起源的遗迹。
