Ulex europaeus I lectin as a marker for tumors derived from endothelial cells.

Some skin and soft tumors, which generally are assumed to be derived from endothelial cells or blood vessels, were characterized with fluorochrome-labeled Ulex europaeus I agglutinin (UEA I), recently shown to bind specifically to endothelial cells in various normal human tissues. The staining pattern was compared with that obtained with immunostaining using antibodies against factor-VIII-related antigen (FVIII-RAG), a known marker for endothelial cells. The results showed that UEA-I is a specific and a more sensitive marker for the endothelial cells in benign vascular lesions as compared with anti-FVIII-RAG. UEA-I also stained many neoplastic cells of endothelial sarcomas, which generally were negative for FVIII-RAG. Melanomas, anaplastic carcinomas, and other types of sarcomas were negative for both UEA-I and FVIII-RAG. The results suggest that UEA-I lectin is a specific and sensitive adjunct tool in demonstrating endothelial cells and endothelial derivation of human tumors.