Mast Cells Are Abundant in Primary Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphomas: Results from a Computer-Aided Quantitative Immunohistological Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mast cells (MC) are bone marrow derived haematopoetic cells playing a crucial role not only in immune response but also in the tumor microenvironment with protumorigenic and antitumorigenic functions. The role of MC in primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL), a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with initial presentation in the skin, is largely unknown.

Objective

To gain more accurate information about presence, number, distribution and state of activation (degranulated vs. non-degranulated) of MC in CTCL variants and clinical stages.

Materials and methods

We established a novel computer-aided tissue analysis method on digitized skin sections. Immunohistochemistry with an anti-MC tryptase antibody was performed on 34 biopsies of different CTCL s

SUBMITTER: Eder J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5125565 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature