A specific antigenic defect of the basement membrane is found in basal cell carcinoma but not in other epidermal tumors

Abstract

The basement membrane of basal cell carcinoma was characterized by indirect immunofluorescence using antibodies to laminin, type IV collagen, and bullous pemphigoid antigen, three distinct protein components of basement membrane. Aggregates of basal cell carcinoma in the dermis were surrounded by a continuous basement membrane containing laminin and type IV collagen; however, bullous pemphigoid antigen was either completely undetectable or faint and discontinuous rather than linear. In contrast to this specific defect in bullous pemphigoid antigen found in basal cell carcinoma, well‐differentiated superficially invasive epidermal squamous cell carcinoma and several benign epidermal tumors (trichoepithelioma, wart, keratoacanthoma, seborrheic keratosis, cylindroma) displayed all three antigens in the basement membrane that surrounded epithelial cell aggregates. Cylindroma displayed, in addition, broad areas of type IV collagen in the hyalinized material between epithelial islands. Basal cell carcinoma was the only tumor examined in which there was a specific antigenic defect in the basement membrane. This defect in bullous pemphigoid antigen may be due to abnormal synthesis by the tumor cells and could be related to the absence of differentiation of these cells.

Comparative analysis of the expression of ERBIN and Erb-B2 in normal human skin and cutaneous carcinomas.

“…Finally, aggregates of ERBIN and Erb‐B2 were found in a high proportion of the cells that form the peripheral palisaded layer of the tumoral BCC islands. As ERBIN can bind BP230 and the β 4 integrin subunit, two components of the hemidesmosomes, whereas Erb‐B2 can associate with the β 4 integrin subunit, it is conceivable that some of these aggregates result from the altered expression of BP230 and the β 4 integrin subunit previously demonstrated in BCC 27,28 …”

Advanced differentiation in trichoepithelioma and basal cell carcinoma investigated by immunohistochemistry against neurofilaments.

“…Literature is fully provided with many histological criteria in the differential diagnosis between both entities [16][17][18][19][20]. Nevertheless, the subject is far from being simple, taking into account the number of immunohistochemical studies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11], studies in molecular pathology [13], in immunofluorescence [21], or in ultrastructural pathology [12] that have focussed their attention on these different techniques for distinguishing both tumours from each other. The distinction is more important (although many times also very difficult) in small biopsies from delicate areas of the skin, such as the periocular tissues, owing to the different management of both tumours [22].…”

“…Nevertheless, some other groups have also evaluated the expression of certain immunohistochemical mark- ers in the tissues surrounding the tumoural cells, like the stroma [1,3,4,11,21] or the basal membrane [21]. In our study, we focussed on a well known fact in normal histology, that nerve endings form a rich plexus around normal hair bulbs [23].…”

A Monoclonal Antibody Established from the Immunization of Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) Tissues Reacts to the Intercellular Space of BCC and Hair Follicles

“…Many studies regarding the structures of BMZ of BCC have already reported relatively primitive components compared with those of normal human skin: poorly organized hemidesmosomes, discontinuous lamina densa, and lack of anchoring fibrils (9, 10). Immunohistochemical studies have also reported the characteristic lack of bullous pemphigoid (BP) antigens (11, 12) and some integrin components, and the presence of granular deposits of types IV and VII collagens around the tumor cell nests of BCC (13–16). Furthermore, we reported that these characteristics of the BMZ of BCC cell nests were seen on the BMZ of the hair matrix, including the lack of BP antigens and some integrin components, and the presence of granular deposits of types IV and VII collagens, after studying them immunohistochemically and ultrastructurally (5).…”