Browsing by Subject "Smoothelin"

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    Expression of smoothelin and smooth muscle actin in the skin
    (Editores F. Hernandez y Juan F. Madrid. Murcia, Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histologia, 2011) Aneiros Fernández, José; Husein-ElAhmed, Husein; Arias-Santiago, Salvador; Campos, Antonio; Carriel, Víctor; Sánchez-Montesinos, Indalecio; Garcia del Moral, Raimundo; Sánchez, Guillermo; O’Valle, Francisco; Aneiros, J.
    Introduction: Smoothelin is a cytoskeletal protein of differentiated smooth muscle cells with contractile capacity, distinguishing it from other smooth muscle proteins, such as smooth muscle actin (SMA). Objective: To evaluate the expression of smoothelin and SMA in the skin in order to establish specific localizations of smoothelin in smooth muscle cells with high contractile capacity and in the epithelial component of cutaneous adnexal structures. Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis (smoothelin and SMA) was performed in 18 patients with normal skin. Results: SMA was expressed by the vascular structures of superficial, deep, intermediate and adventitial plexuses, whereas smoothelin was specifically expressed in the cytoplasm of smooth muscle cells of the deepest vascular plexus and in no other plexus of the dermis. The hair erector muscle showed intense expression of smoothelin and SMA. Cells with nuclear expression of smoothelin and cytoplasmic expression of SMA were observed in the outer root sheath of the inferior portion of the hair follicles and intense cytoplasmic expression in cells of the dermal sheath to SMA. Conclusions: We report the first study of smoothelin expression in normal skin, which differentiates the superficial vascular plexus from the deep. The deep plexus comprises vessels with high contractile capacity, which is important for understanding dermal hemodynamics in normal skin and pathological processes. We suggest that the function of smoothelin in the outer root sheath may be to enhance the function of SMA, which has been related to mechanical stress.
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    Smoothelin and WT-1 expression in glomus tumors and glomuvenous malformations
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2017) Aneiros Fernandez, Jose; Retamero, Juan Antonio; Husein ElAhmed, Husein; Carriel, Víctor; Ruiz Villaverde, Ricardo; O’Valle, Francisco; Aneiros Cachaza, Jose
    Background: Smoothelin is a specific marker for smooth muscle cells with contractile capacity which has not been widely studied in glomus lesions. In the same way, the expression for Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) has only been studied occasionally in the endothelial cells of glomovenous malformations and in the glomus cells of glomus tumours. Objective: We studied the significance of immunohistochemical expression of smoothelin and WT1 in 25 glomus lesions. Methods: We assessed 9 cases of solid glomus tumors (SGT), 8 cases of glomus tumors with vascular ectasia (VEGT), 2 cases of glomangiomyomas (GMM) and 6 cases of glomuvenous malformation (GM). Immunohistochemistry was performed, evaluating the expression of WT1, smoothelin, smooth muscle actin (SMA), smooth muscle myosin (SMM), h-caldesmon and desmin. Results: Glomic cells showed cytoplasmic positivity for smoothelin, and WT1 expression was present in all studied cases. SGT showed WT1 positivity in all endothelia. However, in regarding VEGT and GMM, WT1 endothelial expression was positive in some areas, but not in others. GM did not show endothelial cell positivity for WT1. Conclusions: Smoothelin expression in glomic cells indicates that they are contractile smooth muscle cells, and thus its role in routine diagnosis should be considered. The absence of WT1 expression in the endothelium of the vascular structures of the GM is a differential characteristic between SGT, VEGT and GMM.