Summary
Quantitative determination of S-100 protein content on human melanoma tissues and in sera of melanoma patients was made possible through radioimmunoassay (RIA). Melanoma tissue extracts prepared from metastatic sites in both skin and lymph nodes contained 0.08–2.80% of S-100 out of the total extractable proteins, and it was also noticed that the tumors obtained from lymph-node metastasis possessed slightly higher levels of S-100 as compared with those obtained from the skin lesions. Serum S-100 levels of 12 melanoma patients with Stage 1 to 3 diseases were also examined by means of RIA, but only two patients showed a slight elevation of serum S-100 levels. When tissue sections prepared from a variety of cutaneous tumors, including pigmented nevus, melanoma and Schwannoma, were stained for S-100 by an immunoperoxidase technique, these tumors of neuroectodermal origin were demonstrated to contain a detectable amount of S-100, whereas other tested nonmelanocytic and non-neurogenic tumors were entirely negative for S-100. These data stress the usefulness of S-100 for the diagnosis of neurogenic and melanocytic tumors, especially melanomas, despite the difficulty of its detection in the sera of the tumor bearers, which might reflect the low tendency of S-100 to be shed from the tumor cells.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abell M, Hart W, Olson J (1970) Tumors of the peripheral nervous system. Hum Pathol 1:503–551
Calissano P, Moore BW, Friesen A (1969) Effect of calcium ion on S-100, a protein of the nervous system. Biochem 8:4318–4326
Cocchia D, Michetti F, Donato R (1981) Immunochemical and immunocytochemical localization of S-100 antigen in normal human skin. Nature 294:85–87
Gaynor R, Irie R, Morton D, Herschman HR (1980) S-100 protein is present in cultured human malignant melanomas. Nature 286:400–401
Gaynor R, Herschman HR, Irie R, Jones P, Morton R, Cochran A (1981) A marker for human malignant melanomas? Lancet I:869–871
Greenwood FC, Hunter WM, Glover JS (1963) The preparation of 131I-labelled human growth hormone of high specific radio-activity. Biochem J 89:114–123
Ishii Y, Mavligit GM (1982) Immunodiagnosis of human melanoma: characterization of human melanoma antigens and their detection in sera of melanoma patients by radioimmunoassay. Oncology 39:23–28
Isobe T, Nakajima T, Okuyama T (1977) Reinvestigation of extremly acidic proteins in bovine brain. Biochim Biophys Acta 494:222–232
Jacque CM, Kujas M, Poreau A, Raoul M, Collier P, Racadot J, Baumann NJ (1979) GFA and S-100 protein levels as an index for malignancy in human gliomas and neurinomas. J Natl Cancer Inst 62:479–483
Kessler D, Levine L, Fassman GD (1968) Some conformational and immunological properties of a bovine brain acidic protein. Biochem 7:758–764
McLean IW, Nakane PK (1974) Periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde fixative. A new fixative for immunoelectronmicroscopy. J Histochem Cytochem 22:1077–1083
Moore BW (1965) A soluble protein characteristic of the nervous system. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 19:739–744
Moore BW, Macgregor D (1965) Chromatographic and electrophoretic fractionation of soluble proteins of brain and liver. J Biol Chem 240:1647–1659
Moore BW, Perez VJ, Gehring M (1968) Assay and regional distribution of a soluble protein characteristic of the nervous system. J Neurochem 15:265–272
Nakajima T, Watanabe S, Sato Y, Kameya T, Schimosato Y (1981) Immunohistochemical demonstration of S-100 protein in human malignant melanomas and pigmented nevi. Gann 72: 335–336
Nakajima T, Watanabe S, Sato Y, Shimosato Y, Motoi M, Lennert K (1982) S-100 protein in Langerhans cells, interdigitating reticulum cells and histiocytosis X cells. Gann 73:429–432
Nakazato Y, Ishizeki J, Takahashi K, Yamaguchi H (1982) Immunohistochemical localization of S-100 protein in granular cell myoblastoma. Cancer 49:1624–1628
Nishio C, Ishii Y, Ishii K, Kikuchi K (1982) Identification of an oncofetal antigen (gp 90) on murine B-16 melanoma cells. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol 18:579–588
Pfeiffer SE, Herschmann HR, Lightbody J, Sato G (1970) Synthesis by a clonal line of rat glial cells of a protein unique to the nervous system. J Cell Physiol 75:329–340
Reed RJ, Leonard DD (1979) Neurotropic melanoma: a variant of desmoplastic melanoma. Am J Surg Pathol 3:301–311
Stefansson K, Wollman R, Moore BW, Arnason BGW (1982) S-100 protein in human chondrocytes. Nature 295:63–64
Stefansson K, Wollman R, Moore BW (1982) S-100 protein in granular cell tumors. Cancer 49:1834–1838
Wahlström T, Saxén L (1976) Malignant skin tumors of neural crest origin. Cancer 38:2022–2026
Warnke R, Levy R (1980) Detection of T and B cell antigens with hybridoma monoclonal antibodies: a biotin-avidin-horseradish peroxidase method. J Histochem Cytochem 28:771–776
Zuckerman JE, Herschman HR, Levine L (1970) Appearance of a brain specific antigen (the S-100 protein) during human fetal development. J Neurochem 17:247–251
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, and the Ministry of Welfare of Japan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yambe, H., Ishii, Y., Tabuchi, K. et al. Detection of S-100 protein in melanocytic and neurogenic cutaneous tumors. Arch Dermatol Res 276, 160–164 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414013
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414013