Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) has been suggested to be a marker for stem cells and progenitor cells in human fetal kidney and Wilms tumors. In this tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study, we confirmed the expression of NCAM in Wilms tumors, nephrogenic rests, and metanephric mesenchyme and its early derivatives in fetal renal cortex. Neural cell adhesion molecule expression was noted in both favorable-histology and unfavorable-histology Wilms tumors. This indicates that NCAM may be an attractive therapeutic target in chemoresistant, high-risk Wilms tumors. In addition, we saw rare NCAM-positive interstitial stromal cells in postnatal kidney. It is not known if these persistent NCAM-positive interstitial cells might give rise to adult Wilms tumors and cases of pediatric Wilms tumors not associated with nephrogenic rests.
RiveraMNHaberDA. Wilms' tumour: connecting tumorigenesis and organ development in the kidney. Nat Rev Cancer2005;5:699–712.
2.
KalapurakalJADomeJSPerlmanEJ. Management of Wilms' tumour: current practice and future goals. Lancet Oncol2004;5:37–46.
3.
MurphyWMGrignonDJPerlmanEJ. Kidney tumors in children. In: SilverbergSG, ed. AFIP Atlas of Tumor Pathology Series 4. Tumors of the Kidney, Bladder, and Related Urinary Structures. Washington, DC: American Registry of Pathology, 2004;10–38.
4.
DomeJSCottonCAPerlmanEJ. Treatment of anaplastic histology Wilms' tumor: results from the fifth National Wilms' Tumor Study. J Clin Oncol2006;24:2352–2358.
5.
GreenDMBeckwithJBBreslowNE. Treatment of children with stages II to IV anaplastic Wilms' tumor: a report from the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group. J Clin Oncol1994;12:2126–2131.
6.
RobisonLL. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study: a resource for research of long-term outcomes among adult survivors of childhood cancer. Minn Med2005;88:45–49.
7.
GeenenMMCardous-UbbinkMCKremerLC. Medical assessment of adverse health outcomes in long-term survivors of childhood cancer. JAMA2007;297:2705–2715.
8.
Pode-ShakkedNMetsuyanimSRom-GrossE. Developmental tumorigenesis: NCAM as a putative marker for the malignant renal stem/progenitor cell population. J Cell Mol Med2009;13:1792–1808.
9.
MetsuyanimSHarari-SteinbergOBuzhorE. Expression of stem cell markers in the human fetal kidney. PLoS One2009;4:e6709.
10.
JensenMBertholdF. Targeting the neural cell adhesion molecule in cancer. Cancer Lett2007;258:9–21.
11.
JorgensenOSBockE. Brain specific synaptosomal membrane proteins demonstrated by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. J Neurochem1974;23:879–880.
12.
RutishauserUThieryJPBrackenburyRSelaBAEdelmanGM. Mechanisms of adhesion among cells from neural tissues of the chick embryo. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA1976;73:577–581.
13.
Paoloni-GiacobinoAChenHAntonarakisSE. Cloning of a novel human neural cell adhesion molecule gene (NCAM2) that maps to chromosome region 21q21 and is potentially involved in down syndrome. Genomics1997;43:43–51.
14.
YoshiharaYKawasakiMTamadaA. OCAM: a new member of the neural cell adhesion molecule family related to zone-to-zone projection of olfactory and vomeronasal axons. J Neurosci1997;17:5830–5842.
15.
AleniusMBohmS. Identification of a novel neural cell adhesion molecule-related gene with a potential role in selective axonal projection. J Biol Chem1997;272:26083–26086.
PovlsenGKDitlevsenDK. The neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM and lipid rafts. Adv Exp Med Biol2010;663:183–198.
18.
RothJZuberCWagnerPBlahaIBitter-SuermannDHeitzPU. Presence of the long chain form of polysialic acid of the neural cell adhesion molecule in Wilms' tumor. Identification of a cell adhesion molecule as an oncodevelopmental antigen and implications for tumor histogenesis. Am J Pathol1988;133:227–240.
RothJBlahaIBitter-SuermannDHeitzPU. Blastemal cells of nephroblastomatosis complex share an onco-developmental antigen with embryonic kidney and Wilms' tumor. An immunohistochemical study on polysialic acid distribution. Am J Pathol1988;133:596–608.
21.
GluerSSchelpCGerardy-SchahnRvon SchweinitzD. Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule as a marker for differential diagnosis in pediatric tumors. J Pediatr Surg1998;33:1516–1520.
