Histological analysis of malignancy progression through immunohistochemical staining of the pleural, lymph node, and skin tissue revealed gradual loss of calretinin and gain of desmin, supporting a transformation from epithelioid to sarcomatoid tissue.
MOC-31 and calretinin are of important clinical value for diagnosing and differentially diagnosing the cancer cells in pleural fluid of patients with lung cancer.
Depletion of CR led these cancer cell lines to enter apoptosis within 72 hr postinfection via strong activation of the intrinsic caspase 9-dependent pathway.
It is suggested that calretinin is active in the first steps of carcinogenesis in all human mesotheliomas and during several stages in the evolution towards malignancy.