Endoglin as a marker in cervical paragangliomas.

Abstract

Endoglin is expressed on endothelium and is implicated in the control of angiogenesis. This study compares the expression of endoglin with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), commonly used as a marker for neoangiogenesis in cervical paragangliomas (CPG). The CPG were surgically obtained from 5 patients and compared with nontumoral lung obtained from patients subjected to pulmonary resection. Detection with specific antibodies was used to determine the expression of the proteins VEGF and endoglin. The expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were used to determine the degree of hypoxia and capillarization, respectively. Endoglin is located at the plasma membrane of endothelial cells. The relative expression of endoglin is significantly higher in CPG respect to lung (p < .02), whereas that of VEGF is similar. Endoglin expression in CPG is significantly superior to that of VEGF and correlates with tumor vascularization.