Calretinin

Stains
Calretinin

Author: Nat Pernick, M.D. (see Authors page)

Revised: 6 November 2015, last major update December 2011

Copyright: (c) 2003-2015, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: calretinin[title]

Table of Contents

Definition / General

Calcium binding protein structurally related to S100 and inhibin

Interpretation

Nuclear and cytoplasmic staining

Uses by Pathologists

Differentiate (as part of a panel) epithelioid pleural mesothelioma (positive) from lung adenocarcinoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2003;27:1031)
Differentiate (as part of a panel) epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma (positive) from ovarian serous papillary carcinoma (usually negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:1139)
Differentiate reactive mesothelial cells (positive) from carcinomas (negative) in effusion cytology (Am J Clin Pathol 2001;116:709, Cytopathology 2008;19:218), ascites fluid / peritoneal lavage (Tohoku J Exp Med 2005;206:31) or pleural biopsies (Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:914)
Differentiate (as part of a panel) mesothelioma (positive) from metastatic renal cell carcinoma (negative, Histopathology 2002;41:301)
Differentiate (as part of a panel) adrenal cortical lesions (calretinin+) from metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:678)
Differentiate (as part of a panel) adrenal cortical lesions (calretinin+) from pheochromocytoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2010;34:423)
Differentiate (as part of a panel) ovarian Sertoli-Leydig tumors (positive) from sertoliform endometroid carcinoma (negative, Arch Pathol Lab Med 2007;131:979)
Differentiate schwannoma (strong staining) from neurofibroma (negative or weak / focal staining, Am J Clin Pathol 2004;122:552)
Differentiate olfactory neuroblastoma (calretinin+, p63-) from other sinonasal small round blue cell tumors (calretinin-, p63+, Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:1786)
Differentiate ameloblastoma (calretinin+) from keratocystic odontogenic tumor (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2008;32:256)
Diagnosis of Hirschsprung disease (negative staining, Mod Pathol 2009;22:1379)
Identify peritoneal invasive implants of serous borderline tumors of the ovary by lack of calretinin+ mesothelial cells (Mod Pathol 2006;19:364)
Marker for normal functional endometrial stromal cells (Pathol Res Pract 2007;203:79)

Micro Images

Images hosted on Pathout server:

Ovarian granulosa cell tumor (adult)

Images hosted on other servers:

Mesothelioma: clear cell variant (pleura)

Mesothelioma-deciduoid variant: fig 6

Mesothelioma-sarcomatoid

Mesothelioma: various images

Adenomatoid tumor

Adrenal gland corticomedullary mixed tumor (fig C/D)

Colonic wall neurons

Colonic medullary carcinoma (fig E)

Granular cell tumor

Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenoma (fig 7)

Serous effusions

Images hosted on Nature.com:

Mesothelioma-deciduoid variant: fig D

Mesothelioma-epithelioid variant: left, middle-fig D; right-fig D

Mesothelium: hyperplastic mesothelium and
submesothelial stromal cells are calretinin+

Adenomatoid tumor

Adrenocortical carcinoma (fig B)

Adrenal gland pheochromocytoma is negative, but
ganglioneuromatous foci is positive (fig B)

Ovarian fibroma

Ovarian granulosa cell tumor (adult)

Ovarian serous borderline tumor: invasive implants show loss of calretinin+ mesothelial cells

Ovarian serous borderline tumor: non-invasive implants are surrounded by calretinin+ mesothelial cells

Rectal suction biopsy for Hirschsprung disease

Positive Staining - Normal

Adipocytes (Hum Pathol 2006;37:312), endometrial stromal cells, Leydig cells of testis
Mast cells, mesothelial cells, nerves (good positive control, Nordic)
Ovarian theca-lutein and theca interna cells, Sertoli cells (Hum Pathol 2003;34:994)

Positive Staining - Disease

Mesothelial hyperplasia and cysts
Mesothelioma (strong diffuse staining in almost all epithelioid and lymphohistiocytic subtypes, 57% of sarcomatoid subtypes, (Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:711, Mod Pathol 2007;20:248)
Also ameloblastoma (stellate reticulum-like epithelium, Histopathology 2000;37:27), adenomatoid tumors (Am J Surg Pathol 2003;27:969), adrenal cortical tumors (96%, Mod Pathol 2003;16:591)
Cardiac myxoma (Am J Clin Pathol 2000;114:754), cervical mesonephric adenocarcinoma (88%, Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:379), colonic medullary carcioma (73%, Hum Pathol 2009;40:398), colorectal adenocarcinoma (various by tumor differentiation, Am J Surg Pathol 1999;23:701)
Desmoplastic small round cell tumors (20%, Mod Pathol 2003;16:229), FATWO (Hum Pathol 1999;30:856), granular cell tumor (Am J Clin Pathol 2003;119:259)
Lipoma and liposarcoma (Hum Pathol 2006;37:312), lung carcinoma (adenocarcinoma-11%, giant cell carcinoma-67%, large cell-38%, small cell-49%, Am J Surg Pathol 2003;27:150)
Schwannoma (Am J Clin Pathol 2004;122:552), sex cord stromal tumors (50-100%, including inhibin negative tumors, Am J Surg Pathol 2005;29:143, Am J Surg Pathol 2009;33:354)
Synovial sarcoma (most, Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:610), thymic carcinoma and thymoma (some, Hum Pathol 2003;32:1155)

Negative Staining

Adrenal medullary tumors including pheochromocytoma, mucinous cysts (Histopathology 2002;41:301), ovarian microcystic stromal tumor (Am J Surg Pathol 2009;33:367), renal cell carcinoma (usually)