Immunohistochemical analysis of DNA mismatch repair enzyme hMSH-2 in normal human skin and basal cell carcinomas

We have analysed the expression and distribution of the DNA mismatch repair enzyme hMSH-2 in normal skin and basal cell carcinomas. hMSH-2 protein was investigated immunohistochemically (normal human skin: n=10; basal cell carcinomas: n=16) on frozen sections using a highly sensitive streptavidin–peroxidase technique and a specific mouse monoclonal antibody (clone FE11). In normal human skin, we found nuclear immunoreactivity for hMSH-2 in epidermal keratinocytes of the basal and first 1–3 suprabasal cell layers. All basal cell carcinomas analysed revealed strong nuclear imunoreactivity that was pronounced in peripheral tumour cells and cells of the palisade. Expression of hMSH-2 protein was consistently and strongly upregulated in tumour cells of the carcinomas as compared to adjacent unaffected epidermis or epidermis of normal human skin. Twelve of the sixteen carcinomas analysed revealed no visual correlation in comparing the labelling patterns for hMSH-2 with the labelling pattern for the proliferation marker Ki-67. Our findings indicate that (a) hMSH-2 is expressed in human epidermal keratinocytes, predominantly in lower cell layers of the viable epidermis; (b) expression of hMSH-2 protein is strongly upregulated in basal cell carcinomas as compared to unaffected epidermis; (c) the level of hMSH-2 proteins in the carcinomas is not exclusively regulated by the proliferative activity of these tumour cells; (d) inactivating mutations of the hMSH-2 gene may in the carcinomas not be involved in the carcinogenesis or microsatellite instability secondary to replication errors; (e) expression of hMSH-2 may be of importance for the genetic stability of basal cell carcinomas in vivo.