Telocytes and Lymphatics of the Human Colon

• Published in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 11; no. 10; p. 1001
• Main Authors: Zurzu, Mihai, Nicolescu, Mihnea Ioan, Mogoantă, Laurențiu, Pantea, Stelian, Rusu, Mugurel Constantin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 23.09.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: c-Kit protein; CD34; CD34 antigen; Cloning; Colon; Endothelial cells; Ganglia; gastrointestinal tract; Immunohistochemistry; interstitial Cajal cells; Labeling; Markers; Microscopy; Morphology; Myenteric plexus; Paraffin; Paraffins; podoplanin; Stromal cells; Transmission electron microscopy
• ISSN: 2075-1729; 2075-1729
• DOI: 10.3390/life11101001

Background: Telocytes (TCs) are a peculiar morphological type of stromal cells. They project long and moniliform telopodes, visible on various bidimensional sections. Originally regarded as “interstitial Cajal-like cells”, gastrointestinal TCs were CD34+. Further double-labelling studies found that colon TCs are negative for the expressions of the PDGFR-α and α-SMA. However, the TCs in colon were not distinguished specifically from endothelial cells (ECs), vascular or lymphatic. A combinational approach is important for accurate TC identification. Hence, we designed an immunohistochemical study of human colon to check whether ECs and CD34+ TCs express different markers. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed on archived paraffin-embedded samples of human colon (nine cases) for the following markers: CD31, CD34, CD117/c-kit and D2-40 (podoplanin). Results: A distinctive population of CD34+ TCs was found coating the myenteric ganglia. However, also perivascular cells and vascular ECs were CD34+. c-kit expression was equally found in interstitial Cajal cells (ICCs) and perivascular cells. The CD34 TCs did not express c-kit. As they were equally CD31- and D2-40- they were assessed as different from ECs. Conclusions: Testing specific markers of ECs, vascular and lymphatic, in the same tissues in which CD34+ TCs are found, is much more relevant than to identify TCs by transmission electron microscopy alone.