Ki67 antibody cytoplasmic expression in normal tissue from heart atrial appendages.

What is it about?

Cardiac muscle cells show two related but distinct modes of growth that are highly regulated during development and disease. Cardiomyocytes proliferate rapidly during fetal life but exit the cell cycle soon after birth, after which the predominant form of growth shifts from hyperplasia to hypertrophy. Recently some investigators addressed the question of proliferative markers expression during post- natal life, studying its role in a number of histopathological entities and neoplastic prognosis. Ki67, one of the most important antigens used in invasive cancer evaluation, is classically described as a nuclear protein expressed in cell cycle, except G0, there are no data available supporting the role of Ki67 in normal cells. While studying left atrial in the context of post-natal heart remodeling, we evidenced Ki67 antibody cytoplasmic expression in normal tissue from heart atrial appendages of adult female rats.

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Why is it important?

The cytoplasmic expression of Ki67 may not be considered solely a prognostic marker of invasive carcinomas, but a functional phenomenon that is shared by normal tissues undergoing postnatal remodeling, such as atrial auricular cells. Further data are required to fully elucidate this expression.

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