Characterization of the endometrial MSC marker ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-2 (NTPDase2/CD39L1) in low- and high-grade endometrial carcinomas: loss of stromal expression in the invasive phenotypes

Abstract

Ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-2 (NTPDase2/CD39L1) has been described in human non-pathological endometrium in both epithelial and stromal components without changes along the cycle. It was identified as a stromal marker of basalis. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate NTPDase2 distribution, using immunolabeling and in situ enzyme activity approaches, in endometrial carcinoma (EC) at different tumor grades. NTPDase2 was present in tumor epithelial EC cells, as in the non-pathological endometria, but the expression underwent changes in subcellular distribution and also tended to decrease with the tumor grade. In stroma, NTPDase2 was identified exclusively at the tumor-myometrial junction but this expression was lost in tumors of invasive phenotype. We have also identified in EC samples the presence of the perivascular population of endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSCs) positive for sushi domain containing 2 (SUSD2) and for NTPDase2, already described in non-tumoral endometrium. Our results point to NTPDase2 as a histopathological marker of tumor invasion in EC, with diagnostic relevance especially in cases of EC coexisting with other endometrial disorders, such as adenomyosis, which occasionally hampers the assessment of tumor invasion parameters.