Expression of epsilon BP, a beta-galactoside-binding soluble lectin, in normal and neoplastic epidermis.

The study of animal lectins and glycoconjugates has become an important area of research in biomedical sciences, as these molecules are believed to play important roles in a variety of biological processes. This report describes a study of the expression of an animal lectin, IgE-binding protein (epsilon BP), also known as Mac-2 and CBP35, in human skin. We have analyzed cultured human keratinocytes as well as normal human skin and a number of epidermal neoplasms, by immunoblotting, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. We showed that epsilon BP is expressed in human keratinocytes, hair follicles, sebaceous and sweat glands. We found that epsilon BP expression retains in various epidermal neoplasms, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma, although the level of expression appears to be reduced as compared to normal epidermis. The immunohistochemical analysis also suggests that the level of epsilon BP expression appears to be dependent on the degree of cellular differentiation of keratinocytes.