Ezrin expression in stromal cells of capillary hemangioblastoma. An immunohistochemical survey of brain tumors.

Ezrin is a cytoskeleton-associated protein that appears to link actin filaments to the plasma membrane. Immunocytochemical studies suggest that ezrin is expressed in epithelial cells but not in mesenchymal cells. In addition, ezrin is expressed by certain epithelial tumors, such as renal cell adenocarcinomas. Ezrin serves as a tyrosine kinase substrate, and is phosphorylated in epidermal growth factor-stimulated cells. Ezrin may thus mediate regulatory signals in different cell functions. We studied the distribution of ezrin in 104 cases of primary tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) by immunocytochemistry. Special interest was focused on capillary hemangioblastoma, owing to its resemblance to renal cell adenocarcinoma, and on malignant gliomas, owing to their frequent epidermal growth factor receptor amplification. The stromal cells of hemangioblastomas were found to be strongly positive for ezrin. No expression was detected in gliomas and, except for hemangioblastomas, ezrin expression was restricted to those few CNS tumors that show epithelial differentiation, ie, choroid plexus papillomas, craniopharyngiomas, ependymomas, and cysts. The diffuse cytoplasmic expression of ezrin in the stromal cells of capillary hemangioblastoma may indicate that stromal cells overexpress ezrin or express ezrin with deficient binding properties.