Expression pattern of glypican-3 (GPC3) during human embryonic and fetal development.

Glypicans represent a family of cell surface proteoglycans. Loss-of-function mutations in the human glypican-3 (GPC3) gene results in the Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome, characterized by severe malformations and pre- and postnatal overgrowth. Because the expression of GPC3 during human embryonic and fetal periods remains largely unknown, we investigated by immunohistochemistry its pattern of expression during four periods of human development covering the embryonic period (P1) from 5 to 8 weeks of development, and the fetal periods (P2, P3 and P4) from 9 to 28 weeks of development.

[T lymphoma of immature phenotype associated with polycythemia vera].

A 20-year old patient is presented with generalized lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, hyperleukocytosis and a bone marrow biopsy showing panmyelosis with predominance of immature granulocytes. Lymph node biopsy showed a histopathological feature that was diagnosed as a chronic granulocytic leukemia in blast crisis. The cell surface phenotype of these blast cells showed predominance of immature CD1+, CD7+ T lymphocytes.