[E-Cadherine and GATA-3 are useful in the confirmation of the vas deferens in vasectomy specimens].

Introduction And Objectives: Urologists often submit the resected tissue from vasectomies for histopathological examination in order to confirm the presence of the vas deferens. Microscopy is simple and based on haematoxylin-eosin staining; however, sample artefacts can sometimes cause confusion and immunohistochemistry can be used to identify the vas deferens.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the utility of immunohistochemical analysis using E-cadherin and GATA-3 to confirm the presence of vas deferens epithelium in 110 vasectomy sections with different artefacts, using monoclonal antibodies and a multimer conjugated with peroxidase based technique; 5 renal arteries and 5 renal veins were stained as negative controls.

Results: Membrane staining was observed for E-cadherin, which was moderate (2.7%) or strong (97.3%) in the vas deferens epithelium in all cases: 35 without artefacts, 7 with denuded epithelium, 56 with compressed/distorted epithelium, 8 with detached epithelium and 4 with displaced epithelium. GATA-3 showed moderate (31%) or strong (69%) nuclear staining in all cases, including the 76 with artefacts. In the control group, arteries and veins were negative for both markers in the endothelium, but GATA-3 occasionally stained lymphocytes in the blood vessel wall.

Conclusions: E-cadherin membrane positivity and GATA-3 nuclear expression are useful for the identification of the vas deferens in vasectomy samples containing artefacts. Vascular endothelium is negative for both markers and any possible GATA-3 staining of the lymphocytes in the blood vessel wall should not be misinterpreted.