Nestin is an intermediate filament expressed in proliferating neural progenitor cells and has been considered as a stem cell marker.
Nestin is also found in
melanoma and we recently demonstrated that its expression in
melanoma cell lines is regulated by the
transcription factors SOX9 and SOX10, but not BRN2. In this study, the expression levels of
nestin, BRN2, SOX9 and SOX10 were analysed in tissues of
melanoma (n = 78) and
melanocytic nevi (n = 26) by immunohistochemistry. All
proteins were highly expressed in primary and metastatic
melanomas and, apart from BRN2, showed much lower levels in
melanocytic nevi. Significant coexpression of
nestin with SOX9 and SOX10 was found in primary
melanoma confirming our in vitro data. Correlation analysis with clinicopathological data revealed that
nestin was significantly associated with presence of ulceration in primary
tumors and SOX9 with more advanced stage of disease. Our data reveal that SOX9 and SOX10 are highly expressed in
melanoma and seem to have a regulatory role in
nestin expression. The association with ulceration and advanced-stage
tumors, respectively, suggests that
nestin and SOX9 may be negative prognostic markers in
melanoma.