Antibody List, A - F Antibodies

AE1/AE3

AE1/AE3 is often referred to as “pan” cytokeratin, and is most commonly used to identify carcinomas, which present as morphologically undifferentiated malignant neoplasms.  AE1/AE3 is also commonly used to identify micrometastatsis in sentinel lymph nodes, bone marrow, etc, and is probably the most used screening keratin antibody cocktail.
 
The AE1/AE3 cocktail contains CK1-8, 10, 14-16, and 19.  It does not contain CK17 or CK18.  This is why CAM5.2 may also used in a pan-CK cocktail.  Given that AE1/AE3 is not completely sensitive for “all” cytokeratins, if a suspected carcinoma or undifferentiated tumor does not express AE1/AE3, then additional cytokeratin markers (e.g. CAM5.2 and/or 34BetaE12) may be helpful to maximize keratin expression sensitivity.
 
Moll, RT, et al.  Cytokeratin expression in various tumors.
Tumor
CK8/CK18
CK19
CK7
CK20
CK5
Hepatocellular Ca.
+
+/-
+/-
+/-
=
Colorectal ACA
+
+
+/-
+
=
Stomach ACA
+
+
+/-
+/-
=
Pancreas Ductal ACA
+
+
+
+/-
+/-
Lung ACA
+
+
+
=
=
Breast Inv. Ductal
+
+
+
=
+/-
Endometrium ACA
+
+
+
=
+/-
Ovary ACA 
+
+
+
=
=
RCC, Clear Cell Type
+
+/-
=
=
=
RCC, Papillary Type
+
+
+
=
=
RCC, Chromophobe
+
+/-
+
=
=
Mesothelioma
+
+
+/-
=
+
Lung, Small Cell Ca.
+
+/-
=
=
=
Merkel Cell Ca.
+
+
=
+
=
Urothelial Carcinoma
+
+
+
+/-
+/-
Squamous Cell Ca.
+/-
+/-
=
=
+
Key:  “+/-“, focal staining in some cases. “=“, negative, “+”, positive.
Microscopic Images
AE1/AE3 - Adenocarcinoma
AE1/AE3 highlighting an invasive adenocarcinoma.
AE1/AE3 - Colon Adenocarcinoma
AE1/AE3 expression in a poorly differentiated sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma with signet ring features.
AE1/AE3 - Thymoma
AE1/AE3 expression in a thymoma.
AE1/AE3 - Renal Cell Carcinoma
AE1/AE3 expression in a metastatic renal cell carcinoma (more variable expression).
AE1/AE3
AE1/AE3 (pancytokeratin) expression in small bowel tissue.
References:
Miller, RT, “Cytokeratin AE1/AE3”.  ProPath The Focus Immunohistochemistry.  November 2003. http://www.ihcworld.com/_newsletter/2003/focus_nov_2003.pdf
 
Hadi, AIMM Annual Meeting, “The Thirty Most Important Antibodies”, presentation, 2011.
  
Moll, R., Divo, M., & Langbein, L. (2008). The human keratins: biology and pathology. Histochemistry and Cell Biology, 129(6), 705–733. doi:10.1007/s00418-008-0435-6