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Stains & CD markers
Caldesmon

Author: Lauren N. Stuart, M.D., M.B.A.

Last author update: 1 June 2013

Last staff update: 17 June 2021

Copyright: 2003-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: caldesmon

Table of Contents

Cite this page: Stuart L. Caldesmon. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/stainscaldesmon.html. Accessed December 27th, 2024.

Definition / general

Caldesmon binds calcium, calmodulin, tropomyosin and actin and regulates smooth muscle contraction (Int J Biochem Cell Biol 1997;29:1047)
Regulates smooth muscle contraction and relaxation
May play a role in preventing unwanted contractions (Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2009;297:H1930)
Interpretation: cytoplasmic staining
h-caldesmon is high molecular weight isoform, found in smooth muscle cells; l-caldesmon isoform is distributed in non-muscle cells (J Biol Chem 1991;266:355)

Uses by pathologists

Very useful to distinguish smooth muscle cells / lesions (positive) from myofibroblastic cells / lesions (negative or only a few cells positive, Am J Clin Pathol 2000;114:746, Am J Dermatopathol 2006;28:105)
Distinguish uterine leiomyoma or leiomyosarcoma (positive) from endometrial stromal tumors (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:455), but endometrial stromal tumors may have focal smooth muscle differentiation (Am J Surg Pathol 2002;26:1142)
Sensitive and specific for epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma (positive) versus ovarian serous carcinoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:1139) and epithelioid pleural mesothelioma (positive) versus pulmonary adenocarcinoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2006;30:463)

Microscopic (histologic) images

Images hosted on other servers:

Colon-pericrytal fibroblast sheath (fig A)

Leiomyosarcoma, soft tissue

Positive staining - normal

Smooth muscle cells (vascular, visceral)

Positive staining - disease

Angioleiomyoma (Hum Pathol 2007;38:645), gastrointestinal stomal tumor (61%, Pathol Oncol Res 2005;11:11), glomus tumor (Hum Pathol 1999;30:392), inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (focal, Am J Surg Pathol 2006;30:1502)
Leiomyoma / leiomyomatosis (Eur J Gynaecol Oncol 2004;25:481), leiomyosarcoma (Am J Surg Pathol 2004;28:178, Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:455, but see Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 2001;9:302)
Myopericytoma (Am J Surg Pathol 2006;30:104), perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (Int J Gynecol Pathol 2005;24:341), sclerosing PEComa (92%, Am J Surg Pathol 2008;32:493)

Negative staining - normal

Endometrium, endometrial stroma, myofibroblasts (J Submicrosc Cytol Pathol 2005;37:231), pericytes

Negative staining - disease

Cellular angiofibroma (Mod Pathol 2011;24:82), dermatomyofibroma (J Cutan Pathol 2011;38:967), endometrial stromal tumor (references above), fibromatosis, inflammatory myofibroblastic sarcoma-epithelioid (Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:135)
Mesothelial tumors of peritoneum, myofibroblastoma (Pathology 2005;37:144), myofibroblastic lesions (Int J Surg Pathol 2005;13:57)
Nodular fasciitis, ovarian serous tumors, PEComa-primary cutaneous (Am J Surg Pathol 2008;32:608) pleural malignant mesotheliomas (96%, Am J Surg Pathol 2010;34:627)
Rhabdomyosarcoma (Am J Surg Pathol 2005;29:1106), synovial sarcoma (Am J Surg Pathol 2002;26:1434)

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