applied sciences Review Immunohistochemical Expression of Wilms’ Tumor 1 Protein in Human Tissues: From Ontogenesis to Neoplastic Tissues Lucia Salvatorelli 1,*, Giovanna Calabrese 2 , Rosalba Parenti 2 , Giada Maria Vecchio 1, Lidia Puzzo 1, Rosario Caltabiano 1 , Giuseppe Musumeci 3 and Gaetano Magro 1 1 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, G.F. Ingrassia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele”, Anatomic Pathology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy;
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[email protected] (G.M.) 2 Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Physiology Section, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy;
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[email protected] (R.P.) 3 Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +39-095-3702138; Fax: +39-095-3782023 Received: 4 October 2019; Accepted: 10 December 2019; Published: 19 December 2019 Abstract: The human Wilms’ tumor gene (WT1) was originally isolated in a Wilms’ tumor of the kidney as a tumor suppressor gene. Numerous isoforms of WT1, by combination of alternative translational start sites, alternative RNA splicing and RNA editing, have been well documented. During human ontogenesis, according to the antibodies used, anti-C or N-terminus WT1 protein, nuclear expression can be frequently obtained in numerous tissues, including metanephric and mesonephric glomeruli, and mesothelial and sub-mesothelial cells, while cytoplasmic staining is usually found in developing smooth and skeletal cells, myocardium, glial cells, neuroblasts, adrenal cortical cells and the endothelial cells of blood vessels.