Figure 1

Immunohistochemical analysis of SMAD4 protein expression in juvenile polyps from patients carrying SMAD4 germline mutations. SMAD4 immunohistochemical analysis of hamartomatous polyps obtained from unrelated Juvenile Polyposis syndrome patients with established SMAD4 germline mutations (see Table 1). Images were taken at 10× (a, c, e, g,) and 40× (b, d, f, h). Filled (black) arrows indicate cells scored as positive, whereas white arrows point to negatives. a-b. Example of a polyp positive for SMAD4 nuclear staining in both the epithelial and stromal compartment (scored as double positive in Table 1). c-d. Polyp with heterogeneous SMAD4 expression pattern with patches of positively and negatively staining epithelial glands. Most of the stromal cells appear negative with few exceptions. This tumor was scored as +/- (epithelial) and – (stromal) in Table 1. e-f. Example of a juvenile polyp with heterogeneous SMAD4 expression in the epithelial compartment but with a more pronounced positive staining of the stromal tumor microenvironment. This tumor was scored as +/- (epithelial) and + (stromal) in Table 1. g-h. Example of a juvenile polyp characterized by negative SMAD4 staining throughout the epithelial cells. In the stromal compartment however, several positively staining cells are present. This tumor was scored as – (epithelial) and + (stromal) in Table 1.