Vimentin is an intermediate filament with a molecular weight of ~58kD, and an average diameter of 10 nm.
Within the same species, the central domain of the filament is 30% homologous to cytokeratin, desmin, neurofilaments, and glial fibrillary acidic protein.
Vimentin is ubiquitously expressed in mesenchymal cells such as fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and endothelium.
It is usually co-expressed with cytokeratin in some epithelial cells such as Sertoli cells.
Vimentin expression may change as a tumor becomes more aggressive, as in the case of hyperplastic prostate where prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia strongly expresses vimentin (91%), but invasive carcinoma is minimally reactive with Mouse anti-Vimentin.
Vimentin is useful as part of an antibody panel for differential diagnostic purposes.
It may be included in an antibody panel for differentiating soft tissue tumors.
For example, co-expression of vimentin and cytokeratin is indicative of epitheloid sarcoma.
In one case, a differential antibody panel using vimentin, cytokeratin, CEA, and EMA distinguished reactive mesothelial cells from malignant epithelial cells in the cytodiagnosis of serous effusions in 39/46 cases (85%).
Applications:Suitable for Western Blot, Immunocytochemistry, Immunofluorescence and Immunohistochemistry.
