Background: Although Ki-67 is not included among the grading criteria in the current WHO Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System (CNS), it provides valuable, albeit limited, prognostic information. Immunohistochemistry for Ki-67 can reveal uneven proliferation patterns and assist in the assessment of mitotic counts. Several studies indicate that meningiomas with a proliferation index > 4% show recurrence rates comparable to CNS WHO grade 2 (atypical) tumors, while tumors with an index > 20% are associated with mortality rates similar to CNS WHO grade 3 (anaplastic) meningiomas. Issues related to Ki-67 assessment include interobserver variability, the use of different cut-off values among pathologists, and the presence of a complex inflammatory tumour microenvironment, which may lead to an overestimation of the proliferative index (PI). Methods: In this study, we describe how Double Staining Immunohistochemistry (dIHC) with EMA/Ki-67 better highlights neoplastic meningothelial cells compared with single-stain evaluation. Furthermore, the application of Digital Pathology provides quantitative digital data that allow a more accurate assessment of proliferation. Results: Ki-67 expression varied by grade, with digital image analysis (dIHC) showing high agreement with manual assessments. dIHC improved accuracy in evaluating diagnostic and proliferative markers within tumor samples. Conclusions: dIHC combined with DP can support and standardize the evaluation of the proliferative index in meningiomas in routine diagnostic practice.
Peripheral nerve injuries affect over one million individuals annually worldwide due to various causes such as trauma, metabolic disorders, and autoimmune diseases. While autologous nerve grafting remains the gold standard for treating large-gap nerve injuries, its limitations, including limited tissue availability, donor site morbidity, infection risk, and suboptimal functional recovery, have spurred interest in alternative approaches. Among these, allogeneic nerve grafting has emerged as a promising option, offering structural and functional advantages due to the native architecture of donor nerves. However, immune rejection due to histocompatibility antigens remains a significant challenge. Decellularisation protocols utilising mild detergents have shown the most promise in preserving the extracellular matrix’s structural and regenerative properties while mitigating immunogenicity. The study aimed to adapt and validate a decellularisation protocol for human nerves within our tissue bank, adhering to European and national regulatory guidelines. The protocol, based on the cleanroom-compliant method previously developed by our group, was optimised to reduce tissue handling time and ensure regulatory compliance. Decellularised sural nerves were assessed for extracellular matrix preservation and sterility using European (EU) Pharmacopoeia and European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) guidelines. The results demonstrated the feasibility of producing high-quality acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) that are suitable for peripheral nerve repair, paving the way for cost-effective and widely accessible grafting solutions.
Background Although several studies showed that high immunohistochemical Ki-67 index negatively influences the clinical course of meningiomas, especially in grade 1 and 2 neoplasm, the 5th edition of the World Health Organi-zation (WHO) Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System does not recognize it as a prognostic crite-rion. Issues related to Ki-67 assessment include interobserver variability, different cut-off values used by pathologists and the presence of a complex inflammatory tumour microenvironment, that may overestimate the proliferative index (PI). Methods In this paper, we described as Double Staining Immunohistochemistry (dIHC) EMA/Ki-67 highlights only neoplastic meningocytes better tha single slices evcaluation; then the application of Dig-ital Pathology (DP) can provide digital information for a more accurate count. Results and Future prospective dIHC and DP can support and standardize the evaluation of PI in meningiomas in daily routine.
Telepathology enables remote diagnostic consultation through digital image transmission and is particularly valuable in settings where subspecialty experti