Question:medium
Which of the following is a marker of Langerhans cell histiocytosis?
Which of the following is a marker of Langerhans cell histiocytosis?
Show Hint
Pair it with S-100 and Birbeck granules to spot the Langerhans cell.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- CD1a
- CD10
- CD30
- CD56
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The disease is defined by the cell that drives it, the Langerhans cell, a special dendritic cell of the skin and other tissues. To prove a lesion is Langerhans cell histiocytosis, the pathologist looks for the markers unique to that cell.
The defining surface molecule of the Langerhans cell is CD1a. Alongside it, S-100 protein is positive and langerin (CD207) is positive, and the electron microscope shows the tennis-racket shaped Birbeck granule. Of the four antigens offered, only CD1a belongs to this cell.
Working through the rest helps confirm the choice. CD10 is tied to lymphoid precursors and follicular-centre B cells. CD30 lights up the malignant cells of Hodgkin lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma. CD56 belongs to NK cells and to neuroendocrine tissue. Not one of these three is a dendritic-cell marker.
So the antigen that signals a Langerhans cell origin, and therefore LCH, is clear.
\[\boxed{\text{CD1a}}\]
The defining surface molecule of the Langerhans cell is CD1a. Alongside it, S-100 protein is positive and langerin (CD207) is positive, and the electron microscope shows the tennis-racket shaped Birbeck granule. Of the four antigens offered, only CD1a belongs to this cell.
Working through the rest helps confirm the choice. CD10 is tied to lymphoid precursors and follicular-centre B cells. CD30 lights up the malignant cells of Hodgkin lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma. CD56 belongs to NK cells and to neuroendocrine tissue. Not one of these three is a dendritic-cell marker.
So the antigen that signals a Langerhans cell origin, and therefore LCH, is clear.
\[\boxed{\text{CD1a}}\]
Was this answer helpful?
0
