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The matrix of canine mixed mammary tumors (CMMTs) consists of proliferating spindle cells of possible myoepithelial origin, as well as myxomatous tissue, cartilage matrix and/or bone. Among the multiple components of this tumor extracellular matrix, versican probably plays a prominent role due to its importance in tumor progression, cell proliferation and differentiation. However, there are few data related to a possible association between versican expression and the state of myoepithelial cell differentiation in CMMTs. Using immunohistochemistry and histochemistry, the objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of versican, sulfated proteoglycans and mucopolysaccharides in myoepithelial cells at different stages of differentiation and to explore a potential relationship with p63 and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) expression. A significant difference in versican expression was observed among the different stages of myoepithelial cell differentiation with an inverse correlation between versican and p63/SMA expression. These results suggest that at an early stage of proliferation, myoepithelial cells acquire a phenotype consistent with a role in chondrogenesis. Moreover, myoepithelial cells showed an affinity for safranin and periodic acid-Schiff staining at different stages of proliferation supporting the myoepithelial origin of spindle cells from CMMTs.

Background Components of the extracellular matrix have been studied in the attempt to elucidate the mechanisms involved with biological behavior of tumours. The presence of the proteoglycan versican has been strongly associated to cancer development and progression, however its relationship with invasion and tumoral progression has been little studied in veterinary medicine. Carcinomas in benign mixed tumours (CBMT) are one of the most common malignant tumour in female dogs and can serve as a model for studies on tumour progression. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the expression of versican in in situ and invasive carcinomatous areas of CBMT.

Results Of the 22 studied cases, the majority had > 3 cm neoplasms (15/19, 78.95%) and lymph node metastases (16/16, 100%), but only two cases (2/9, 22.2%) had distant metastases. The IMPCs were classified as either pure (15/22, 68.18%) or mixed (7/22, 31.82%) types. A predominance of moderate histological grade (16 grade II) tumours was observed and the average overall survival was 120 days. Positive immunohistochemical staining for EMA and negative staining for CD-31, p63 and CK AE1AE3 in cystic formations confirmed the micropapillary nature of these neoplasms. The majority of cases were positive for RE (19/20, 95%) and RP (19/20, 95%), but lacked HER-2 (16/ 22, 72.72%) and EGFR (15/22, 68.18%) over-expression.

Submitted by Alessandra Estrela-Lima (aestrela@ufba.br) on 2013-05-20T23:19:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Versican expression in canine carcinomas.....pdf: 2455158 bytes, checksum: 726f3cfd8d1b67b41aee82b52cc76492 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Alda Lima da Silva(sivalda@ufba.br) on 2013-05-28T20:01:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Versican expression in canine carcinomas.....pdf: 2455158 bytes, checksum: 726f3cfd8d1b67b41aee82b52cc76492 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-28T20:01:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Versican expression in canine carcinomas.....pdf: 2455158 bytes, checksum: 726f3cfd8d1b67b41aee82b52cc76492 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 Background: Components of the extracellular matrix have been studied in an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the biological behaviour of tumours. The presence of the proteoglycan versican has been strongly associated with cancer development and progression. However, relationship between versican expression and clinical pathological factors and overall survival has not been previously studied in veterinary medicine. Carcinomas in benign mixed tumours (CBMTs) are one of the most common malignant tumours in female canines and can serve as models for studies of tumour progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of versican in in situ and invasive carcinomatous areas of canine CBMTs and to evaluate possible associations of versican expression with other classic prognostic factors and overall survival. Results: Clinical staging; histological grade determination; immunohistochemical staining for versican, E-cadherin and Ki-67; and confirmation of invasion areas by staining for p63 and smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA) were performed on 49 canine cases of CBMT. Tumour invasion was considered when suspicious Haematoxylin-Eosin (HE)-stained areas showed a total loss of α-SMA and p63 immunoreactivity. Versican immunoreactivity was less intense in the areas adjacent to the in situ carcinomatous regions, compared to invasive regions, which showed extensive and strong staining. Conclusions: Our data reveal that in canine CBMTs, versican expression differs significantly between invasive and in situ areas, suggesting a role for this molecule in tumour progression. Although a direct relationship exists between versican and invasiveness, our results indicate that the isolated evaluation of this proteoglycan does not represent an independent prognostic factor in canine CBMTs.