title: Cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 expression in urothelial carcinomas of the urinary bladder in cows.
abstract: Bovine urinary bladder tumors occur frequently in animals suffering from chronic enzootic hematuria because of prolonged ingestion of bracken fern (Pteridium spp.). Cyclooxygenase (COX) genes (COX-1 and COX-2) are known to be involved in the carcinogenesis of human and some animal urothelial tumors. The aim of the present study was to investigate COX-1 and COX-2 expression by immunohistochemical methods in 20 bovine urothelial carcinomas collected at public slaughterhouses from cows that had been suffering from chronic enzootic hematuria. COX-1 immunostaining was identified intracytoplasmically in normal urothelium and in 15 of 20 neoplastic specimens. COX-1 immunosignal in the tumor cells was either absent or weak. COX-2 was also expressed intracytoplasmically in 17 of 20 urothelial carcinomas. Moderate to intense COX-2 labeling was detected in both noninvasive and invasive urothelial carcinomas. Coexpression of both enzyme isoforms was also revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopic investigations. This study indicates that COX-2 is overexpressed in naturally occurring urothelial carcinomas of cows.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Animal Health, General Pathology Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Federico II University of Naples, Via Veterinaria 1, 80137 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Borzacchiello
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ambrosio
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Galati
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perillo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roperto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019459:Urothelium / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases