title: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in canine intracranial meningiomas.
abstract: Meningiomas are the most common canine intracranial tumour. Neurologic disability and death from treatment failure remain problematic despite current surgical and radiotherapeutic treatments for canine intracranial meningiomas. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) over-expression has been demonstrated in multiple canine malignancies, and COX-2 inhibitory treatment strategies have been shown to have both preventative and therapeutic effects in spontaneous and experimental models of cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate COX-2 expression in canine intracranial meningiomas. Immunohistochemical and Western blot (WB) analyses showed COX-2 expression in multiple tissues of the normal canine brain, and 87% (21/24) of intracranial meningiomas studied were immunoreactive to COX-2. No significant associations between COX-2 immunoreactivity and tumour grade were identified. Further studies are required to elucidate the physiologic roles of constitutive COX-2 expression in the central nervous system as well as its participation in meningioma tumourigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. jrossmei@vt.edu
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rossmeisl
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Geiger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004285:Dogs; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D008579:Meningioma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2