title: Expression of Snail2 in long bone osteosarcomas correlates with tumour malignancy.
abstract: Snail2 is a marker of malignancy in epithelial tumours; however, in sarcomas, it is not known if this protein is present. Here we examine the expression of Snail2 in one type of sarcoma, osteosarcoma, and explore its relationship to tumour grade, subtype and anatomical location in cases of long bone and cranial bone osteosarcoma. Long bone osteosarcomas typically have a much greater metastatic capability and a poorer prognosis. We find that Snail2 is expressed in the three main subtypes of long bone osteosarcoma--osteoblastic, chondroblastic and fibroblastic. Regression analysis showed that Snail 2 expression was statistically correlated with tumour grade (p = 0.014) in all of these subtypes. Snail2 was only expressed in high-grade cranial bone osteosarcomas, suggesting a link between Snail2 expression and metastasis. This is the first time Snail2 has been associated with any sarcoma, and this study shows that Snail2 may be a useful prognostic marker for this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, Camden, London NW1 0TU, UK. asharili@rvc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Amir-Shaya
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Sharili
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hargreaves
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Imelda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: McGonnell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit / Q000032:analysis; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit; C000604407:SNAI1 protein, human; C000604450:Snai2 protein, rat; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors