title: CD117 expression influences proliferation but not survival in canine mammary tumours.
abstract: CD117 is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the c-Kit proto-oncogene. The immunohistochemical expression of CD117 was examined in 49 specimens of canine mammary glands (eight normal/hyperplastic, 11 benign tumours and 30 malignant tumours). Expression was assessed as: (1) presence or absence of CD117; (2) membrane, cytoplasmic, or both, distributions; and (3) percentage of CD117-labelled cells. None of these three immunohistochemical parameters was correlated with the type of mammary tissue (i.e. normal, benign or malignant), histotypes or histological stage of malignant tumours, or survival. An association was observed between Ki67 index and all three CD117 labelling parameters only for malignant tumours, with a significant increase in proliferative activity in tumours expressing CD117, mainly with both cytoplasmic and membrane expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: germana.beha2@unibo.it.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Beha
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benazzi
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Practitioner, Zejtun, Malta.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bondin
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, School of Medicine, 10 South Pine St., MSTF, Suite G-100, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Tolla
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000473:pathology*; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit
keywords: CD117; Ki67 index; dog; mammary tumour