title: Expression of vimentin filaments in canine malignant mammary gland tumors: A simulation of clinicopathological features of human breast cancer.
abstract: Canine malignant mammary gland tumors (CMMGTs) are the most common malignancies observed in females. Several biological similarities have been reported between CMMGTs and human breast cancer (HBC). The present study aimed to assess the correlation of vimentin filaments overexpression, as part of the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the clinicopathological characteristics in CMMGTs. The clinicopathological characteristics of 42 CMMGTs were collected. Paraffin-embedded blocks underwent immunohistochemistry staining, which was performed using vimentin (to assess the evolution of the EMT process), Ki-67 (for evaluation of tumor proliferation) and cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34) (for evaluation of angiogenesis) antibodies. The tumor stage, grade, vascular invasion, margin status, rate of expression of the vimentin filaments, microvessel density-CD34 and proliferation rate data were obtained. Finally, the association between the expression of the vimentin filaments and those parameters was resolved statistically. A significant association was shown between the overexpression of the vimentin filaments and tumor size (r=0.71, P=0.03), tumor grade (r=0.80, P=0.021), angiogenesis (r=0.57, P=0.043), proliferation coefficient (r=0.06, P=0.001) and vascular invasion (r=0.76, P=0.043). Vimentin overexpression did not statistically correlate with the tumor stage or the margin status. Similar to the findings of the present study, certain recent studies have indicated that vimentin filament expression in HBC and CMMGTs is associated with the severity of cancer. Thus, spontaneous canine mammary tumor models appear to be an appropriate animal model for breast cancer research, and the results of the present study could aid to reinforce the association.
authors: Cancer Models Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran 1419733141, Iran.
authors: Sanaz
authors: S
authors: Rismanchi
authors: Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 14515/775, Iran.
authors: Orly
authors: O
authors: Yadegar
authors: Research Center for Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1419733141, Iran.
authors: Samad
authors: S
authors: Muhammadnejad
authors: Cancer Models Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran 1419733141, Iran.
authors: Saeid
authors: S
authors: Amanpour
authors: Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran 1177-19615, Iran.
authors: Masoud
authors: M
authors: Taghizadeh-Jahed
authors: Cancer Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran 1419733141, Iran.
authors: Ahad
authors: A
authors: Muhammadnejad
keywords: breast neoplasms; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; intermediate filaments; mammary neoplasms