title: Relationship between the expression of versican and EGFR, HER-2, HER-3 and CD44 in matrix-producing tumours in the canine mammary gland.
abstract: Versican is an extracellular matrix proteoglycan that has been identified as a modulator of adhesion loss, cell motility, and tumour progression. This motility results from the interaction between versican and cell surface receptors. Studies have also demonstrated the relationship between this molecule and invasion in canine mammary tumours. Given the evidence for the participation of proteoglycans in tumour progression, this study aimed to assess versican expression and its association with cell surface receptors; human epidermal growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3 (EGFR, HER-2, and HER-3) and CD44 through an immunohistochemical analysis of benign mixed tumours (BMTs), carcinomas in mixed tumours (CMTs), and carcinosarcomas (CSs) of the canine mammary gland. Malignant tumours were divided into low and high groups with respect to versican stromal expression. The results indicated that the BMTs showed weak stromal versican expression and correlations between the expression of stromal versican and EGFR in the epithelial membrane in benign areas (p=0.013, r=0.571). A higher stromal versican expression was observed adjacent to invasive epithelial areas compared with in situ areas in CMTs and CSs, suggesting a direct relationship between versican expression and invasiveness. Furthermore, the CSs exhibited a higher expression of HER-2, cytoplasmic HER-3, and CD44 in epithelial invasive cells in cases of higher stromal versican expression. Therefore, the cell surface receptors (HER-2, HER-3, and CD44) are more evident in CSs that overexpress versican in stroma adjacent to the invasive areas. These findings suggest that the association between these molecules may be directly related to the biological behaviour and invasiveness of these canine mammary tumours.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG and Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Gonçalo Moniz Research Center, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Damasceno
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Clinics, School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Estrela-Lima
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bosco
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Clinics, School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analyses, School of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: A L B
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.affiliation: Fepagro Animal Health, Instituto de Pesquisa Veterinária Desidério Finamor (IPVDF), Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bertagnolli
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. cassalig@icb.ufmg.br.
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Cassali
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D053675:Versicans / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3; D053675:Versicans