Expression of platelet-derived growth factor and its receptors in spontaneous canine hemangiosarcoma and cutaneous hemangioma
S. Abou Asa1,4, A. Murai1, M. Murakami1,3, Y. Hoshino2,3, T. Mori2,3, K. Maruo2,3, A. Khater4, A. El-sawak4, E. Abd el-Aziz4, T. Yanai1 and H. Sakai1,3
1Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, 2Clinical Oncology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, 3Comparative Cancer Center, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University and 4Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Offprint requests to: Hiroki Sakai, Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan. e-mail: shiroki@gifu-u.ac.jp
Summary. Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is a malignant neoplasia of vascular endothelial cells (ECs). Our previous report on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and their receptors in canine HSA suggested an autocrine/paracrine mechanism of tumor growth. However, the influence of other angiogenic growth factors in canine HSA was not elucidated; therefore, the expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and its receptors was investigated by immunohistochemical analysis. Forty-six canine HSAs and 21 canine cutaneous hemangiomas (HAs) were analyzed. For immunohisto-chemistry, anti-PDGF-BB, anti-PDGFR-α, and anti-PDGFR-ß antibodies were utilized as primary antibodies. Immunoreactivities were scored as strongly positive (>25% positive neoplastic cells), weakly positive (1-25% positive neoplastic cells), and negative if not staining at all. In cutaneous HA, 33.3% and 57.1% of cases were strongly and weakly positive, respectively, and 43.5% and 13.0% of HSAs were strongly and weakly positive for PDGF-BB, respectively. Moreover, 38.1% and 28.6% of cutaneous HAs cases were strongly and weakly positive, respectively, and 23.9% and 4.3% of HSAs cases were strongly and weakly positive, respectively, for PDGFR-α. Thirty-five HSAs cases (76.1%) were strongly positive, and the remaining 11 (23.9%) were weakly positive for PDGFR-ß. In contrast, 18 (72.0%) cutaneous HAs were negative, and only 3 cases (12.0%) were weakly positive, for PDGFR-ß. The proportion of strongly positive cases of HSAs was significantly higher than that of cutaneous HA for PDGFR-ß (P<0.01), while PDGFR-α was highly expressed in cutaneous HA and may be related to pathogenesis of cutaneous HA. Therefore, PDGFR-ß may be associated with the malignant nature of canine HSA. Histol Histopathol 27, 601-607 (2012)
Key words: Dog, Hemangiosarcoma, Immunohisto-chemistry, PDGF-BB, PDGF receptors
DOI: 10.14670/HH-27.601