ABSTRACT
A 12-year-old castrated male poodle presented with vomiting and diarrhea. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a protruding mass at the caudal pole of the left kidney. Grossly, the poorly circumscribed abnormal mass was 1.6 × 1.8 × 1.9 cm in size and had multifocal dark-red foci. Microscopically, it was composed of densely or loosely packed variable-sized short spindle or ovoid cells. These neoplastic cells showed high pleomorphism, mitotic figures, and invasive tendency to the adjacent tissue. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic spindle cells expressed vimentin, S100, neuron-specific enolase, nerve growth factor receptor, and laminin. Therefore, the mass was diagnosed as a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST). To our knowledge, this is the first report of primary renal MPNST in a dog.
Subject(s)
Dog Diseases , Nerve Sheath Neoplasms , Neurofibrosarcoma , Dogs , Male , Animals , Neurofibrosarcoma/veterinary , Nerve Sheath Neoplasms/veterinary , Nerve Sheath Neoplasms/pathology , S100 Proteins/metabolism , Kidney/pathology , Dog Diseases/pathologyABSTRACT
When a cell is destined for apoptosis, will its genome reprogram its transcriptional machinery to overcome the life-threatening challenge? To address this issue, we performed a genome-wide transcriptome analysis in EPO (erythropoietin) deprivation-induced apoptotic erythroid cells using the SAGE method. The results show that the transcript contents for the majority of the genes remain unchanged in the apoptotic cells, including the apoptotic genes and the heat shock genes. Of the small number of genes with an altered expression, they are mainly associated with cellular structure. Our study reveals that there is no genetic reprogramming for the transcriptional machinery in the apoptotic genome. Apoptosis, as defined by programmed cell death, is not a crisis but a peaceful physiological process.