Expression of glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase pi in canine mammary tumors.

BACKGROUND: Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most important agents of the antioxidant defense system of the cell because, in conjunction with the enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione S transferase pi (GSTpi), it plays a central role in the detoxification and biotransformation of chemotherapeutic drugs. This study evaluated the expression of GSH and the GSH-Px and GSTpi enzymes by immunohistochemistry in 30 canine mammary tumors, relating the clinicopathological parameters, clinical outcome and survival of the bitches. In an in vitro study, the expression of the genes glutamate cysteine ligase (GCLC) and glutathione synthetase (GSS) that synthesize GSH and GSH-Px gene were verified by qPCR and subjected to treatment with doxorubicin, to check the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical expression of GSH, GSH-Px and GSTpi was compared with the clinical and pathological characteristics and the clinical outcome in the bitches, including metastasis and death.The results showed that high immunoexpression of GSH was correlated to the absence of tumor ulceration and was present in dogs without metastasis (P < 0.05). There was significant correlation of survival with the increase of GSH (P < 0.05). The expression of the GSH-Px and GSTpi enzymes showed no statistically significant correlation with the analyzed variables (p > 0.05). The analysis of the relative expression of genes responsible for the synthesis of GSH (GCLC and GSS) and GSH-Px by quantitative PCR was done with cultured cells of 10 tumor fragments from dogs with mammary tumors.The culture cells showed a decrease in GCLC and GSS expression when compared with no treated cells (P < 0.05). High GSH immunoexpression was associated with better clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: Therefore, high expression of the GSH seems to play an important role in the clinical outcome of patients with mammary tumors and suggest its use as prognostic marker. The in vitro doxorubicin treatment significantly reduces the expression of GCLC and GSS genes so we can consider them to be candidates for predictive markers of therapeutic response in mammary cancer.

Short interspersed CAN SINE elements as prognostic markers in canine mammary neoplasia.

The genome of mammals is characterized by a large number of non-LTR retrotransposons, and among them, the CAN SINEs are characteristics of the canine species. Small amounts of DNA freely circulate in normal blood serum and high amounts are found in human patients with cancer, characterizing it as a candidate tumor-biomarker. The aim of this study was to estimate, through its absolute expression, the number of copies of CAN SINE sequences present in free circulating DNA of female dogs with mammary cancer, in order to correlate with the clinical and pathological characteristics and the follow-up period. The copy number of CAN SINE sequences was estimated by qPCR in 28 female dogs with mammary neoplasia. The univariate analysis showed an increased number of copies in female dogs with mammary tumor in female dogs >10 years old (p=0.02) and tumor time >18 months (p<0.05). The Kaplan-Meier test demonstrated a negative correlation between an increased number of copies and survival time (p=0.03). High amounts of CAN SINE fragments can be good markers for the detection of tumor DNA in blood and may characterize it as a marker of poor prognosis, being related to female dogs with shorter survival times. This estimate can be used as a prognostic marker in non-invasive breast cancer research and is useful in predicting tumor progression and patient monitoring.