chondroitin-sulfates and Adenoma

Changes in the production and structure of glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans have been reported in many neoplastic tissues, and versican and hyaluronan (extracellular matrix components) are frequently increased in tumours and promote tumour progression. The distribution of chondroitin sulphate, versican and hyaluronan in normal canine colonic wall (n=10), and normal colonic lymph nodes (n=10), colonic adenomas (n=22), colonic adenocarcinomas (n=28), colonic undifferentiated carcinomas (n=7), and colonic lymph node metastases (n=8), was examined, with antibodies against chondroitin sulphate and versican, and a specific biotinylated probe for hyaluronan. The epithelial cells of the normal colonic mucosa were negative for all three substances, whereas the stromal tissue and lamina propria were moderately positive for chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronan, and weakly positive for versican. Chondroitin sulphate expression was increased in adenomas and carcinomas. However, there was no significant correlation between grade of tumour and degree of chondroitin sulphate expression. Versican expression was increased in the peritumoral stroma of adenocarcinomas and reduced in adenomas. A significant correlation was observed between grade of tumour and degree of versican expression. In 13 adenocarcinomas and undifferentiated carcinomas with invasion into all layers of the colorectum, the intensity of stromal versican expression was significantly related to the depth of invasion; the intensity was increased in the stroma of tumour islands in deep layers of the colonic wall. Unlike versican expression, hyaluronan expression was increased in the stromal tissue of both adenomas and carcinomas. However, the degree of stromal hyaluronan expression was unrelated to tumour grade and depth of tumour invasion. Hyaluronan was also expressed in the membrane and in the cytoplasm of tumour cells in 3/22 (14%) adenomas, 18/28 (64%) adenocarcinomas and 2/7 (29%) undifferentiated carcinomas. These results suggest that altered levels of both versican and hyaluronan in canine colonic tumours affect tumour progression.

Topics: Adenoma; Animals; Biomarkers, Tumor; Carcinoma; Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans; Chondroitin Sulfates; Colonic Neoplasms; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Hyaluronic Acid; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Lectins, C-Type; Lymph Nodes; Lymphatic Metastasis; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Versicans

Mammary tumours are the most common neoplasias of female dogs and may have a complex histological pattern with both epithelial and spindle cells participating in the transformation process. A frequent feature of these tumours is chondroid or bone metaplasia of the extracellular matrix, which mainly occurs in areas of proliferated spindle-shaped cells, probably of myoepithelial origin. The present study evaluates immunohistochemically the expression of tenascin in 186 surgical samples of canine mammary tissues, ranging from normality to neoplasia. Tenascin was present in all mammary tissues studied, with an increased expression in remodelling situations and in neoplastic lesions. Basement membrane was the most frequently labelled structure, but stromal tissue was more often and widely labelled in neoplastic lesions. The extracellular matrix was positive in solid and anaplastic carcinomas as well as in spindle cell proliferation areas. Tenascin expression in extracellular matrix was also abundant in areas of initial chondroid metaplasia and, with variable extension, in almost all cartilage islands of mixed tumours. In well differentiated secretory areas only apical granules of luminal cells were positive, suggesting a different pattern of tenascin expression during secretory differentiation. The digestion of chondroitin sulphate significantly improved the labelling for tenascin when a co-expression of these two molecules was present. Although our results suggest that tenascin cannot be used as a marker of transformation or of malignancy in canine mammary oncology, it is clear that this molecule plays an important role in proliferation and differentiation processes in the canine mammary gland.

Topics: Adenoma; Animals; Basement Membrane; Carcinoma; Chondroitin Sulfates; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Extracellular Matrix; Female; Hyperplasia; Immunohistochemistry; Mammary Glands, Animal; Mammary Neoplasms, Animal; Precancerous Conditions; Tenascin

The pathobiology of salivary neoplasms can best be studied in a model system that reflects the native state of the tumor. The present study describes the use of a three-dimensional collagen gel (organoid) system in which pleomorphic adenomas of the parotid gland were propagated in vitro. Five pleomorphic adenoma cultures were established as organoid gels and compared with touch-preparations or cryopreserved specimens of native tumor. The organoid cultures demonstrated normal DNA content, the expression of myoepithelial cell proteins, and the production of sulfated acid mucins; these cellular and secretory features mimicked those found in the archival specimens. Further, organoid cultures of pleomorphic adenoma could be initiated after monolayer culture, demonstrating that culture on a plastic support does not alter the nature of the cells. Development of an in vitro culture system that maintains the native state of pleomorphic adenoma is an important tool for studying the pathobiology of these tumors.

Topics: Actins; Adenoma; Adult; Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor; Chondroitin Sulfates; DNA, Neoplasm; Glycosaminoglycans; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Keratins; Middle Aged; Organoids; Parotid Neoplasms; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Topics: Adenoma; Chondroitin; Chondroitin Sulfates; Hyaluronoglucosaminidase; Neuraminic Acids; Neuraminidase; Proteoglycans; Salivary Gland Neoplasms