chondroitin-sulfates and Hyperplasia

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

To demonstrate the usefulness of iron colloid-enhanced MR images in differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from hyperplastic nodules (HN), microautoradiographs of chemically induced rat liver tumours were prepared 4 h after intravenous injection of chondroitin sulphate iron colloid (CSIC) labelled with 59Fe by the dipping technique. 20 Wistar rats were allocated into three groups: (1) a normal group, 10; (2) an HN group, 5; and (3) a liver cancer (LC) group, 5. In the I.C group, a diet containing 0.06% 3'-methydiaminobenzine tetrahydro-chloride (DAB) was administered for 3 months. In the HN group, a diet containing 0.025% acetylaminofluorene (AAF) was administered for 4 months. Non-labelled CSIC was intravenously injected into five rats in the normal group, and pseudomicroautoradiographs were prepared using the same technique (normal cold group). 50 sites for examination were randomly selected for each of the normal liver tissue, HN, well-differentiated HCC (HCC-W), and moderately to poorly-differentiated HCC (HCC-MP). The number of Kupffer cell-like macrophages and the photosensitized area ratio (PAR) per field of view were calculated. There was no significant difference in either the number of Kupffer cell-like macrophages or the PAR between HN and normal liver tissue. Although there was no significant difference in the number of these cells between groups HN and HCC-W, the PAR in group HCC-W was significantly lower than that in group HN (p = 0.045). In HCC-MP, both their number (p = 0.003) and the PAR (p = 1.18 x 10(-9)) were significantly lower than in group HCC-W. However, the PAR in HCC-MP was significantly higher than those in the normal cold group (p = 0.019). Iron colloid-enhanced MRI is useful for differentiating HCC from HN, and for diagnosing the degree of HCC differentiation.

Topics: Animals; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Chondroitin Sulfates; Colloids; Diagnosis, Differential; Hyperplasia; Liver Neoplasms; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Pharmacologic control of intimal hyperplasia has been attempted through oral and intravenous administration of smooth muscle cell inhibitors. We report a more direct method of altering arterial healing using a novel bioresorbable membrane that can be applied to the lumen of an artery or anastomosis following endarterectomy or vascular reconstruction. Following a standard balloon injury, the infrarenal aortas of 3 kg female New Zealand white rabbits were opened and a thin membrane composed of collagen/chondroitin 6-sulfate copolymer was sutured to the posterior wall of each artery. Animals were killed at intervals of up to 3 months. All arteries remained patent. By 24 hours the membrane had become infiltrated with fibrin and red blood cells. An inflammatory response ensued and by 8 days the membrane was filled with mononuclear cells. At 3 months only a small remnant of the membrane remained. Intimal hyperplasia developed throughout the injured aorta. However, the hyperplastic response beneath the membrane was no greater than that observed in the adjacent injured aorta. A bioresorbable membrane can be sutured into the lumen of a small-diameter vessel without inducing thrombosis and without locally increasing intimal hyperplasia. A prosthesis of this type might be used to deliver inhibitors of smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration to the injured arterial wall.

Topics: Absorption; Animals; Bioprosthesis; Chondroitin Sulfates; Collagen; Female; Hyperplasia; Membranes, Artificial; Prostheses and Implants; Rabbits; Thrombosis; Tunica Intima; Vascular Surgical Procedures; Wound Healing

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) synovial fluid was aspirated from normal control subjects and patients undergoing surgery for TMJ dysfunction. The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composition of this fluid was analysed and compared with the clinical diagnosis and histological appearance of the condylar tissues. Changes in GAG composition were observed where a histologically hyperplastic response was seen in joint tissues, but these findings did not necessarily correlate with the initial clinical diagnosis. It is suggested that the fluid composition reflects the current metabolic activities of the tissues and may provide a useful marker of such processes.

Topics: Adult; Chondroitin Sulfates; Female; Glycosaminoglycans; Humans; Hyaluronic Acid; Hyperplasia; Male; Mandibular Condyle; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis; Pilot Projects; Synovial Fluid; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders; Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome

The efficacies of standard heparin (SH), low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), and a mixture of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (Org 10172) were investigated with respect to their inhibitory effects on intimal thickening after endothelial injury in the common carotid artery of the rat. The injury was induced by air infusion into an isolated segment of the artery; the pharmacologic agents were administered by continuous intravenous infusion. After 2 weeks the animals were killed and the arteries examined. The control animals developed a marked intimal thickening. A dose-dependent decreases in the intima to media area (I-M) ratio was seen after SH, with approximately 50% and 90% inhibition of intimal thickening at doses of 5 and 50 USP U/kg/hr, respectively. At these effective doses, the effect of SH was associated with reendothelialization of the injured area. The effects of LMWH and Org 10172 were similar to that of SH at doses of 50 anti-Xa U/kg/hr, but these agents had only about 40% inhibition at doses of 15 anti-Xa U/kg/hr. The activated partial thromboplastin times were slightly prolonged in the animals treated with 50 USP/anti-Xa U/kg/hr of SH, LMWH, and Org 10172, whereas significant anti-Xa levels were observed at doses higher than 15 USP/anti-Xa U/kg/hr. It is concluded that SH, LMWH, and Org 10172 have significant inhibitory effects of intimal thickening after injury even at nonanticoagulant levels, with SH being the most potent.

Topics: Animals; Blood Coagulation; Carotid Arteries; Cell Division; Chondroitin Sulfates; Dermatan Sulfate; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endothelium, Vascular; Glycosaminoglycans; Heparin; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; Heparinoids; Heparitin Sulfate; Hyperplasia; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains