Novel Canine Tumour Suppressor Gene p53 Mutations in Cases of Skin and Mammary Neoplasms

Exons 4 to 8 of the tumour suppressor gene p53 were analysed in 25 skin and 25 mammary tumours of 50 dogs. A 1 bp deletion (ACCAC) was detected in codon 89 in exon 4 in a squamous cell carcinoma. A missense mutation CGCCAC (argininehistidine) was present in codon 162 in exon 5 in a mammary adenocarcinoma. Moreover, a silent mutation occurred in codon 103 (serine) of exon 4 in a mammary adenoma. The somatic nature of the three mutations was demonstrated.     

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF CANINE MASTITIS

Ultrasonographic images were acquired of the mammary glands of 40 bitches with physiologically lactating (n = 20) or inflamed glands (n = 20). Echogenicity, structure, homogeneity, thickness, and distinguishability of each tissue layer were assessed. Additionally, overall echogenicity was noted. In the normal lactating gland, different tissues could be differentiated easily. The parenchyma was, without exception, separated from adjacent tissues and was visible as medium echogenic tissue with a coarse-grained structure. The tissue always had some echogenic lines and anechoic areas and was slightly heterogeneous. The loss of distinct layering of the tissue was characteristic of an inflamed mammary gland and inflamed regions had reduced echogenicity. Additionally in five bitches with mastitis, the ultrasound examination was repeated five times for documentation of the progress of the illness and associated changes, supplemented with a color Doppler sonogram to assess changes in blood vessel density. Information from the examinations carried out via B-mode did not allow treatment success to be predicted. Two bitches with reduced blood vessel density centrally had a poor outcome whereas three bitches with increased blood vessel density had a good outcome. Thus, Doppler sonography might be a useful tool to obtain information of the prognosis in acute canine mastitis.     

Inhibition of telomerase in canine cancer cells following telomestatin treatment

Telomere shortening in normal somatic cells has been proposed as a major barrier to unlimited cellular proliferation. Telomerase is an enzyme capable of maintaining telomere length, and thus bypassing this barrier. In human beings, telomerase activity is restricted to cancer cells and cells of stem or germ cell lineages. Dogs represent a potentially useful clinical model for the development of telomerase‐based therapies because telomerase activity is also restricted to cancer cells and stem cells in this species. We examined the ability of telomestatin to inhibit telomerase activity in telomerase‐positive D17 and CMT7 canine cancer cell lines. At a concentration of 2 μM, telomestatin treatment resulted in a decrease in telomerase activity, telomere shortening, growth inhibition and apoptosis in telomerase‐positive cancer cells. These effects were not seen in telomerase‐negative skin fibroblasts or negative controls. These results confirm that telomestatin specifically inhibits telomerase activity in canine cancer cells and strengthens the usefulness of dogs as a model for testing telomerase‐based therapies.     

Veterinary cancer registries in companion animal cancer: a review

Current and prior veterinary cancer registries are few in number and scattered. Different inclusion criteria, dissimilar collection methods and variable reference population estimation methods pose obstacles in the comparisons between veterinary and human cancer registries. Veterinary cancer registries have yielded information on the risk and incidence of different cancer types in certain breeds and geographical regions, as well as provided information on genetic and environmental risk factors in some cancers. The objective of this article is to review the prior and current veterinary cancer registries, the information they have contributed and to discuss different issues relating to their structure including inclusion criteria, study populations, reference populations utilized in evaluations, recorded variables and the outcome from these.     

Mammary fibroadenoma in a lamb

A fibroadenoma was diagnosed in the left udder of a 3-month-old female Chios lamb. No recurrence was observed after surgery. Grossly, the tumor had a whitish-gray lobular appearance, and the lobules were interlaced with thin septa. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of proliferating fibroepithelial tissue, including differentiated ducts lined by whorls and interlacing bundles of abundant loose fibrovascular stroma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the ductal epithelium to be positive for pancytokeratin (AE1/AE3) and loose fibrovascular stroma was positive for vimentin and basal cells covering the ductal epithelium of alpha-smooth-muscle actin. Immunostaining for the estrogen and progesterone receptors was negative. A diagnosis of mammary fibroadenoma was made based on the histological and immunohistochemical findings.     

乳腺分泌物中体细胞的研究进展

不同物种的乳腺分泌物中含有的细胞成分被称为体细胞,其中包括淋巴细胞、白细胞、巨噬细胞和上皮细胞。物种、乳腺感染情况、不同生理阶段和饲养管理条件等因素均会影响乳中的体细胞数量和细胞类型。近年来,乳中体细胞得到了人们的关注和深入研究,显示出广阔的应用前景。人们利用从初乳和常乳中得到的乳腺上皮细胞已经成功进行了乳腺细胞的原代培养和建立了乳腺细胞系,为乳生成、被动免疫转移和乳腺癌的研究提供了良好平台。体细胞中提取的RNA代表了乳腺组织的基因表达,因此为研究乳腺组织的基因表达提供了方便、良好的来源。     

桦褐孔菌对肺癌细胞抗增殖和诱导凋亡观察

用MTT法测定桦褐孔菌抗突变活性成分Inotodiol,对人肺癌A549细胞株的增殖抑制作用,20mg.L-1～80mg·L^-1桦褐孔菌的抗突变活性成分Inotodiol对人肺癌A549细胞株有抑制增殖作用,且表现出浓度和时间依赖关系。在倒置显微镜下、HE染色光学显微镜下、AO/EB双染色荧光显微镜下、透射电子显微镜下观察,肿瘤细胞均有体积变小、有凋亡小体。桦褐孔菌的抗突变活性成分Inotodiol可抑制人肺癌A549细胞株的增殖和诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡。     

山羊乳腺上皮细胞的生长特性

用组织块培养法获得山羊乳腺细胞原代培养物。根据山羊乳腺成纤维细胞与上皮细胞对胰蛋白酶的敏感性不同将二者分离纯化，对细胞生长特性进行了光镜观察。结果如下：细胞可形成闭合型细胞群和开放型细胞群。乳腺上皮细胞与成纤维细胞混生时，细胞之间形成许多腔状结构。纯化的乳腺上皮细胞通过单细胞悬浮后传代，部分细胞形成岛屿状聚集，部分细胞以贴壁的自由单个细胞散在形式存在。上皮细胞增殖可形成圆顶型结构，呈乳头状，称之为乳球体；可产生乳腺上皮细胞并分泌乳汁。山羊乳腺上皮细胞含不同的细胞类型．大多数上皮细胞呈短梭形或多角形。细胞之间紧密相靠。互相衔接。连接成片，呈蜂窝状；细胞核呈圆形或椭圆形．核仁2～4枚；部分细胞呈圆饼状，体积较大；出现部分长形细胞；接触抑制的上皮细胞形态不均一。纯化的山羊乳腺上皮细胞传代至第15代时其生长仍正常，经透射电镜观察发现细胞表面微绒毛极为发达，细胞质中线粒体和粗面内质网丰富，细胞质内有大量脂滴及小泡，表明第15代山羊乳腺上皮细胞增殖活力旺盛。染色体数目分析表明．该细胞系稳定，在离体培养条件下细胞不发生转化。山羊乳腺上皮细胞系的细胞染色体数目为60．染色体组型为2n=60。     

转EGFP基因山羊克隆胚的发育

利用脂质体包裹含EGFP基因的质粒,并将之导入山羊乳腺上皮细胞,经G418筛选获得阳性细胞,以阳性细胞作为核供体,利用核移植技术构建转基因克隆胚。结果表明：用转基因山羊乳腺上皮细胞作为核供体,电融合法更适合构建转基因克隆胚。转基因山羊克隆胚体外培养最佳方案是用SOFaa培养液,在培养72 h后加入10%的正常山羊血清（Normal goat serum,NGS）。荧光显微镜下观察到转基因克隆胚中EGFP的表达,大部分克隆胚发育到8-16细胞以后的时期,绿色荧光蛋白才开始逐渐表达,随着发育时间的延长,绿色荧光蛋白的表达也逐渐增强。说明外源基因在胚胎早期发育阶段可以表达,EGFP可以作为报告基因来实现对外源基因整合及表达的监测。     

X光结合B超诊断肝癌晚期病犬

随着宠物诊疗技术和设备的逐渐完善,一些宠物体内外的肿瘤可以通过X光和B超得以发现,并通过病理切片判定肿瘤的性质和可能的生发细胞,为宠物肿瘤病的研究提供临床资料。本文就是对临床检查怀疑患腹腔恶性肿瘤的金毛,采取腹部X光摄影结合B超诊断为肝癌病例的报告,为以后相关病例的诊断和对肿瘤的发生率的统计提供参考。