Characterization of the population of inflammatory cells in breast tumor of dogs

• Grant number: 07/00971-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2007
• End date: May 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos Alessi
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Alessi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Research on spontaneous tumors occurring in domestic animals is considered promising for clarifying important questions in Oncology, with probable repercussion in the study of human neoplasms. The applicability of this type of study is due in principle to the high incidence of breast neoplasms in female dogs and also to the similar biological behavior of these referred neoplasms when compared to human breast neoplasms. Moreover, the interaction tumor-host can have an important role in determining the immune response against the tumor. Research on human tumors suggest that interactions between tumor and host cells can have stimulant and inhibiting effects on anti-tumor immunity, due to the heterogeneous cellular composition of the cells infiltrating the tumor and their different interactions with the tumor cells, with variable prognostic significance. Hence, the objectives of this work are to study the presence of inflammatory cellular infiltrate in the breast tumor; to characterize phenotypically the infiltrate; to find out if T cells have interaction with tumor antigens and to evaluate the state of activation of the T lymphocytes infiltrating tumor (TILs) through the IL-2R expression; to investigate the expression of the MHC; to evaluate the action of TGF-beta in the depression of the immune response; and to correlate these findings with some indicators of prognostic according with the Histology: tumor stage, apoptosis, angiogenesis and also with the markers Ki-67, p-53, estrogen and progesterone receptors. (AU)