Uncovering the origin of multicentric canine mastocitomas: a mutational analysis

• Grant number: 18/25236-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Heidge Fukumasu
• Grantee: Victor Falveno Martins
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/02493-7 - Mammary tumors of dogs and the cancer stem cell theory: a comparative and translational approach, AP.JP

Abstract

Mast cell tumor (MCT) is the most common cutaneous neoplasm in dogs, originated from mast cells, with a single presentation, but sometimes manifested in multiple forms. The tumor is characterized by the accumulation of mutations and the most common exchanges is deletions and insertions of nucleotides. Among these mutations, the vast majority have no biological effect on tumor development, but a few have the capacity to direct tumor development, being called "drivers" or causal. Currently, one of the approaches to improve the knowledge about cancer is the bioinformatics applied to the large volume of data generated by next generation sequencing, either RNA or DNA of tumors. Therefore, bioinformatics tools have proven fundamental to research the changes that occur in tumors, including mutations, profiles of gene expression, biological processes and the interaction between them. Thus, in this project the objective will be to understand the origin of multicentric cutaneous MCTs in dogs by analysis of potential causal and transient mutations obtained from the transcriptome analysis. RNA-seq data from two cases of cutaneous MCT with multiple presentation will be used, being one with 3 and another with 2 tumors. The mutational profile of these tumors will be compared to determine the degree of similarity between tumors of the same animal and from this analysis we can confirm the hypothesis that multiple tumors have the same origin or not.