Evaluation of lox and HIF1-alpha expression in hypoxia and normoxia using canine mammary tumor cell culture

• Grant number: 21/14519-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: May 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo de Francisco Strefezzi
• Grantee: Jessika Daniel Urel
• Supervisor: Valentina Zappulli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/12789-1 - Immunohistochemical evaluation of LOX, LOXL2 and HIF1-alpha expression in canine mammary tumors, BP.MS

Abstract

Cancer is the most common cause of death in dogs. Mammary tumours exhibit great histological heterogeneity, preventing the establishment of an accurate prognosis. The histological classification proposed by Goldschmidt and colleagues in 2011 is the most recent reference and is considered the gold standard for defining the prognosis of this disease. With regards to malignancy, the ability to metastasize is related to the capacity of invading collagen matrix and also to the development of a stem cell phenotype which is regulated also by physical conditions such as hypoxia. Collagens are the main fibrous proteins that constitute the ECM. The family of lysyl oxidases, composed of LOX and 4 LOXL enzymes, acts directly in the crosslinking of collagens and elastin, promoting the structural stability of ECM. Oxygen concentrations are markedly reduced in different types of cancer compared to healthy tissue and the main mechanism that mediates adaptive responses to hypoxia is regulated by Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 (HIF-1). The aim of the present research is to characterize the in vitro expression of LOX, and HIF1-alpha proteins in canine mammary and human breast carcinoma cell lines exposed to conditions of hypoxia and normoxia. (AU)