Research Article P-Cadherin Expression in Feline Mammary Tissues

Copyright © 2012 Ana Catarina Figueira et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The search for molecular markers in the feline mammary gland, namely, the adhesion molecules belonging to the cadherin family, is useful in the understanding of the development of mammary carcinomas in felines and humans. To study P-cadherin expression in the felinemammary gland, 61 samples of normal (n = 4), hyperplastic (n = 12), and neoplastic (n = 45) felinemammary tissues were examined. In both normal and hyperplastic mammary tissues as well as in benign tumours, P-cadherin immunolabelling was restricted to myoepithelial cells. In malignant tumours, however, there was an aberrant epithelial P-cadherin immunoexpression in 64.1 % (n = 25) of cases, with a membranous and/or cytoplasmic pattern of distribution. A statistically significant relationship was seen between epithelial P-cadherin expression and malignant mammary lesions (P = 0.0001). In malignant mammary tumours, there was likewise a statistically significant relationship between aberrant P-cadherin immunoexpression and histological grade (P = 0.0132). Aberrant epithelial P-cadherin expression seems to be related to malignancy in the feline mammary gland. T