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Using histology, all rabbit mammary adenocarcinomas show areas with non-neoplastic myoepithelial cells (ME cells) and areas of invasive carcinoma: (A) Depicted is an area composed of neoplastic cells arranged in tubular and cystic structures (asterisks) with multifocal infiltration of the stroma (thin arrows). Hematoxylin-eosin (HE)-stained (B) tubular structures are lined by tumor cells (thin arrow) and are surrounded by ME cells. These are spindle-shaped (white arrowhead) or cuboidal to polygonal (black arrowhead). The thick arrow labels a tumor cell with a mitotic figure.
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Most mammary tumors in pet rabbits are carcinomas; prognostic factors are unknown. The aim of this study on rabbit mammary carcinomas was to determine the expression of myoepithelial markers that have a prognostic relevance in human cancers. Mammary carcinomas (n = 119) of female or female-spayed pet rabbits were immunostained for cytokeratin AE1/A...
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Context 1
... hematoxylin-eosin-stained tissue section-in addition to epithelial areas entirely composed of tumor cells-all rabbit mammary carcinomas contained nests of tumor cells delineated by spindle-shaped, cuboidal, or polygonal cells, suggestive of retained non-neoplastic ME cells (Figure 2). Epithelial tumor areas and the involved epithelial cell populations were further characterized by immunohistochemistry and image analysis. ...
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... CK-positive area was significantly larger than the epithelial tumor areas positive for SMA (p = 5.11 × 10 −3 ), vimentin (p = 1.06 × 10 −5 ), and calponin (p = 9.17 × 10 −9 ). The stained areas for SMA, vimentin, and calponin showed a mild, gradual increase in size ( Figure S2). The medians for the positive areas of vimentin (47.95%) and SMA (45.08%) were similar, whereas the median of calponin (52.53%) was higher, and CK showed the highest median value (78.09%) (Table 3; Figure S2). ...
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... stained areas for SMA, vimentin, and calponin showed a mild, gradual increase in size ( Figure S2). The medians for the positive areas of vimentin (47.95%) and SMA (45.08%) were similar, whereas the median of calponin (52.53%) was higher, and CK showed the highest median value (78.09%) (Table 3; Figure S2). Similar results were obtained by consideration not only of the size of the immunopositive area, but also of the obtained staining intensities. ...
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... CK-positive area was significantly larger than the epithelial tumor areas positive for SMA (p = 5.11 × 10 −3 ), vimentin (p = 1.06 × 10 −5 ), and calponin (p = 9.17 × 10 −9 ). The stained areas for SMA, vimentin, and calponin showed a mild, gradual increase in size ( Figure S2). The medians for the positive areas of vimentin (47.95%) and SMA (45.08%) were similar, whereas the median of calponin (52.53%) was higher, and CK showed the highest median value (78.09%) (Table 3 and Figure S2). ...
Context 5
... stained areas for SMA, vimentin, and calponin showed a mild, gradual increase in size ( Figure S2). The medians for the positive areas of vimentin (47.95%) and SMA (45.08%) were similar, whereas the median of calponin (52.53%) was higher, and CK showed the highest median value (78.09%) (Table 3 and Figure S2). Similar results were obtained by consideration not only of the size of the immunopositive area, but also of the obtained staining intensities. ...
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... Materials: The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/740/s1, Figure S1: Negative and positive controls for the immunostaining of rabbit mammary carcinomas for cytokeratin AE1/AE3, smooth muscle actin, vimentin and calponin, Figure S2: Image analysis to determine immunopositive areas for smooth muscle actin, vimentin, calponin and cytokeratin AE1/AE3, Figure S3: Median values for smooth-muscle actin-, vimentin-and calponin-immunostaining of spindle-shaped and hyperplastic non-neoplastic myoepithelial cells, Figure S4: Association between percentages of spindle-shaped and hypertrophic myoepithelial cells and the age of the rabbits, Figure S5: Scatter plots to depict the relationship between calponin-positive tumor cells and the size of the tumor area with a tubular growth or the mitotic count, respectively. ...
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Citations
Sheep, cows, cats, and rabbits are kept by humans for agricultural purposes and as companion animals. Much of the mammary research in these species has focussed on mastitis in the case of ruminants and rabbits, and mammary tumourigenesis in cats and rabbits. However, similarities with the human breast suggest that these species may be currently underutilised as valuable comparative models of breast development and disease. The mammary gland undergoes cyclical postnatal development that will be considered here in the context of these non-traditional model species, with a focus on the mammary microenvironment at different postnatal developmental stages. The second part of this review will consider mammary tumour development. Ruminants are thought to be relatively ‘resistant’ to mammary tumourigenesis, likely due to multiple factors including functional properties of ruminant mammary stem/progenitor cells, diet, and/or the fact that production animals undergo a first parity soon after puberty. By contrast, unneutered female cats and rabbits have a propensity to develop mammary neoplasms, and subsets of these may constitute valuable comparative models of breast cancer.
Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) serve as prognostic biomarker in human breast cancer. Rabbits have the potential to act as animal model for human breast cancer, and close similarities exist between the rabbit and human immune system. The aim of this study is to characterize TILs in pet rabbit mammary carcinomas and to statistically correlate results with histological and immunohistochemical tumor characteristics. Microscopic evaluation of TILs was performed in hematoxylin and eosin stained sections of 107 rabbit mammary carcinomas according to international guidelines for human breast cancer. Data on histological features of malignancy, estrogen and progesterone receptor status and calponin expression were obtained from the data base. This study revealed a statistical association between stromal TILs in the central tumor (CT) and infiltrative margin. Higher maximal percentages of stromal TILs at the CT were statistically correlated with decreased mitotic count and lower tumor grade. An increased number of calponin positive tumor cells was statistically associated with a lower mitotic count and a higher percentage of stromal TILs. Results suggest that higher percentages of stromal TILs are useful biomarkers that may point toward a favorable prognosis in rabbit mammary carcinomas and support the concept of the use of rabbits for translational research.
