A novel rapid detection method for a single-nucleotide substitution mutation derived from canine urothelial and prostatic carcinoma cells present in small amounts in urine sediments

For early detection of canine urothelial and prostatic carcinoma, we intend to develop and commercialize a simple and rapid detection method for the BRAF V595E mutation, a known mutation in this cancer. Detection of the single-nucleotide substitution in cancer cells contained in urine sediments is effective for early cancer diagnosis. However, urine sediment also contains many normal cells, and when there is a small relative composition of cancer cells, the mutation is difficult to detect by conventional methods other than next-generation sequencing. Our new detection method enables reliable discrimination with the same labor and cost as the PCR method. We compared the results of our new method with the results of the conventional Sanger method for 38 canine urine sediment samples, and the results of 34 samples were consistent between both methods. The remaining four results were all determined to be negative by the Sanger method and positive by our new method. For these four samples, the ratio of the mutated gene to the wild-type gene was estimated using a third-generation sequencer, and the ratio of the mutated gene was 0.1%-1.4%. We postulate that the Sanger method gave a negative result because of the low abundance of the mutated gene in these samples, proving the high sensitivity of our new method.

Relationship of microsatellite instability to mismatch repair deficiency in malignant tumors of dogs

BACKGROUND

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a type of genomic instability caused by mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) in tumors. Studies on dMMR/MSI are limited, and the relationship between dMMR and MSI is unknown in tumors of dogs.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to identify the frequency of dMMR/MSI by tumor type and evaluate the relationship between dMMR and MSI in tumors of dogs.

ANIMALS

In total, 101 dogs with 11 types of malignant tumors were included.

METHODS

We extracted DNA from fresh normal and tumor tissues. Twelve microsatellite loci from both normal and tumor DNA were amplified by PCR and detected by capillary electrophoresis. Each microsatellite (MS) was defined as MSI if a difference in product size between the tumor and normal DNA was detected. The dMMR was evaluated by immunohistochemistry with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. Next, we confirmed whether dMMR induces MSI by serial passaging of MMR gene knockout cell lines for 3 months.

RESULTS

Microsatellite instability was detected frequently in oral malignant melanoma. The number of MSI-positive markers was higher in cases with dMMR than in those with proficient MMR (P < .0001). Statistical analysis indicated that the occurrence of MSI in FH2305 might have relevance to dMMR. Furthermore, MSI occurred in dMMR cell lines 3 months after passaging.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE

Microsatellite instability and dMMR more frequently were found in oral malignant melanoma than in other tumors, and dMMR has relevance to MSI in both clinical cases and cell lines.

Polymerase chain reaction-based detection of myc transduction in feline leukemia virus-infected cats

Feline lymphomas are associated with the transduction and activation of cellular proto-oncogenes, such as c-myc, by feline leukemia virus (FeLV). We describe a polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of myc transduction usable in clinical diagnosis. The assay targets c-myc exons 2 and 3, which together result in a FeLV-specific fusion gene following c-myc transduction. When this assay was conducted on FeLV-infected feline tissues submitted for clinical diagnosis of tumors, myc transduction was detected in 14% of T-cell lymphoma/leukemias. This newly established system could become a useful diagnostic tool in veterinary medicine.

AKT capture by feline leukemia virus

Oncogene-containing retroviruses are generated by recombination events between viral and cellular sequences, a phenomenon called "oncogene capture". The captured cellular genes, referred to as "v-onc" genes, then acquire new oncogenic properties. We report a novel feline leukemia virus (FeLV), designated "FeLV-AKT", that has captured feline c-AKT1 in feline lymphoma. FeLV-AKT contains a gag-AKT fusion gene that encodes the myristoylated Gag matrix protein and the kinase domain of feline c-AKT1, but not its pleckstrin homology domain. Therefore, it differs structurally from the v-Akt gene of murine retrovirus AKT8. AKT may be involved in the mechanisms underlying malignant diseases in cats.

Mitotic activation of c-Src is suppressed by Csk

The kinase activity of the proto-oncogene product, c-Src, increases during mitosis through partial dephosphorylation of Tyr527, the negative regulatory site of c-Src. To examine whether or not Csk, a candidate kinase specific for Tyr527, is involved in this regulation, we developed a Balb/c 3T3 cell line overexpressing Csk and a Csk-deficient cell line. The overexpression of wild-type Csk caused significant suppression of the c-Src activity during mitosis. A membrane-targeted Csk, which has an amino-terminal myristylation signal of c-Src, exhibited an effective suppression of the c-Src activity, even though its expression level was lower than that of endogenous Csk. Concomitant with the suppression of the c-Src activation, the level of tyrosine phosphorylation of a cortactin-related protein, a potential substrate of c-Src in vivo, was reduced. In contrast, the Csk-deficient cells exhibited constitutive activation of c-Src, which showed no significant change in its activity during mitosis. These results suggest that Csk indeed participates in the regulation of the c-Src activity during mitosis.

Relationships between trunk rotation and arm swing in human walking

In order to correlate the trunk rotation and arm swing with walking, the angular change of the horizontal rotation of the shoulder and pelvic girdle, and of the arm swing during one stride were recorded simultaneously in connection with the ground reaction force (GRF). The pelvic girdle rotated clockwise early in the left stance phase and then described a counter-clockwise rotation, while the shoulder girdle rotated in an opposite direction to the pelvic girdle. The shoulder girdle rotation, however, stopped transiently in accordance with the acceleration phase in the GRF. The maximum extension of the arm swing was coincident with the immobility period of the shoulder girdle. From above findings, it may be concluded that the arm swing is affected by the acceleration force of the contralateral through counter-rotation of the trunk, and that the stability of the upper body is maintained by stopping of the shoulder girdle rotation.