01422: Targeting iNOS in Canine Oral Melanoma
Grant Status: Closed
Project Summary
Canine oral melanoma (COM) is an aggressive malignancy that arises from structures in the mouths of dogs. In humans, melanomas more commonly start on the skin, but have an aggressive clinical course similar to their canine counterpart. Our laboratory has been interested in two molecules that promote the growth of human melanoma: leptin and iNOS. Our objective in the current study was to determine if leptin and iNOS expression patterns are similar in canine and human melanoma such that clinical and molecular research in this area may provide benefit to both. Tumors from twenty dogs were examined by immunohistochemistry for leptin and iNOS expression. Results showed that, similar to human skin melanomas, leptin expression was medium to strong, and produced by most of the cells in a given COM tumor. In contrast, COM tumors expressed less iNOS. Those with the lowest amount of iNOS tended to have the most malignant features, differing from our experience with human tumors. Additionally we examined several goat melanomas and discovered leptin and iNOS patterns similar to human tumors. We conclude that human, dog, and goat melanomas express leptin at considerable levels, providing data worthy of further investigation into clinical applications. Alternatively, the case is not as clear for iNOS in COM, which may benefit from drugs directed to other targets.
Publication(s)
Greene, V. R., Wilson, H., Pfent, C., Roethele, J., Carwile, J., Qin, Y., … Ellerhorst, J. A. (2013). Expression of Leptin and iNOS in Oral Melanomas in Dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 27(5), 1278–1282. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.12169
Help Future Generations of Dogs
Participate in canine health research by providing samples or by enrolling in a clinical trial. Samples are needed from healthy dogs and dogs affected by specific diseases.