Mateusz MIKIEWICZ, Iwona DOMAGALA OTROCKA, Katarzyna CZAPULA PAZDZIOR, Anna MIKOLAJCZYK, Agnieszka BLACHA, Michal GESEK

Immunohistochemical evaluation of canine and felineMerkel cell tumors a report of two cases

Merkel cell tumors, a type of cutaneous round-cell tumors, are rarely observed in dogs and cats. This tumor type originates from cutaneous neuroendocrine cells. In the present study, the morphology of canine and feline Merkel cell tumors and their immunoexpression of neuron-specific enolase, cytokeratin, chromogranin A, Ki67, and metallothionein were evaluated using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. The canine Merkel cell tumor displayed a diffuse morphological pattern, whereas the feline tumor displayed a solid morphological pattern. Both tumors were positive for neuron-specific enolase and cytokeratin, but negative for chromogranin A. The Ki67 indexes in the canine and feline tumors were 7% and 25%, respectively. The expression of metallothionein was minimal in both tumors. In conclusion, this paper describes the detailed histopathological and immunohistochemical features of uncommon canine and feline Merkel cell tumors, including metallothionein expression, which has never been studied in such tumors pre v i ou s ly.

PDF

___

1. Lowell DL, Roberts J, Gogate P, Goodwin R. Merkel cell carcinoma: case study and literature review. J Foot Ankle Surg 2014; 53: 219225.
2. Munde PB, Khandekar SP, Dive AM, Sharma A. Pathophysiology of Merkel cell. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol 2013; 17: 408412.
3. Gross TL, Ihrke PJ, Walder EJ, Affolter VK. Skin Diseases of the Dog and Cat. Clinical and Histopathologic Diagnosis. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing; 2005.
4. Bagnasco G, Properzi R, Porto R, Nardini V, Poli A, Abramo F. Feline cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma (Merkel cell tumour): clinical and pathological findings. Vet Dermatol 2003; 14: 111115.
5. Joiner KS, Smith AN, Henderson RA, Brawner WR, Spangler EA, Sartin EA. Multicentric cutaneous neuroendocrine (Merkel cell) carcinoma in a dog. Vet Pathol 2010; 47: 10901094.
6. Konno A, Nagata M, Nanko H. Immunohistochemical diagnosis of a Merkel cell tumor in a dog. Vet Pathol 1998; 35: 538540.
7. Cherian MG, Apostolova MD. Nuclear localization of metallothionein during cell proliferation and differentiation. Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand) 2000; 46: 347356.
8. Pattanaik A, Shaw CF 3rd, Petering DH, Garvey J, Kraker AJ. Basal metallothionein in tumors: widespread presence of apoprotein. J Inorg Biochem 1994; 54: 91105.
9. Martano M, Carella F, Squillacioti C, Restucci B, Mazzotta M, Lo Muzio L, Maiolino P. Metallothionein expression in canine cutaneous apocrine gland tumors. Anticancer Res 2012; 32: 747752.
10. Dincer Z, Jasani B, Haywood S, Mullins JE, Fuentealba IC. Metallothionein expression in canine and feline mammary and melanotic tumours. J Comp Pathol 2001; 125: 130136.
11. Gumulec J, Raudenska M, Adam V, Kizek R, Masarik M. Metallothionein immunohistochemical cancer biomarker: a meta-analysis. PLoS One 2014; 9: e85346.
12. Werynska B, Pula B, Muszczynska-Bernhard B, Piotrowska A, Jethon A, Podhorska-Okolow M, Dziegiel P, Jankowska R. Correlation between expression of metallothionein and expression of Ki-67 and MCM-2 proliferation markers in non-small cell lung cancer. Anticancer Res 2011; 31: 28332839.
13. Kim JS, Jung J, Lee HJ, Kim JC, Wang H, Kim SH, Shin T, Moon C. Differences in immunoreactivities of Ki-67 and doublecortin in the adult hippocampus in three strains of mice. Acta Histochem 2009; 111: 150156.
14. Gil da Costa RM, Rema A, Pires MA, Gärtner F. Two canine Merkel cell tumours: immunoexpression of c-KIT, E-cadherin, beta-catenin and S100 protein. Vet Dermatol 2010; 21: 198201.
15. Jirásek T, Matej R, Pock L, Knotková I, Mandys V. Merkel cell carcinoma--immunohistochemical study in a group of 11 patients. Cesk Patol 2009; 45: 913.
16. Okada D, Kawamoto M, Koizumi K, Tanaka S, Fukuda Y. Immunohistochemical study of the expression of drug-resistant proteins in large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung. Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003; 51: 272276.
17. Sabattini S, Bassi P, Bettini G. Histopathological findings and proliferative activity of canine sebaceous gland tumours with a predominant reserve cell population. J Comp Pathol 2015; 152: 145152.
18. Kramer E, Herman O, Frand J, Leibou L, Schreiber L, Vaknine H. Ki67 as a biologic marker of basal cell carcinoma: a retrospective study. Isr Med Assoc J 2014; 16: 229232.
19. Lowe K, Khithani A, Liu E, Winston T, Christian D, Saad J, Jeyarajah DR. Ki-67 labeling: a more sensitive indicator of malignant phenotype than mitotic count or tumor size? J Surg Oncol 2012; 106: 724727.
20. Kusewitt DF. Neoplasia and tumor bilology. In: Zachary JF, McGavin MD, editors. Pathologic Basis of Veterinary Disease. 5thed. St. Louis, MO, USA: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. pp. 289320.