Authors:

Allison Grace Schimpf

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About Paper:

There are over 80,000 reported cases of human urothelial carcinoma (UC) each year within the United States which contributes to about 17,000 deaths. Human UC research has shown that the tumor immune microenvironment can contain a variable number of mast cells whose presence may be a prognostic indicator for the response to treatment. Certain breeds of dogs such as Scottish and West Highland White terriers have a high incidence of UC which share many histological, morphological and treatment response similarities with human UC. However, little is known about the number and role of mast cells in canine UC. The goal of this project is to classify mast cell involvement within the tumor immune microenvironment of canine UC while determining mast cell association with prognosis for possible subsequent immunotherapy studies. Canine UC samples obtained from patients of the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital were evaluated by histology and immunohistochemistry. Visiopharm AI assisted technology was utilized for mast cell count, location, and structural distances. The recruitment of mast cells into the tumor microenvironment is governed in part by chemokines secreted by tumor cells. Five different canine UC cell lines were propagated in vitro and evaluated by PCR for chemokine expression. This project will establish foundational data validating the use of canine cancer patients as an invaluable model for human cancer immunological research leading to future immunotherapy studies benefiting both people and veterinary patients. Keywords: Mast Cells; Tumor Immune Microenvironment; Urothelial carcinoma

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

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Co-authors:

Allison Grace Schimpf