Is there a relationship between the expression of β-catenin and Ki-67 in canine melanocytic neoplasms? Existe relação entre a expressão de β-catenina e Ki-67 em neoplasias melanocíticas caninas?

Abstract

An immunohistochemical evaluation of 26 cutaneous and oral benign and malignant canine melanocytic neoplasms was performed to identify a possible relationship between the expression of the β-catenin molecule with cell proliferation using Ki-67 expression. This molecule is a component of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway, which causes a cascade of intracellular events that activate transduction genes and nuclear transcription. The microscopic evaluation was performed considering the β-catenin labelling site (cytoplasmic, nuclear or mixed). The mitotic index was evaluated by the expression of Ki-67 in 10 high power fields (HPF) (400x). Statistically significant difference was neither detected between the β-catenin labelling sites and the various neoplasms, nor a correlation between the β-catenin molecule and the cell proliferation marker Ki-67 in the oral or cutaneous, benign or malignant neoplasms. Our study brings interesting findings and points to future research on this topic, especially with established variables in the clinical, pathological and immunohistochemical fields