Immunohistochemical studies of proliferation cell markers and DNA mutation in bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to immunocharacterize Bovine Ocular Squamous Cell Carcinoma neoplastic cells, in terms of proliferation index and DNA damage, using two human primary antibodies anti- Ki67 antigen of the cell cycle and anti- p53. Ki67 is a nuclear antigen expressed in dividing cells during late G1, G2, S-phase and M-phase that disapears rapidly after mitosis. p53 is a tumor supressor protein that plays a key role in the control of the DNA damage acting as a supressor of tumour cell proliferation, enhancing genetic stability. Mutation of the gene that codes for p53 provides an extended intracellular half-life of the protein and greater stability, therefore increasing its expression. Tumours for this study were obtained at the slautherhouse, in Ponta Delgada, Azores. A total of thirty samples were colected from eighteen bovine. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in parafin embeded sections of formalin fixed material, using the Avidin-Biotin-Peroxidase method (ABC). Primary antibodies used were anti-human p53 (NCL – p53 CM-1, NOVOCASTRA, UK) and anti-human Ki67 (NCL – Ki67p, NOVOCASTRA, UK), both policlonal. Positivity for both Ki67 and p53 was evaluated quantitatively and semi-quantitatively, respectively