Abstract
Podoplanin (PDPN), a small transmembrane mucin-like glycoprotein, is ectopically expressed. It is also known to be linked with several aspects of tumor malignancy in some types of human tumors, including invasion, metastasis, and cancer stemness. However, there are few reports on the expression of dog PDPN (dPDPN) in canine tumors, and the association between dPDPN and tumor malignancy has not been elucidated. We identified that 11 out of 18 types of canine tumors expressed dPDPN. Furthermore, 80% of canine malignant melanoma (MM), squamous cell carcinoma, and meningioma expressed dPDPN. Moreover, the expression density of dPDPN was positively associated with the expression of the Ki67 proliferation marker. The silencing of dPDPN by siRNAs resulted in the suppression of cell migration, invasion, stem cell-like characteristics, and cell viability in canine MM cell lines. The suppression of cell viability was caused by the induction of apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. Overall, this study demonstrates that dPDPN is expressed in various types of canine tumors and that dPDPN silencing suppresses cell viability through apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, thus providing a novel biological role for PDPN in tumor progression.
Highlights
Podoplanin (PDPN), known as PA2.26, gp38, T1α, and Aggrus, is a small transmembrane mucin-like glycoprotein [1,2,3]
We demonstrated that dPDPN was expressed in many types of canine tumors
These results indicate the importance of exploring the link between dPDPN and the tumorigenesis and/or malignancy of canine tumors
Summary
Podoplanin (PDPN), known as PA2.26, gp, T1α, and Aggrus, is a small transmembrane mucin-like glycoprotein [1,2,3]. PDPN is expressed in various types of normal cells such as renal podocytes, pulmonary type I alveolar cells, lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs), osteocytes, mesothelial cells, glia cells, some types of neurons, and fibroblasts [1,2,3]. PDPN has been reported to have various roles, which are dependent on cell type and the timing of its expression [2]. PDPN expression plays a crucial role in organogenesis by regulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) [2]. In adult human epidermal keratinocytes and fibroblasts, PDPN promotes cell motility through the modification of actin cytoskeleton organization [6,7]. In adult immune cells, PDPN regulates the immune system and the inflammatory microenvironment by regulating various types of cytokines [8,9]
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