Spontaneous Intestinal Adenocarcinoma in a Blue Gularis Fundulopanchax sjostedti: an Immunohistochemical Study

Abstract

A spontaneous intestinal adenocarcinoma in a 3-year-old blue gularis Fundulopanchax sjostedti with a history of swelling of the trunk and anorexia is described. At necropsy, there was a large, firm, irregular mass originated from the intestine and distending the abdominal cavity. Histologically the intestinal mass showed proliferation of neoplastic epithelial cells arranged in irregularly shaped islands and dense sheets with papillotubular ingrowths. Immunohistochemically the neoplastic cells expressed cytokeratin AE1/AE3, PCNA and interestingly the mutant p53 protein. On the basis of the histopathological and immunohistochemical features, an intestinal adenocarcinoma was diagnosed. The expression of the mutant p53 protein in tumour cells may demonstrate its role in neoplastic transformation of enterocytes as observed in human cancers.