Immunohistochemical localisation of 14-3-3 sigma protein in normal canine tissues

The 14-3-3 sigma protein, also called stratifin, belongs to the highly conserved family of 14-3-3 acid proteins, which are involved in the modulation of diverse signal transduction pathways. Loss of 14-3-3 sigma expression has been observed in several types of human cancers, suggesting that it may have a role as a tumour suppressor gene. The 14-3-3 sigma protein has been localised in normal human tissues exclusively in various epithelial cell types. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression and the distribution pattern of 14-3-3 sigma by immunohistochemical analysis in normal canine tissues. Immunohistochemical expression of 14-3-3 sigma was demonstrated in several normal canine tissues with some minor differences of distribution pattern compared with human tissues. It appears that 14-3-3 sigma is a very specific epithelial cell marker in normal canine tissues.