Characterization of β-catenin expression in canine osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most frequently occurring malignant primary bone tumour in dogs and children and arises from cells of the osteoblast lineage. Inappropriate Wnt signalling activity has been implicated in human OSA. Altered expression of β-catenin, an integral member of the Wnt signalling pathway, has been associated with numerous human cancers, including OSA. In this study, 30 of the 37 primary canine OSA tissues and 2 of the 3 metastatic OSAs were positive for β-catenin expression as determined by immunohistochemistry, whereas 2 normal bones stained negative for β-catenin. No mutations were identified in exon 3 of β-catenin in the three OSA cases in which DNA sequencing was performed. Finally, there was no relationship between β-catenin expression and overall survival time or disease-free interval. Our results indicate β-catenin is frequently expressed within the cytoplasm of neoplastic cells in canine OSA but contains no detectable mutations in exon 3, similar to human OSA.