In this study, we aimed to compare and correlate the PCNA, MMP-9 and p53 expressions and differentiation degree of bovine ocular squamous cell carcinomas (BOSCCs) by immunohistochemical methods. The material of this study was composed of BOSCC biopsy samples taken from 30 cattle brought to our department. Tissue samples were fixed in 10% buffered formalin, processed routinely, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 5 μm, and stained with hematoxylin & eosin in order to detect histopathological changes. Sections were examined and photographed under a light microscope. Avidin-biotin-peroxidase method was used for immunohistochemistry. Macroscopically the masses were nodular to cauliflower-like shaped. The surfaces of the masses were highly hemorrhagic and ulcerative, and sometimes covered with a purulent discharge. Histopathologically, we defined cases with excessive and large numbers of keratin pearls, large tumoral islands, and evident squamous differentiation as well-differentiated. Cases with smaller tumoral islets, decreased number and size of keratin pearls, but higher number of poorly-differentiated cells compared to well-differentiated cases were defined as moderately-differentiated. Tumors in which keratinization was either absent or formed in individual cells were classified as poorly-differentiated. Statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant difference between well, moderately, and poorly differentiated tumors in terms of PCNA and MMP-9 expressions, but we found that the increase in p53 expression negatively correlated with the degree of differentiation of the tumor. In conclusion, we think that p53 can be a useful marker in determining the prognosis of BOSCCs.

Background: Canine distemper virus (CDV) is highly contagious disease that affects dogs despite several control measures. This study was aimed at investigating the presence of CDV nucleic acid in different clinical and tissue materials, from naturally infected dogs, by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and to molecularly characterize distemper strains according to the partial Nucleoprotein (NP) gene sequence. Furthermore, tissue samples under went histopathological examination for distemper infection. Methods: A total of 202 different diagnosis materials were collected from dogs (n=60) in the Kars region in northeastern Turkey. The samples were tested for CDV using RT-PCR with primers designed for the CDV NP gene. Samples determined as positive for CDV (n=7) were sequenced. Tissue samples underwent histopathological examination. Result: Most of the cases were in animals aged 0-6 months. The most common clinical finding was severe respiratory system infection. This finding was accompanied by gastrointestinal and nervous system infections. CDV nucleic acid was detected in 112 of 202 materials by RT-PCR. According to RT-PCR results, positivity rates of 88.2% (30/34), 72.2% (13/18), 60% (3/5), 55.5% (10/18), 55.5% (10/18), 51.6% (16/31), 45.5% (5/11), 37.8% (14/37) and 36.7% (11/30) were detected in nasal swab, lung, footpad, kidney, spleen, rectal swab, cerebrospinal fluids (CSF), leuokocyte and cerebellum samples, respectively. Viral nucleic acids were detected at higher rates in nasal swabs. The phylogenetic assessment of the amplicon sequences revealed a 97.7%-100% similarity among the Turkish CDV strains, which are independent from vaccine strains, were found to be more closely related to the European lineage. Intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies were detected by histopathology. This is the first study to investigate CDV in naturally infected dogs from northeastern Turkey and to provide novel and updated epidemiological information.

Fibropapilloma is the most common neoplasic formation associated with bovine papillomavirus type I. It occurs inside the penis of bulls and causes clinically adverse effects, such as phimosis, paraphimosis, urethral stricture, and urinary retention. This study aimed to conduct a clinical and immunohistochemical evaluation of penile tumors, which are associated with adverse outcomes with regard to breeding value and yield in bulls.A total of 40 bulls of different breeds aged between 10 months to 3 years were included in the study. Tumor tissue samples collected postoperatively were fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde solution. The avidin–biotin–peroxidase method was used for immunohistochemical staining. Three separate areas were examined under 40X objective lens for each fibropapilloma tissue. The immunoreactivity was classified as none (-), mild (+), moderate (++), and severe (+++). Fibropapillomas ranged from 2 to 10 cm in diameter. Thirty-two papillomas were pedunculated and eight were sessile and attached to the body; 30 were solitary and 10 were multiple. There were 13 relapsed cases and 27 non-relapsed cases. Immunohistochemical examination revealed a statistically significant difference in the binary comparisons of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) based on positive cell scoring between the relapsed and non-relapsed cases. As a result, it was concluded that the clinical data together with the cancer markers, which were used in the immunohistochemical evaluation and were of great importance in terms of the prognosis of penile tumors that caused significant economic losses, are useful parameters in evaluating the malignancy of penile tumors.

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This study aimed to evaluate the expression of PCNA, p53, MMP-9, Vimentin and S100 immunohistochemically and determine the aggressiveness in diagnosis of bovine melanomas. The material of this study consisted of melanoma biopsy samples taken from 10 cattle brought to our department. Tissue samples from cattle were fixed in 10% buffered formalin solution. After routine procedures paraffin blocks were cut sections of 5 μm thickness. For bleaching, some heavily pigmented tumour sections were deparaffinized, hydrated, and incubated in 10% solution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for 5 hours at 65 o C until sections appeared clear and Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining was applied to the sections to detect histopathological changes. Sections were examined and photographed under a light microscope. Avidin-Biotin Peroxidase was used as the immunohistochemical method. We observed that the tumoral mass was solitary, firm, hairless, oval-round shaped and quite large. We detected spindle and epithelioid type tumoral cells containing a lot of large brownish-black granular melanin pigments in their cytoplasm. All melanoma cases were immune positive for S100, Vimentin, PCNA, p53 and MMP-9 expressions. In conclusion, we think that these immunohistochemical markers are quite convenient in evaluating the prognosis and diagnosis of bovine melanomas.