Expression of c-yes oncogene product in various animal tissues and spontaneous canine tumours

An immunohistochemical study of various visceral organs of normal adult dog s, cats, pigs, horses, cows, and chickens (five of each species) and of 185 spontaneous canine tumours was carried out using paraffin wax sections and a commercially available antibody to the human c-yes oncogene product. Amo ng the adult normal tissues of six animal species, epithelial cells of the proximal and distal renal tubules, the myocardium, hepatocytes, cerebellar Purkinje cells and adrenal cortical cells were positive for c-yes product. Among the foetal tissues of dogs and chickens, a positive reaction was obse rved on canine chorionic villi cells and chick yolk sac surface epithelium, and on epithelial cells of the renal tubules, hepatocytes and the myocardi um. These findings suggest that the c-yes proto-oncogene may play a physiol ogical role in the cell growth and metabolism of these adult and foetal tis sues. Of the 185 tumours tested, 59 (31.9 per cent) expressed the c-yes onc ogene product. The c-yes-positive tumours accounted for 44.4 per cent (12/2 7) of the skin tumours, 5.5 per cent (1/18) of the round cell tumours, 35.7 per cent (10/28) of the soft tissue tumours, 21.4 per cent (3/14) of the t esticular tumours, 29.1 per cent (23/79) of the mammary tumours, and 52.6 p er cent (10/19) of the other tumours types. Expression of the c-yes oncogen e appeared to be common in spontaneously arising canine tumours, and the de gree of expression varied considerably by tumour type.