The role of HER2 in canine mammary cancer

While the role of the EGF family (in particular the HER2 receptor) has been well documented in human cancers, its role in the progression of canine mammary cancer is less well understood. Dogs have long been used as models of human disease in the development of human therapeutics, however the animal health market is only just beginning to develop animal-specific therapies. This project aimed to survey the expression of the complete family of EGF receptors and ligands in a range of normal tissues, and also in benign and malignant canine mammary cancers. In addition to this, the functional role of HER2 in maintaining transformed canine mammary cancer cells was also explored through cell proliferation assays, in which cells were treated with specific SMTKls and siRNA. Results showed that the EGF family was well-distributed throughout normal canine tissues - in particular in the GI tract - and that inhibiting HER2 with SMTKls and knocking it down with siRNA caused a decrease in cell proliferation, suggesting the receptor is involved in the growth of canine mammary cancer cells.