Relationship of microsatellite instability to mismatch repair deficiency in malignant tumors of dogs

Background Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a type of genomic instability caused by mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) in tumors. Studies on dMMR/MSI are limited, and the relationship between dMMR and MSI is unknown in tumors of dogs. Objectives We aimed to identify the frequency of dMMR/MSI by tumor type and evaluate the relationship between dMMR and MSI in tumors of dogs. Animals In total, 101 dogs with 11 types of malignant tumors were included. Methods We extracted DNA from fresh normal and tumor tissues. Twelve microsatellite loci from both normal and tumor DNA were amplified by PCR and detected by capillary electrophoresis. Each microsatellite (MS) was defined as MSI if a difference in product size between the tumor and normal DNA was detected. The dMMR was evaluated by immunohistochemistry with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. Next, we confirmed whether dMMR induces MSI by serial passaging of MMR gene knockout cell lines for 3 months. Results Microsatellite instability was detected frequently in oral malignant melanoma. The number of MSI-positive markers was higher in cases with dMMR than in those with proficient MMR (P < .0001). Statistical analysis indicated that the occurrence of MSI in FH2305 might have relevance to dMMR. Furthermore, MSI occurred in dMMR cell lines 3 months after passaging. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Microsatellite instability and dMMR more frequently were found in oral malignant melanoma than in other tumors, and dMMR has relevance to MSI in both clinical cases and cell lines.