Molecular Characterisation of Trefoil Factor 1 from Cases of Canine Mammary Tumour

Canine mammary tumours (CMT) are among the most common neoplasms in female dogs and exhibit variable biological behaviour, necessitating the identification of reliable molecular biomarkers. Trefoil Factor 1 (TFF1) has been studied extensively in human cancers and has been found to be an important prognostic marker associated with tumour growth and progression. The present study was aimed to characterise TFF1 in canine mammary tumours tissues collected from clinical cases (n=10). Histopathological examination revealed diverse tumour patterns, including tubulopapillary carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, and stromal desmoplasia, indicating varying degrees of malignancy. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated variable cytoplasmic TFF1 expression in neoplastic epithelial cells, ranging from strong to weak immunoreactivity among different tumour subtypes, indicating heterogeneous protein expression within canine mammary tumours. At the molecular level, the canine TFF1 gene was successfully amplified, cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis showed 100% nucleotide identity with the published canine TFF1 sequence, while phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a high degree of conservation among mammalian species, particularly within the Carnivora lineage, highlighting its evolutionary significance.