Summary
Papillomaviruses are small oncogenic DNA, able to infect humans, as well as many species of wild and domestic animals, causing cutaneous and mucosal hyperproliferative lesions, which under the influence of favoring factors may suffer malign transformation. Since the bovine papillomavirus constituted a useful animal model in elucidating the pathogenic and oncogenic mechanisms underlying the cancer development, especially the cervical cancer in women, this research aims to perform an analysis by molecular biology techniques (IHC, PCR assay, zymography, Western Blot) of the matrix metalloproteinase enzyme family, their inhibitors and vascular endothelial factor in bovine cutaneous tumors induced by papillomaviruses. The knowledge of expression of examined MMPs, TIMPs and VEGF would allow us to better understand the etiopathogenetic mechanism(s) responsible for progression and promotion to bovine fibropapillomas, bovine urothelial tumors and equine sarcoid, all induced by Bovine Papillomaviruses. Cattle affected by urothelial tumors and cutaneous fibropapillomas as well as sarcoid affected equids could be of value to investigate new therapeutic strategies useful in comparative pathology. Therefore, a profound knowledge of this proteolytic system may lead to the development of new strategies for inhibition of MMPs in papillomavirus-induced epithelial neoplasms.