Investigating the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in feline injection site sarcoma

BACKGROUND: Feline injection-site sarcomas (FISSs) are malignant mesenchymal tumors of different histotypes. The pathogenesis of FISS has been correlated with chronic inflammation, resulting in neoplastic transformation. Activation of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) have been demonstrated to play a critical role in tumor development by regulating signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, survival, metastasis, and angiogenesis in human medicine. To characterize the role of STAT3 in FISS, we first detected STAT3 and phosphorylated STAT3 in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) FISS tissues using immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: STAT3 was detected in 88.9% (40/45) of FISS cases, and phosphorylated STAT3 was detected in 53.3% (24/45) of cases. However, the expression levels of both forms of STAT3 were not correlated with tumor grade. To study the role of STAT3 in tumor survival, two primary cells derived from FISSs of two cats exhibiting consistent immunophenotypes with their parental FFPE tissues were established. A dose-dependent inhibitory effect on cell proliferation was observed in both primary FISS cells treated with the STAT3 inhibitor, 5-hydroxy-9,10-dioxo-9,10-dihydroanthracene-1-sulfonamide. CONCLUSIONS: The STAT 3 may play an important role in the tumorigenesis of FISS and be a potential molecular therapeutic target for FISS. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-022-03352-y.