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Spontaneously Occurring Fibroid Tumors of the Laying Hen Oviduct

W. Berry^*,1, A. Doernte^*, M. Conner, M. Barnes and S. Oates^*

^* Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University, AL 36849; and Department of Pathology, and Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham

¹ Corresponding author: berrywd{at}acesag.auburn.edu

Spontaneously occurring benign uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are the most common tumors of reproductive-age women. It is estimated that more than 70% of all women will develop uterine fibroids, and the presence of these tumors is a primary cause of hysterectomies. Research into the causes and treatment of uterine fibroids is hampered by a lack of reliable animal models for the disease. Leiomyomas that appear to be outwardly similar to human uterine fibroid tumors are known to occur on the oviducts of laying hens over 2 yr of age. The objective of this study was to characterize these tumors and compare them to human uterine fibroids to determine the suitability of the aging hen as a model system for the study of the disease. In this study, hens at 5 yr of age were examined for the presence of oviduct-associated fibroid tumors. Tumors were found attached to the internal surface of the oviduct, embedded in the oviduct wall, or attached to the exterior of the magnum and isthmus. Tumor and normal oviduct samples were frozen or fixed in formalin for histological analyses or immunohistochemistry for estrogen and progesterone receptors, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Bcl-2 protein expression. Human uterine fibroid samples were acquired and evaluated compared with hen oviduct fibroids. The results indicate that laying hen fibroid tumors are similar to human fibroid tumors with respect to estrogen and progesterone receptors, localized cellular proliferation, and expression of the Bcl-2 protein.

Key Words: fibroid • laying hen • avian model • immunohistochemistry • biomarker

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