Background: The human high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) has attracted considerable interest among oncologists because it sensitises cancer cells to the anticancer drug cisplatin by shielding cisplatin-DNA adducts from nucleotide excision repair.
Materials and methods: Since cisplatin is the cornerstone of adjuvant systemic therapy for osteosarcomas, in both humans and dogs, the expression pattern of the HMGB1 gene in seven canine sarcomas was investigated by Northern blot analysis and semi-quantitative RT-PCR.
Results: A strong intertumoural variation of HMGB1 expression was detected by Northern blot analysis and confirmed by the semi-quantitative RT-PCR established herein.
Conclusion: The observed variations of HMGB1 expression in canine sarcomas emphasises the role of HMGB1 as a potential marker of clinical interest as its expression level may predict the clinical outcome of therapies based on cisplatin. The semi-quantitative RT-PCR established allows a quick and convenient determination of the HMGB1 expression level as necessary for clinical applications.