Dr Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia.
Vet Pathol. 2011 Mar;48(2):475-81. doi: 10.1177/0300985810380398. Epub 2010 Sep 22.
The number of Tasmanian devils in the wild is rapidly declining owing to a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Although progress has been made to understand the spread of this disease, crucial research on the pathogenesis of DFTD has been limited because of the threatened status of the host species. Here, the authors describe the development of a NOD/SCID (nonobese diabetic / severe combined immunodeficiency) mouse model that reproduces DFTD and provides a much-needed model to undertake studies into this intriguing transmissible cancer. Histologically, the DFTD produced in NOD/SCID mice (xenografted DFTD) was indistinguishable from the DFTD identified in Tasmanian devils. At the protein level, all xenografted DFTD tumors expressed periaxin, a marker that confirmed the diagnosis of DFTD. The karyotype of DFTD in NOD/SCID mice reproduced similar chromosomal alterations as seen in diseased devils. Furthermore, each NOD/SCID mouse inoculated with cultured DFTD tumor cells developed tumors, whereas DFTD did not develop in any of the inoculated immune-competent BALB/c mice.
由于一种可传播的癌症——袋獾面部肿瘤疾病（DFTD），野生袋獾的数量正在迅速减少。尽管在了解这种疾病的传播方面已经取得了进展，但由于宿主物种受到威胁，DFTD 发病机制的关键研究受到了限制。在这里，作者描述了一种 NOD/SCID（非肥胖型糖尿病/严重联合免疫缺陷）小鼠模型的开发，该模型可重现 DFTD，并为进行这项有趣的传染性癌症研究提供了急需的模型。从组织学上看，NOD/SCID 小鼠中产生的 DFTD（异种移植 DFTD）与在袋獾中发现的 DFTD 无法区分。在蛋白质水平上，所有异种移植的 DFTD 肿瘤都表达了周围神经蛋白，这一标志物证实了 DFTD 的诊断。NOD/SCID 小鼠中的 DFTD 核型重现了与患病袋獾中相似的染色体改变。此外，每只接种培养的 DFTD 肿瘤细胞的 NOD/SCID 小鼠都发展出了肿瘤，而在任何接种的免疫功能正常的 BALB/c 小鼠中，DFTD 都没有发展。
