Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia.
Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2012;13:207-22. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genom-090711-163852. Epub 2012 May 29.
A fatal contagious cancer is driving an entire species to extinction. Comparative genomics will unravel the origin and evolution of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). The DFTD allograft arose from a Schwann cell in a female Tasmanian devil more than 15 years ago; since then, the tumor has passed through at least 100,000 hosts, evolving and mutating along the way. Tumor genome sequencing and molecular cytogenetic technologies now allow direct comparisons of candidate genes involved in tumorigenesis in human cancers. As a stable transmissible cancer, DFTD provides unique insights into cancer development, progression, and immune evasion and is likely to help increase our understanding of human cancer. In addition, these studies provide hope for discoveries of drug targets or vaccine candidates that will prevent the extinction of this iconic Australian marsupial.
一种致命的传染性癌症正在导致一个物种灭绝。比较基因组学将揭示恶魔面部肿瘤病（DFTD）的起源和进化。DFTD 异体移植起源于 15 年前一只雌性袋獾的施万细胞；从那时起，肿瘤已经在至少 10 万个宿主中传播，在此过程中不断进化和突变。肿瘤基因组测序和分子细胞遗传学技术现在可以直接比较人类癌症中涉及肿瘤发生的候选基因。作为一种稳定可传播的癌症，DFTD 为癌症的发展、进展和免疫逃避提供了独特的见解，很可能有助于增加我们对人类癌症的理解。此外，这些研究为发现药物靶点或疫苗候选物提供了希望，这些靶点或候选物将阻止这种标志性的澳大利亚有袋动物灭绝。
