Institute of Antler Science and Product Technology, Changchun Sci-Tech University, Changchun, China.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China.
Cell Death Differ. 2023 Dec;30(12):2452-2461. doi: 10.1038/s41418-023-01231-z. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
Deer antlers are a bony organ solely able to acquired distinct unique attributes during evolution and all these attributes are against thus far known natural rules. One of them is as the fastest animal growing tissue (2 cm/day), they are remarkably cancer-free, despite high cell division rate. Although tumor-like nodules on the long-lived castrate antlers in some deer species do occur, but they are truly benign in nature. In this review, we tried to find the answer to this seemingly contradictory phenomenon based on the currently available information and give insights into possible clinic application. The antler growth center is located in its tip; the most intensive dividing cells are resident in the inner layer of reserve mesenchyme (RM), and these cells are more adopted to osteosarcoma rather than to normal bone tissues in gene expression profiles but acquire their energy mainly through aerobic oxidative phosphorylation pathway. To counteract propensity of neoplastic transformation, antlers evolved highly efficient apoptosis exactly in the RM, unparalleled by any known tissues; and annual wholesale cast to jettison the corps. Besides, some strong cancer suppressive genes including p53 cofactor genes and p53 regulator genes are highly positively selected by deer, which would have certainly contributed to curb tumorigenesis. Thus far, antler extracts and RM cells/exosomes have been tried on different cancer models either in vitro or in vivo, and all achieved positive results. These positive experimental results together with the anecdotal folklore that regular consumption of velvet antler is living with cancer-free would encourage us to test antlers in clinic settings.
鹿茸是一种骨骼器官，仅在进化过程中获得独特的属性，所有这些属性都违反了迄今为止已知的自然规律。其中之一是，作为生长最快的动物组织（每天 2 厘米），尽管细胞分裂率很高，但它们却惊人地没有癌症。尽管在一些鹿种的长寿去势鹿角上确实会出现类似于肿瘤的结节，但它们本质上是良性的。在这篇综述中，我们试图根据现有信息找到这个看似矛盾的现象的答案，并深入探讨可能的临床应用。鹿茸的生长中心位于其尖端；最活跃的分裂细胞存在于储备间充质（RM）的内层，这些细胞在基因表达谱中更倾向于骨肉瘤而不是正常骨组织，但它们主要通过有氧氧化磷酸化途径获得能量。为了对抗肿瘤转化的倾向，鹿茸在 RM 中进化出了高度有效的细胞凋亡，这在任何已知组织中都是无与伦比的；并且每年都会大规模地去除 RM。此外，一些强大的癌症抑制基因，包括 p53 辅助因子基因和 p53 调节基因，在鹿中受到高度积极的选择，这肯定有助于抑制肿瘤发生。到目前为止，鹿茸提取物和 RM 细胞/外泌体已在不同的癌症模型中进行了体内和体外研究，均取得了积极的结果。这些积极的实验结果以及鹿茸具有抗癌功效的民间传说，鼓励我们在临床环境中测试鹿茸。
