一個國際科研團隊31日公布研究報告稱,，在野生袋獾種群中肆虐了10多年的致命癌癥——袋獾面部腫瘤起源于雪旺細胞，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)將有助于開發(fā)針對這一惡性腫瘤的疫苗和療法,。
雪旺細胞是神經(jīng)嵴的衍生物，形成了周圍神經(jīng)髓磷脂軸突的髓鞘,。它環(huán)繞在末梢神經(jīng)軸突的軸上，沿著軸突節(jié)形成一層髓磷脂髓鞘,。雪旺細胞對末梢神經(jīng)的發(fā)育,、功能和再生起著重要作用。
科學(xué)家從分布在澳大利亞塔斯馬尼亞島14處的袋獾群落中采集了25個袋獾面部腫瘤樣本,，進行基因分析,，結(jié)果驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)，袋獾面部腫瘤起源于雪旺細胞,，在大約20年前,，袋獾雪旺細胞內(nèi)的某種基因變異導(dǎo)致了這一癌變。
科學(xué)家還發(fā)現(xiàn),，袋獾面部腫瘤有別于普通癌癥,，它能通過互相撕咬或其他身體接觸而傳播?；疾〈邓阂Щ蚪佑|其他袋獾后,，其體內(nèi)的癌細胞可以“移植到”對方體內(nèi)，并在后者體內(nèi)形成同樣的腫瘤,。
袋獾面部腫瘤是一種獨特癌癥，常出現(xiàn)于袋獾面部或嘴部,，但通常會擴散至袋獾的內(nèi)臟,，它與另外一種在犬類中傳播的惡性腫瘤是世界上僅有的兩種可通過上述方式傳播的癌癥。
“我們的發(fā)現(xiàn)在拯救袋獾免于滅絕的賽跑中邁出了一大步,。”論文第一作者,、澳大利亞國立大學(xué)科學(xué)家伊麗莎白·默奇森表示。
袋獾是目前世界上體型最大的有袋類食肉動物,，主要分布在塔斯馬尼亞島上,。自上個世紀(jì)90年代以來，袋獾面部腫瘤開始肆虐,，致使野生袋獾數(shù)量減少了60％,。科學(xué)家警告說,，如不進行干預(yù),，這種疾病可能會在未來25年至35年內(nèi)將野生袋獾消滅殆盡。2009年5月,，澳大利亞將袋獾列為瀕危物種,。
這項研究成果將刊登在2010年1月1日出版的美國新一期《科學(xué)》雜志上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
PNAS：腫瘤促使袋獾懷孕時間快速進化
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Science 1 January 2010:DOI: 10.1126/science.1180616
The Tasmanian Devil Transcriptome Reveals Schwann Cell Origins of a Clonally Transmissible Cancer
Elizabeth P. Murchison,1,2,*, Cesar Tovar,3 Arthur Hsu,4 Hannah S. Bender,1,2 Pouya Kheradpour,5 Clare A. Rebbeck,1 David Obendorf,3 Carly Conlan,1 Melanie Bahlo,4 Catherine A. Blizzard,3 Stephen Pyecroft,6 Alexandre Kreiss,3 Manolis Kellis,5,7 Alexander Stark,5,7, Timothy T. Harkins,8 Jennifer A. Marshall Graves,2 Gregory M. Woods,3 Gregory J. Hannon,1 Anthony T. Papenfuss4
The Tasmanian devil, a marsupial carnivore, is endangered because of the emergence of a transmissible cancer known as devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). This fatal cancer is clonally derived and is an allograft transmitted between devils by biting. We performed a large-scale genetic analysis of DFTD with microsatellite genotyping, a mitochondrial genome analysis, and deep sequencing of the DFTD transcriptome and microRNAs. These studies confirm that DFTD is a monophyletic clonally transmissible tumor and suggest that the disease is of Schwann cell origin. On the basis of these results, we have generated a diagnostic marker for DFTD and identify a suite of genes relevant to DFTD pathology and transmission. We provide a genomic data set for the Tasmanian devil that is applicable to cancer diagnosis, disease evolution, and conservation biology.
1 Watson School of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
2 Research School of Biology and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Kangaroo Genomics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
3 Menzies Research Institute, The University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia.
4 Bioinformatics Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.
5 Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
6 Mt. Pleasant Animal Health Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Water, Kings Meadows, Tasmania 7249, Australia.
7 Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA.
8 Roche Applied Sciences, Indianapolis, IN 46250, USA.
