Two of a kind: transmissible Schwann cell cancers in the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

Amanda L Patchett; Tim HH Coorens; Jocelyn Darby; Richard Wilson; Matthew J McKay; Karthik S Kamath; Alan Rubin; Matthew Wakefield; Lachlan Mcintosh; Stefano Mangiola; Ruth J Pye; Andrew S Flies; Lynn M Corcoran; A Bruce Lyons; Gregory M Woods; Elizabeth P Murchison; Anthony T Papenfuss; Cesar Tovar

Journal article

Two of a kind: transmissible Schwann cell cancers in the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

Amanda L Patchett, Tim HH Coorens, Jocelyn Darby, Richard Wilson, Matthew J McKay, Karthik S Kamath, Alan Rubin, Matthew Wakefield, Lachlan Mcintosh, Stefano Mangiola, Ruth J Pye, Andrew S Flies, Lynn M Corcoran, A Bruce Lyons, Gregory M Woods, Elizabeth P Murchison, Anthony T Papenfuss, Cesar Tovar

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences | SPRINGER BASEL AG | Published : 2020

DOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03259-2

Abstract

Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) comprises two genetically distinct transmissible cancers (DFT1 and DFT2) endangering the survival of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) in the wild. DFT1 first arose from a cell of the Schwann cell lineage; however, the tissue-of-origin of the recently discovered DFT2 cancer is unknown. In this study, we compared the transcriptome and proteome of DFT2 tumours to DFT1 and normal Tasmanian devil tissues to determine the tissue-of-origin of the DFT2 cancer. Our findings demonstrate that DFT2 expresses a range of Schwann cell markers and exhibits expression patterns consistent with a similar origin to the DFT1 cancer. Furthermore, DFT2 cells express gen..

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