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Regression of devil facial tumour disease following immunotherapy in immunised Tasmanian devils

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posted on 2023-05-19, 03:14 authored by Cesar Tovar LopezCesar Tovar Lopez, Ruth PyeRuth Pye, Kreiss, A, Cheng, Y, Brown, GK, Jocelyn DarbyJocelyn Darby, Roslyn MalleyRoslyn Malley, Siddle, HVT, Skjodt, K, Kaufman, J, Silva, A, Baz Morelli, A, Papenfuss, AT, Corcoran, LM, Murphy, JM, Pearse, MJ, Belov, K, Alan Lyons, Gregory WoodsGregory Woods
Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a transmissible cancer devastating the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) population. The cancer cell is the 'infectious' agent transmitted as an allograft by biting. Animals usually die within a few months with no evidence of antibody or immune cell responses against the DFTD allograft. This lack of anti-tumour immunity is attributed to an absence of cell surface major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I molecule expression. While the endangerment of the devil population precludes experimentation on large experimental groups, those examined in our study indicated that immunisation and immunotherapy with DFTD cells expressing surface MHC-I corresponded with effective anti-tumour responses. Tumour engraftment did not occur in one of the five immunised Tasmanian devils, and regression followed therapy of experimentally induced DFTD tumours in three Tasmanian devils. Regression correlated with immune cell infiltration and antibody responses against DFTD cells. These data support the concept that immunisation of devils with DFTD cancer cells can successfully induce humoral responses against DFTD and trigger immune-mediated regression of established tumours. Our findings support the feasibility of a protective DFTD vaccine and ultimately the preservation of the species.

History

Publication title

Scientific Reports

Volume

7

Article number

43827

Number

43827

Pagination

1-14

ISSN

2045-2322

Department/School

Menzies Institute for Medical Research

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

Copyright 2017 The Authors Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Terrestrial biodiversity

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