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Regression of devil facial tumour disease following immunotherapy in immunised Tasmanian devils
Citation
Tovar, C and Pye, RJ and Kreiss, A and Cheng, Y and Brown, GK and Darby, J and Malley, RC and Siddle, HVT and Skjodt, K and Kaufman, J and Silva, A and Baz Morelli, A and Papenfuss, AT and Corcoran, LM and Murphy, JM and Pearse, MJ and Belov, K and Lyons, AB and Woods, GM, Regression of devil facial tumour disease following immunotherapy in immunised Tasmanian devils, Scientific Reports, 7 Article 43827. ISSN 2045-2322 (2017) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2017 The Authors Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
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.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Zoology |
| Research Field: | Animal immunology |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Terrestrial biodiversity |
| UTAS Author: | Tovar, C (Dr Cesar Tovar Lopez) |
| UTAS Author: | Pye, RJ (Ms Ruth Pye) |
| UTAS Author: | Kreiss, A (Dr Alexandre Kreiss) |
| UTAS Author: | Brown, GK (Ms Gabriella Brown) |
| UTAS Author: | Darby, J (Ms Jocelyn Darby) |
| UTAS Author: | Malley, RC (Dr Roslyn Malley) |
| UTAS Author: | Lyons, AB (Associate Professor Bruce Lyons) |
| UTAS Author: | Woods, GM (Professor Gregory Woods) |
| ID Code: | 115377 |
| Year Published: | 2017 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 41 |
| Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
| Deposited On: | 2017-03-21 |
| Last Modified: | 2018-05-29 |
| Downloads: | 154 View Download Statistics |
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