RESUMO
The Tasmanian devil, a large carnivorous Australian marsupial, is under threat from a widespread fatal disease in which a malignant oral-facial tumour obstructs the animal's ability to feed. Here we show that the chromosomes in these tumours have undergone a complex rearrangement that is identical for every animal studied. In light of this remarkable finding and of the known fighting behaviour of the devils, we propose that the disease is transmitted by allograft, whereby an infectious cell line is passed directly between the animals through bites they inflict on one another.
Assuntos
Mordeduras e Picadas/veterinária , Aberrações Cromossômicas , Neoplasias Faciais/genética , Neoplasias Faciais/veterinária , Marsupiais/genética , Transplante Homólogo/patologia , Transplante Homólogo/veterinária , Agressão , Animais , Neoplasias Faciais/imunologia , Cariotipagem , Marsupiais/imunologia , Modelos Biológicos , Tasmânia , Transplante Homólogo/imunologiaRESUMO
At transformation of refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts to acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) the bone marrow cells of a 75-year-old woman showed three different karyotypes, i.e., 46,XX,46,XX,t(1;3)(p36;q21) and 46,XX,t(1;3)(p36;q21),t(14;17)(q32;q21). She received no antileukemic therapy, and 1 year later, all her bone marrow cells were t(1;3)(p36;q21),t(14;17)(q32;q21). In association with the onset and first 11 months of ANLL, the platelet count increased 10-fold to a peak of 750 x 10(9)/L, providing further evidence that the t(1;3)(p36;q21) translocation causes stimulation of thrombopoiesis. Six months after transformation, her red cells showed reduced expression of A and Leb antigens. Serum alpha-n-3-acetylgalactosaminyl transferase (blood group A transferase) and red cell adenylate kinase were both reduced. The genes for both these substances are at 9q34, which suggests an abnormality here, although cytogenetically chromosome 9 appeared normal. This is the first case with t(1;3)(p36;q21) to show concurrent loss of red cell antigens and the first report detailing the course of untreated ANLL with t(1;3)(p36;q21).
Assuntos
Cromossomos Humanos 1-3 , Cromossomos Humanos Par 14 , Cromossomos Humanos Par 17 , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/genética , Translocação Genética , Sistema ABO de Grupos Sanguíneos , Adenilato Quinase/sangue , Idoso , Anemia Refratária/complicações , Anemia Refratária/genética , Anemia Refratária/imunologia , Antígenos CD/análise , Antígenos de Neoplasias/análise , Tipagem e Reações Cruzadas Sanguíneas , Transformação Celular Neoplásica , Feminino , Regulação Leucêmica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Imunofenotipagem , Cariotipagem , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/etiologia , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/imunologia , Antígenos do Grupo Sanguíneo de LewisRESUMO
1. The activity of 21 red cell enzymes and three red cell metabolic intermediates were measured in adult Dasyurus viverrinus and compared with published data on other marsupials. 2. Phosphofructokinase (PFK), glyceraldehyde dehydrogenase (GAPD) and phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) were elevated in comparison to other marsupials. 3. Enolase (ENO) and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3 DPG) were lower than in other marsupials.
Assuntos
Eritrócitos/enzimologia , Gliceraldeído-3-Fosfato Desidrogenases/sangue , Marsupiais/sangue , Fosfofrutoquinase-1/sangue , Fosfoglicerato Quinase/sangue , Animais , Eritrócitos/metabolismo , Feminino , MasculinoRESUMO
This report contains the first description of a salivary gland tumour in a dasyurid marsupial; the same animal also had a mammary carcinoma. All the previously described neoplasms have been in animals held in captivity for varying periods of time, whereas the case reported here was a young animal trapped in the wild and killed three days later. The development of tumours in the natural environment is important aetiologically.