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Abstract

Devil Facial Tumour 1 (DFT1) is one of two transmissible neoplasms of Tasmanian devils(Sarcophilus harrisii) predominantly affecting their facial regions. DFT1’s cellular origin isthat of Schwann cell lineage where lesions are evident macroscopically late in the disease.Conversely, the pre-clinical timeframe from cellular transmission to appearance of DFT1remains uncertain demonstrating the importance of an effective pre-clinical biomarker.We show that ERBB3, a marker expressed normally by the developing neural crest andSchwann cells, is immunohistohemically expressed by DFT1, therefore the potential ofERBB3 as a biomarker was explored. Under the hypothesis that serum ERBB3 levels mayincrease as DFT1 invades local and distant tissues our pilot study determined serumERBB3 levels in normal Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian devils with DFT1. Compared tothe baseline serum ERBB3 levels in unaffected Tasmanian devils, Tasmanian devils withDFT1 showed significant elevation of serum ERBB3 levels. Interestingly Tasmanian devilswith cutaneous lymphoma (CL) also showed elevation of serum ERBB3 levels when comparedto the baseline serum levels of Tasmanian devils without DFT1. Thus, elevatedserum ERBB3 levels in otherwise healthy looking devils could predict possible DFT1 or CLin captive or wild devil populations and would have implications on the management, welfareand survival of Tasmanian devils. ERBB3 is also a therapeutic target and therefore thepotential exists to consider modes of administration that may eradicate DFT1 from the wild.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Hayes, DA and Kunde, DA and Taylor, RL and Pyecroft, S and Sohal, SS and Snow, ET
Keywords:	DFT1, ERBB3, Biomarker
Journal or Publication Title:	PLOS One
Publisher:	Public Library of Science
ISSN:	1932-6203
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177919
Copyright Information:	Copyright: © 2017 Hayes et al. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Related URLs:	UTAS Profile: Kunde, DA Google Scholar: Sohal, SS UTAS Profile: Sohal, SS
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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