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Sepp T, Baines C, Kreitsberg R, Scharsack JP, Nogueira P, Lang T, Fort J, Sild E, Clarke JT, Tuvikene A, Meitern R. Differences on the level of hepatic transcriptome between two flatfish species in response to liver cancer and environmental pollution levels. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 2024; 275:109781. [PMID: 37923151 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2023.109781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Environmental factors can cause cancer in both wild animals and humans. In ecological settings, genetic variation and natural selection can sometimes produce resilience to the negative impacts of environmental change. An increase in oncogenic substances in natural habitats has therefore, unintentionally, created opportunities for using polluted habitats to study cancer defence mechanisms. The Baltic and North Sea are among the most contaminated marine areas, with a long history of pollution. Two flatfish species (flounder, Platichthys flesus and dab, Limanda limanda) are used as ecotoxicological indicator species due to pollution-induced liver cancer. Cancer is more prevalent in dab, suggesting species-specific differences in vulnerability and/or defence mechanisms. We conducted gene expression analyses for 30 flatfishes. We characterize between- and within-species patterns in potential cancer-related mechanisms. By comparing cancerous and healthy fishes, and non-cancerous fishes from clean and polluted sites, we suggest also genes and related physiological mechanisms that could contribute to a higher resistance to pollution-induced cancer in flounders. We discovered changes in transcriptome related to elevated pollutant metabolism, alongside greater tumour suppression mechanisms in the liver tissue of flounders compared to dabs. This suggests either hormetic upregulation of tumour suppression or a stronger natural selection pressure for higher cancer resistance for flounders in polluted environment. Based on gene expression patterns seen in cancerous and healthy fish, for liver cancer to develop in flounders, genetic defence mechanisms need to be suppressed, while in dabs, analogous process is weak or absent. We conclude that wild species could offer novel insights and ideas for understanding the nature and evolution of natural cancer defence mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuul Sepp
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia. https://twitter.com/@TuulSeppLab
| | - Ciara Baines
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia; Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Mäealuse 14, 12618 Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia
| | - Randel Kreitsberg
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Jörn Peter Scharsack
- Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Herwigstraße 31, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Pedro Nogueira
- Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Herwigstraße 31, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Thomas Lang
- Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Herwigstraße 31, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR7266 CNRS - La Rochelle University, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | - Elin Sild
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
| | - John T Clarke
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia; GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology & Geobiology, Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; Department of Ecology and Biogeography, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
| | - Arvo Tuvikene
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwaldi 1a, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Richard Meitern
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia
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2
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Kozlov AP. Carcino-Evo-Devo, A Theory of the Evolutionary Role of Hereditary Tumors. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24108611. [PMID: 37239953 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24108611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
A theory of the evolutionary role of hereditary tumors, or the carcino-evo-devo theory, is being developed. The main hypothesis of the theory, the hypothesis of evolution by tumor neofunctionalization, posits that hereditary tumors provided additional cell masses during the evolution of multicellular organisms for the expression of evolutionarily novel genes. The carcino-evo-devo theory has formulated several nontrivial predictions that have been confirmed in the laboratory of the author. It also suggests several nontrivial explanations of biological phenomena previously unexplained by the existing theories or incompletely understood. By considering three major types of biological development-individual, evolutionary, and neoplastic development-within one theoretical framework, the carcino-evo-devo theory has the potential to become a unifying biological theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei P Kozlov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 3 Gubkina Street, 117971 Moscow, Russia
- Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 29 Polytekhnicheskaya Street, 195251 St. Petersburg, Russia
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Sepp T, Giraudeau M. Wild animals as an underused treasure trove for studying the genetics of cancer. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2200188. [PMID: 36404107 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent years have seen an emergence of the field of comparative cancer genomics. However, the advancements in this field are held back by the hesitation to use knowledge obtained from human studies to study cancer in other animals, and vice versa. Since cancer is an ancient disease that arose with multicellularity, oncogenes and tumour-suppressor genes are amongst the oldest gene classes, shared by most animal species. Acknowledging that other animals are, in terms of cancer genetics, ecology, and evolution, rather similar to humans, creates huge potential for advancing the fields of human and animal oncology, but also biodiversity conservation. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/UFqyMx5HETY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuul Sepp
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mathieu Giraudeau
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, La Rochelle, France
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4
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Takan I, Karakülah G, Louka A, Pavlopoulou A. "In the light of evolution:" keratins as exceptional tumor biomarkers. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15099. [PMID: 36949761 PMCID: PMC10026720 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Keratins (KRTs) are the intermediate filament-forming proteins of epithelial cells, classified, according to their physicochemical properties, into "soft" and "hard" keratins. They have a key role in several aspects of cancer pathophysiology, including cancer cell invasion and metastasis, and several members of the KRT family serve as diagnostic or prognostic markers. The human genome contains both, functional KRT genes and non-functional KRT pseudogenes, arranged in two uninterrupted clusters on chromosomes 12 and 17. This characteristic renders KRTs ideal for evolutionary studies. Herein, comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of KRT homologous proteins in the genomes of major taxonomic divisions were performed, so as to fill a gap in knowledge regarding the functional implications of keratins in cancer biology among tumor-bearing species. The differential expression profiles of KRTs in diverse types of cancers were investigated by analyzing high-throughput data, as well. Several KRT genes, including the phylogenetically conserved ones, were found to be deregulated across several cancer types and to participate in a common protein-protein interaction network. This indicates that, at least in cancer-bearing species, these genes might have been under similar evolutionary pressure, perhaps to support the same important function(s). In addition, semantic relations between KRTs and cancer were detected through extensive text mining. Therefore, by applying an integrative in silico pipeline, the evolutionary history of KRTs was reconstructed in the context of cancer, and the potential of using non-mammalian species as model organisms in functional studies on human cancer-associated KRT genes was uncovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Işıl Takan
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Izmir, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Gökhan Karakülah
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Izmir, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Aikaterini Louka
- DNA Damage Laboratory, Department of Physics, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Section of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Athanasia Pavlopoulou
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Izmir, Turkey
- Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey
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The Theory of Carcino-Evo-Devo and Its Non-Trivial Predictions. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13122347. [PMID: 36553613 PMCID: PMC9777766 DOI: 10.3390/genes13122347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
To explain the sources of additional cell masses in the evolution of multicellular organisms, the theory of carcino-evo-devo, or evolution by tumor neofunctionalization, has been developed. The important demand for a new theory in experimental science is the capability to formulate non-trivial predictions which can be experimentally confirmed. Several non-trivial predictions were formulated using carcino-evo-devo theory, four of which are discussed in the present paper: (1) The number of cellular oncogenes should correspond to the number of cell types in the organism. The evolution of oncogenes, tumor suppressor and differentiation gene classes should proceed concurrently. (2) Evolutionarily new and evolving genes should be specifically expressed in tumors (TSEEN genes). (3) Human orthologs of fish TSEEN genes should acquire progressive functions connected with new cell types, tissues and organs. (4) Selection of tumors for new functions in the organism is possible. Evolutionarily novel organs should recapitulate tumor features in their development. As shown in this paper, these predictions have been confirmed by the laboratory of the author. Thus, we have shown that carcino-evo-devo theory has predictive power, fulfilling a fundamental requirement for a new theory.
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Kozlov AP. Mammalian tumor-like organs. 1. The role of tumor-like normal organs and atypical tumor organs in the evolution of development (carcino-evo-devo). Infect Agent Cancer 2022; 17:2. [PMID: 35012580 PMCID: PMC8751115 DOI: 10.1186/s13027-021-00412-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Earlier I hypothesized that hereditary tumors might participate in the evolution of multicellular organisms. I formulated the hypothesis of evolution by tumor neofunctionalization, which suggested that the evolutionary role of hereditary tumors might consist in supplying evolving multicellular organisms with extra cell masses for the expression of evolutionarily novel genes and the origin of new cell types, tissues, and organs. A new theory—the carcino-evo-devo theory—has been developed based on this hypothesis. Main text My lab has confirmed several non-trivial predictions of this theory. Another non-trivial prediction is that evolutionarily new organs if they originated from hereditary tumors or tumor-like structures, should recapitulate some tumor features in their development. This paper reviews the tumor-like features of evolutionarily novel organs. It turns out that evolutionarily new organs such as the eutherian placenta, mammary gland, prostate, the infantile human brain, and hoods of goldfishes indeed have many features of tumors. I suggested calling normal organs, which have many tumor features, the tumor-like organs. Conclusion Tumor-like organs might originate from hereditary atypical tumor organs and represent the part of carcino-evo-devo relationships, i.e., coevolution of normal and neoplastic development. During subsequent evolution, tumor-like organs may lose the features of tumors and the high incidence of cancer and become normal organs without (or with almost no) tumor features.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Kozlov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 3, Gubkina Street, Moscow, Russia, 117971. .,Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 29, Polytekhnicheskaya Street, St. Petersburg, Russia, 195251.
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Kozlov AP. Biological Computation and Compatibility Search in the Possibility Space as the Mechanism of Complexity Increase During Progressive Evolution. Evol Bioinform Online 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/11769343221110654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The idea of computational processes, which take place in nature, for example, DNA computation, is discussed in the literature. DNA computation that is going on in the immunoglobulin locus of vertebrates shows how the computations in the biological possibility space could operate during evolution. We suggest that the origin of evolutionarily novel genes and genome evolution constitute the original intrinsic computation of the information about new structures in the space of unrealized biological possibilities. Due to DNA computation, the information about future structures is generated and stored in DNA as genetic information. In evolving ontogenies, search algorithms are necessary, which can search for information about evolutionary innovations and morphological novelties. We believe that such algorithms include stochastic gene expression, gene competition, and compatibility search at different levels of structural organization. We formulate the increase in complexity principle in terms of biological computation and hypothesize the possibility of in silico computing of future functions of evolutionarily novel genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- AP Kozlov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- The Biomedical Center, St. Petersburg, Russia
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Tollis M, Schneider-Utaka AK, Maley CC. The Evolution of Human Cancer Gene Duplications across Mammals. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:2875-2886. [PMID: 32421773 PMCID: PMC7530603 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is caused by genetic alterations that affect cellular fitness, and multicellular organisms have evolved mechanisms to suppress cancer such as cell cycle checkpoints and apoptosis. These pathways may be enhanced by the addition of tumor suppressor gene paralogs or deletion of oncogenes. To provide insights to the evolution of cancer suppression across the mammalian radiation, we estimated copy numbers for 548 human tumor suppressor gene and oncogene homologs in 63 mammalian genome assemblies. The naked mole rat contained the most cancer gene copies, consistent with the extremely low rates of cancer found in this species. We found a positive correlation between a species’ cancer gene copy number and its longevity, but not body size, contrary to predictions from Peto’s Paradox. Extremely long-lived mammals also contained more copies of caretaker genes in their genomes, suggesting that the maintenance of genome integrity is an essential form of cancer prevention in long-lived species. We found the strongest association between longevity and copy numbers of genes that are both germline and somatic tumor suppressor genes, suggesting that selection has acted to suppress both hereditary and sporadic cancers. We also found a strong relationship between the number of tumor suppressor genes and the number of oncogenes in mammalian genomes, suggesting that complex regulatory networks mediate the balance between cell proliferation and checks on tumor progression. This study is the first to investigate cancer gene expansions across the mammalian radiation and provides a springboard for potential human therapies based on evolutionary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Tollis
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ.,Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
| | | | - Carlo C Maley
- Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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Gregoire-Mitha S, Gray DA. What deubiquitinating enzymes, oncogenes, and tumor suppressors actually do: Are current assumptions supported by patient outcomes? Bioessays 2021; 43:e2000269. [PMID: 33415735 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Context can determine whether a given gene acts as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor. Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) regulate the stability of many components of the pathways dictating cell fate so it would be expected that alterations in the levels or activity of these enzymes may have oncogenic or tumor suppressive consequences. In the current review we survey publications reporting that genes encoding DUBs are oncogenes or tumor suppressors. For many DUBs both claims have been made. For such "double agents," the effects of gain or loss of function will depend on the overall status of a complex of molecular signaling networks subject to extensive crosstalk. As the TGF-β paradox makes clear context is critical in cell fate decisions, and the disconnect between experimental findings and patient survival outcomes can in part be attributed to disparities between culture conditions and the microenvironment in vivo. Convincing claims for oncogene or tumor suppressor roles require the documentation of gene alterations in patient samples; survival curves are alone inadequate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Gregoire-Mitha
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.,Cancer Therapeutics Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Douglas A Gray
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.,Cancer Therapeutics Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada
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Lyu J, Li JJ, Su J, Peng F, Chen YE, Ge X, Li W. DORGE: Discovery of Oncogenes and tumoR suppressor genes using Genetic and Epigenetic features. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/46/eaba6784. [PMID: 33177077 PMCID: PMC7673741 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba6784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Data-driven discovery of cancer driver genes, including tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and oncogenes (OGs), is imperative for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Although epigenetic alterations are important for tumor initiation and progression, most known driver genes were identified based on genetic alterations alone. Here, we developed an algorithm, DORGE (Discovery of Oncogenes and tumor suppressoR genes using Genetic and Epigenetic features), to identify TSGs and OGs by integrating comprehensive genetic and epigenetic data. DORGE identified histone modifications as strong predictors for TSGs, and it found missense mutations, super enhancers, and methylation differences as strong predictors for OGs. We extensively validated DORGE-predicted cancer driver genes using independent functional genomics data. We also found that DORGE-predicted dual-functional genes (both TSGs and OGs) are enriched at hubs in protein-protein interaction and drug-gene networks. Overall, our study has deepened the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in tumorigenesis and revealed previously undetected cancer driver genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Lyu
- Division of Computational Biomedicine, Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jingyi Jessica Li
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Jianzhong Su
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Fanglue Peng
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yiling Elaine Chen
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Xinzhou Ge
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Wei Li
- Division of Computational Biomedicine, Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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Kozlov AP. The Role of Heritable Tumors in Evolution of Development: a New Theory of Carcino-evo-devo. Acta Naturae 2019; 11:65-72. [PMID: 31993236 PMCID: PMC6977963 DOI: 10.32607/20758251-2019-11-4-65-72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The hypothesis of evolution by tumor neofunctionalization (the "main hypothesis") describes the possible role of hereditary tumors in evolution. The present article examines the relationship of the main hypothesis to other biological theories. As shown in this paper, the main hypothesis does not contradict to the existing biological theories, but fills the lacunas between them and explains some unexplained (or not completely understood) questions. Common features of embryonic development and tumorigenesis are described by several recognized theories. Similarities between normal development and tumorigenesis suggest that tumors could participate in the evolution of ontogenesis and in the origin of new cell types, tissues and organs. A wide spectrum of non-trivial explanations and non-trivial predictions in different fields of biology, suggested by the main hypothesis, is an indication of its fundamental nature and the potential to become a new biological theory, a theory of the role of tumors in evolution of development, or carcino-evo-devo.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. P. Kozlov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics RAS, Moscow, 119333 Russia Biomedical Center, Research Institute of Ultrapure Biologicals and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, 195251 Russia
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