Transcriptome and proteome profiling reveals stress-induced expression signatures of imiquimod-treated Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) cells

Tasmanian devil cathelicidins exhibit anticancer activity against Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) cells

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is endangered due to the spread of Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), a contagious cancer with no current treatment options. Here we test whether seven recently characterized Tasmanian devil cathelicidins are involved in cancer regulation. We measured DFTD cell viability in vitro following incubation with each of the seven peptides and describe the effect of each on gene expression in treated cells. Four cathelicidins (Saha-CATH3, 4, 5 and 6) were toxic to DFTD cells and caused general signs of cellular stress. The most toxic peptide (Saha-CATH5) also suppressed the ERBB and YAP1/TAZ signaling pathways, both of which have been identified as important drivers of cancer proliferation. Three cathelicidins induced inflammatory pathways in DFTD cells that may potentially recruit immune cells in vivo. This study suggests that devil cathelicidins have some anti-cancer and inflammatory functions and should be explored further to determine whether they have potential as treatment leads.

Class II transactivator induces expression of MHC-I and MHC-II in transmissible Tasmanian devil facial tumours

MHC-I and MHC-II molecules are critical components of antigen presentation and T cell immunity to pathogens and cancer. The two monoclonal transmissible devil facial tumours (DFT1, DFT2) exploit MHC-I pathways to overcome immunological anti-tumour and allogeneic barriers. This exploitation underpins the ongoing transmission of DFT cells across the wild Tasmanian devil population. We have previously shown that the overexpression of NLRC5 in DFT1 and DFT2 cells can regulate components of the MHC-I pathway but not MHC-II, establishing the stable upregulation of MHC-I on the cell surface. As MHC-II molecules are crucial for CD4⁺ T cell activation, MHC-II expression in tumour cells is beginning to gain traction in the field of immunotherapy and cancer vaccines. The overexpression of Class II transactivator in transfected DFT1 and DFT2 cells induced the transcription of several genes of the MHC-I and MHC-II pathways. This was further supported by the upregulation of MHC-I protein on DFT1 and DFT2 cells, but interestingly MHC-II protein was upregulated only in DFT1 cells. This new insight into the regulation of MHC-I and MHC-II pathways in cells that naturally overcome allogeneic barriers can inform vaccine, immunotherapy and tissue transplant strategies for human and veterinary medicine.

Challenges of an Emerging Disease: The Evolving Approach to Diagnosing Devil Facial Tumour Disease

Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is an emerging infectious disease that provides an excellent example of how diagnostic techniques improve as disease-specific knowledge is generated. DFTD manifests as tumour masses on the faces of Tasmanian devils, first noticed in 1996. As DFTD became more prevalent among devils, karyotyping of the lesions and their devil hosts demonstrated that DFTD was a transmissible cancer. The subsequent routine diagnosis relied on microscopy and histology to characterise the facial lesions as cancer cells. Combined with immunohistochemistry, these techniques characterised the devil facial tumours as sarcomas of neuroectodermal origin. More sophisticated molecular methods identified the origin of DFTD as a Schwann cell, leading to the Schwann cell-specific protein periaxin to discriminate DFTD from other facial lesions. After the discovery of a second facial cancer (DFT2), cytogenetics and the absence of periaxin expression confirmed the independence of the new cancer from DFT1 (the original DFTD). Molecular studies of the two DFTDs led to the development of a PCR assay to differentially diagnose the cancers. Proteomics and transcriptomic studies identified different cell phenotypes among the two DFTD cell lines. Phenotypic differences were also reflected in proteomics studies of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which yielded an early diagnostic marker that could detect DFTD in its latent stage from serum samples. A mesenchymal marker was also identified that could serve as a serum-based differential diagnostic. The emergence of two transmissible cancers in one species has provided an ideal opportunity to better understand transmissible cancers, demonstrating how fundamental research can be translated into applicable and routine diagnostic techniques.

NLRC5 regulates expression of MHC-I and provides a target for anti-tumor immunity in transmissible cancers

Purpose

Downregulation of MHC class I (MHC-I) is a common immune evasion strategy of many cancers. Similarly, two allogeneic clonal transmissible cancers have killed thousands of wild Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and also modulate MHC-I expression to evade anti-cancer and allograft responses. IFNG treatment restores MHC-I expression on devil facial tumor (DFT) cells but is insufficient to control tumor growth. Transcriptional co-activator NLRC5 is a master regulator of MHC-I in humans and mice but its role in transmissible cancers remains unknown. In this study, we explored the regulation and role of MHC-I in these unique genetically mis-matched tumors.

Methods

We used transcriptome and flow cytometric analyses to determine how MHC-I shapes allogeneic and anti-tumor responses. Cell lines that overexpress NLRC5 to drive antigen presentation, and B2M-knockout cell lines incapable of presenting antigen on MHC-I were used to probe the role of MHC-I in rare cases of tumor regressions.

Results

Transcriptomic results suggest that NLRC5 plays a major role in MHC-I regulation in devils. NLRC5 was shown to drive the expression of many components of the antigen presentation pathway but did not upregulate PDL1. Serum from devils with tumor regressions showed strong binding to IFNG-treated and NLRC5 cell lines; antibody binding to IFNG-treated and NRLC5 transgenic tumor cells was diminished or absent following B2M knockout.

Conclusion

MHC-I could be identified as a target for anti-tumor and allogeneic immunity. Consequently, NLRC5 could be a promising target for immunotherapy and vaccines to protect devils from transmissible cancers and inform development of transplant and cancer therapies for humans.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00432-021-03601-x.

Curse of the devil: molecular insights into the emergence of transmissible cancers in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is the only mammalian species known to be affected by multiple transmissible cancers. Devil facial tumours 1 and 2 (DFT1 and DFT2) are independent neoplastic cell lineages that produce large, disfiguring cancers known as devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). The long-term persistence of wild Tasmanian devils is threatened due to the ability of DFTD cells to propagate as contagious allografts and the high mortality rate of DFTD. Recent studies have demonstrated that both DFT1 and DFT2 cancers originated from founder cells of the Schwann cell lineage, an uncommon origin of malignant cancer in humans. This unprecedented finding has revealed a potential predisposition of Tasmanian devils to transmissible cancers of the Schwann cell lineage. In this review, we compare the molecular nature of human Schwann cells and nerve sheath tumours with DFT1 and DFT2 to gain insights into the emergence of transmissible cancers in the Tasmanian devil. We discuss a potential mechanism, whereby Schwann cell plasticity and frequent wounding in Tasmanian devils combine with an inherent cancer predisposition and low genetic diversity to give rise to transmissible Schwann cell cancers in devils on rare occasions.

A novel system to map protein interactions reveals evolutionarily conserved immune evasion pathways on transmissible cancers

Around 40% of humans and Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) develop cancer in their lifetime, compared to less than 10% for most species. In addition, devils are affected by two of the three known transmissible cancers in mammals. Immune checkpoint immunotherapy has transformed human medicine, but a lack of species-specific reagents has limited checkpoint immunology in most species. We developed a cut-and-paste reagent development system and used the fluorescent fusion protein system to show that immune checkpoint interactions are conserved across 160,000,000 years of evolution, CD200 is highly expressed on transmissible tumor cells, and coexpression of CD200R1 can block CD200 surface expression. The system's versatility across species was demonstrated by fusing a fluorescent reporter to a camelid-derived nanobody that binds human programmed death ligand 1. The evolutionarily conserved pathways suggest that naturally occurring cancers in devils and other species can be used to advance our understanding of cancer and immunological tolerance.

Two of a kind: transmissible Schwann cell cancers in the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) comprises two genetically distinct transmissible cancers (DFT1 and DFT2) endangering the survival of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) in the wild. DFT1 first arose from a cell of the Schwann cell lineage; however, the tissue-of-origin of the recently discovered DFT2 cancer is unknown. In this study, we compared the transcriptome and proteome of DFT2 tumours to DFT1 and normal Tasmanian devil tissues to determine the tissue-of-origin of the DFT2 cancer. Our findings demonstrate that DFT2 expresses a range of Schwann cell markers and exhibits expression patterns consistent with a similar origin to the DFT1 cancer. Furthermore, DFT2 cells express genes associated with the repair response to peripheral nerve damage. These findings suggest that devils may be predisposed to transmissible cancers of Schwann cell origin. The combined effect of factors such as frequent nerve damage from biting, Schwann cell plasticity and low genetic diversity may allow these cancers to develop on rare occasions. The emergence of two independent transmissible cancers from the same tissue in the Tasmanian devil presents an unprecedented opportunity to gain insight into cancer development, evolution and immune evasion in mammalian species.

An oral bait vaccination approach for the Tasmanian devil facial tumor diseases

Introduction: The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is the largest extant carnivorous marsupial. Since 1996, its population has declined by 77% primarily due to a clonal transmissible tumor, known as devil facial tumor (DFT1) disease. In 2014, a second transmissible devil facial tumor (DFT2) was discovered. DFT1 and DFT2 are nearly 100% fatal.Areas covered: We review DFT control approaches and propose a rabies-style oral bait vaccine (OBV) platform for DFTs. This approach has an extensive safety record and was a primary tool in large-scale rabies virus elimination from wild carnivores across diverse landscapes. Like rabies virus, DFTs are transmitted by oral contact, so immunizing the oral cavity and stimulating resident memory cells could be advantageous. Additionally, exposing infected devils that already have tumors to OBVs could serve as an oncolytic virus immunotherapy. The primary challenges may be identifying appropriate DFT-specific antigens and optimization of field delivery methods.Expert opinion: DFT2 is currently found on a peninsula in southern Tasmania, so an OBV that could eliminate DFT2 should be the priority for this vaccine approach. Translation of an OBV approach to control DFTs will be challenging, but the approach is feasible for combatting ongoing and future disease threats.

Heat shock proteins expressed in the marsupial Tasmanian devil are potential antigenic candidates in a vaccine against devil facial tumour disease

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), the largest extant carnivorous marsupial and endemic to Tasmania, is at the verge of extinction due to the emergence of a transmissible cancer known as devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). DFTD has spread over the distribution range of the species and has been responsible for a severe decline in the global devil population. To protect the Tasmanian devil from extinction in the wild, our group has focused on the development of a prophylactic vaccine. Although this work has shown that vaccine preparations using whole DFTD tumour cells supplemented with adjuvants can induce anti-DFTD immune responses, alternative strategies that induce stronger and more specific immune responses are required. In humans, heat shock proteins (HSPs) derived from tumour cells have been used instead of whole-tumour cell preparations as a source of antigens for cancer immunotherapy. As HSPs have not been studied in the Tasmanian devil, this study presents the first characterisation of HSPs in this marsupial and evaluates the suitability of these proteins as antigenic components for the enhancement of a DFTD vaccine. We show that tissues and cancer cells from the Tasmanian devil express constitutive and inducible HSP. Additionally, this study suggests that HSP derived from DFTD cancer cells are immunogenic supporting the future development of a HSP-based vaccine against DFTD.