Molecular characterization of a marine turtle tumor epizootic, profiling external, internal and postsurgical regrowth tumors

Authors

Kelsey Yetsko
Jessica A. Farrell
Nicholas B. Blackburn, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Liam Whitmore
Maximilian R. Stammnitz
Jenny Whilde
Catherine B. Eastman
Devon Rollinson Ramia
Ana C. Leandro, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2021

Abstract

Sea turtle populations are under threat from an epizootic tumor disease (animal epidemic) known as fibropapillomatosis. Fibropapillomatosis continues to spread geographically, with prevalence of the disease also growing at many longer-affected sites globally. However, we do not yet understand the precise environmental, mutational and viral events driving fibropapillomatosis tumor formation and progression.

Here we perform transcriptomic and immunohistochemical profiling of five fibropapillomatosis tumor types: external new, established and postsurgical regrowth tumors, and internal lung and kidney tumors. We reveal that internal tumors are molecularly distinct from the more common external tumors. However, they have a small number of conserved potentially therapeutically targetable molecular vulnerabilities in common, such as the MAPK, Wnt, TGFβ and TNF oncogenic signaling pathways. These conserved oncogenic drivers recapitulate remarkably well the core pan-cancer drivers responsible for human cancers. Fibropapillomatosis has been considered benign, but metastatic-related transcriptional signatures are strongly activated in kidney and established external tumors. Tumors in turtles with poor outcomes (died/euthanized) have genes associated with apoptosis and immune function suppressed, with these genes providing putative predictive biomarkers.

Together, these results offer an improved understanding of fibropapillomatosis tumorigenesis and provide insights into the origins, inter-tumor relationships, and therapeutic treatment for this wildlife epizootic.

Comments

© The Author(s) 2021

Recommended Citation

Yetsko, K., Farrell, J.A., Blackburn, N.B. et al. Molecular characterization of a marine turtle tumor epizootic, profiling external, internal and postsurgical regrowth tumors. Commun Biol 4, 152 (2021).

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Communications Biology

DOI

10.1038/s42003-021-01656-7

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Office of Human Genetics