Genetic and genomic technologies have facilitated a greater understanding of the Tasmanian devil immune system and the origins, evolution and spread of devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). DFTD is a contagious cancer that has caused significant declines in devil populations across Tasmania. Immune responses to DFTD are rarely detected, allowing the cancer to pass between individuals and proliferate unimpeded. Early immunosenscence in devils appears to decrease anti-tumour immunity in older animals compared to younger animals, which may increase susceptibility to DFTD and explain high DFTD prevalence in this age group. Devils also have extremely low major histocompatibility complex (MHC) diversity, and multiple alleles are shared with the tumour, lowering histocompatibility barriers which may have contributed to DFTD evolution. DFTD actively evades immune attack by down-regulating cell-surface MHC I molecules, making it effectively invisible to the immune system. Altered MHC I profiles should activate natural killer (NK) cell anti-tumour responses, but these are absent in DFTD infection. Recent immunisation and immunotherapy using modified DFTD cells has induced an anti-DFTD immune response and regression of DFTD in some devils. Knowledge gained from immune responses to a transmissible cancer in devils will ultimately reveal useful insights into immunity to cancer in humans and other species.

中文翻译：

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从塔斯马尼亚恶魔面部肿瘤学到的有关癌症免疫功能的经验教训。

遗传和基因组技术促进了人们对塔斯马尼亚恶魔免疫系统以及恶魔面部肿瘤疾病（DFTD）的起源，进化和传播的深入了解。DFTD是一种具有传染性的癌症，已导致塔斯马尼亚州恶魔数量大幅下降。很少检测到对DFTD的免疫反应，从而使癌症能够在个体之间传播并不受阻碍地扩散。与年幼的动物相比，早期的魔鬼似乎降低了年长动物的抗肿瘤免疫力，这可能增加了对DFTD的易感性，并解释了该年龄组中DFTD的高患病率。恶魔的主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）多样性也极低，并且肿瘤具有多个等位基因，降低了可能促进DFTD进化的组织相容性障碍。DFTD通过下调细胞表面MHC I分子来积极规避免疫攻击，使其对免疫系统有效地不可见。改变的MHC I谱应激活自然杀伤（NK）细胞抗肿瘤反应，但在DFTD感染中不存在。最近使用修饰的DFTD细胞进行的免疫和免疫疗法已诱导了一些恶魔的抗DFTD免疫反应和DFTD的退化。从对恶魔中的可传播癌症的免疫反应中获得的知识将最终揭示出有关人类和其他物种对癌症免疫力的有用见解。最近使用修饰的DFTD细胞进行的免疫和免疫疗法已诱导了一些恶魔的抗DFTD免疫反应和DFTD的退化。从对恶魔中的可传播癌症的免疫反应中获得的知识将最终揭示出有关人类和其他物种对癌症免疫力的有用见解。最近使用修饰的DFTD细胞进行的免疫和免疫疗法已诱导了一些恶魔的抗DFTD免疫反应和DFTD的退化。从对恶魔中可传播的癌症的免疫反应中获得的知识将最终揭示出有关人类和其他物种对癌症的免疫力的有用见识。