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.

塔斯马尼亚恶魔（ Sarcophilus harrisii ）是已知唯一受多种传染性癌症影响的哺乳动物物种。魔鬼面部肿瘤 1 和 2（DFT1 和 DFT2）是独立的肿瘤细胞谱系，可产生巨大的、毁容的癌症，称为魔鬼面部肿瘤疾病 (DFTD)。由于 DFTD 细胞作为传染性同种异体移植物的繁殖能力以及 DFTD 的高死亡率，野生塔斯马尼亚恶魔的长期生存受到威胁。最近的研究表明，DFT1 和 DFT2 癌症均起源于施万细胞谱系的创始细胞，这是人类恶性癌症的罕见起源。这一史无前例的发现揭示了塔斯马尼亚恶魔对施万细胞谱系的传染性癌症的潜在易感性。在这篇综述中，我们将人类雪旺细胞和神经鞘瘤的分子性质与 DFT1 和 DFT2 进行比较，以深入了解塔斯马尼亚恶魔中传染性癌症的出现。我们讨论了一种潜在的机制，即塔斯马尼亚袋獾的施万细胞可塑性和频繁受伤与固有的癌症倾向和低遗传多样性相结合，在极少数情况下会在袋獾中引起传染性施万细胞癌。