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Cancer in the parasitic protozoans Trypanosoma brucei and Toxoplasma gondii

Lun, ZR; Lai, DH; Wen, YZ; Zheng, LL; Shen, JL; Yang, TB; Zhou, WL; Qu, LH; Hide, G; Ayala, FJ

Authors

ZR Lun

DH Lai

YZ Wen

LL Zheng

JL Shen

TB Yang

WL Zhou

LH Qu

FJ Ayala



Abstract

Cancer is a general name for more than 100 malignant diseases. It is postulated that all cancers start from a single abnormal cell that grows out of control. Untreated cancers can cause serious consequences and deaths. Great progress has been made in cancer research that has significantly improved our knowledge and understanding of the nature and mechanisms of the disease, but the origins of cancer are far from being well understood due to the limitations of suitable model systems and to the complexities of the disease. In view of the fact that cancers are found in various species of vertebrates and other metazoa, here, we suggest that cancer also occurs in parasitic protozoans such as Trypanosoma brucei, a blood parasite, and Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular pathogen. Without treatment, these protozoan cancers may cause severe disease and death in mammals, including humans. The simpler genomes of these single-cell organisms, in combination with their complex life cycles and fascinating life cycle differentiation processes, may help us to better understand the origins of cancers and, in particular, leukemias.

Citation

Lun, Z., Lai, D., Wen, Y., Zheng, L., Shen, J., Yang, T., …Ayala, F. (2015). Cancer in the parasitic protozoans Trypanosoma brucei and Toxoplasma gondii. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(29), 8835-8842. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502599112

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 15, 2015
Publication Date Jul 21, 2015
Deposit Date Jul 21, 2015
Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Print ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher National Academy of Sciences
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 112
Issue 29
Pages 8835-8842
DOI https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502599112
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502599112
Related Public URLs http://www.pnas.org/
http://www.salford.ac.uk/environment-life-sciences/els-academics/geoff-hide
Additional Information Additional Information : Supplementary files accompany this paper
Funders : National Base Research Program;National Natural Science Foundation of China;Academic Degrees Committee of Guangdong Province
Projects : 973 Project
Grant Number: 2010CB530000
Grant Number: 31272305, 31472058, 31301876, and 31402029
Grant Number: SYBZZXM201011