Neoplasia in Prosimians: Case Series from a Captive Prosimian Population and Literature Review

Remick, Amera K.; Wettere, Arnaud J. Van; Williams, Cathy V.

doi:10.1354/vp.08-vp-0154-r-fl

Cited by 58 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Our understanding of the general background of neoplastic disease in prosimians is limited to a few publications. 17 In a recent publication, hepatocellular neoplasia was identified as the most common spontaneous neoplasm in prosimians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Captive Prosimians

Zadrozny

Williams

Remick³

et al. 2009

Vet Pathol

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Spontaneous hepatocellular carcinoma has been reported as a relatively common neoplasm in prosimians; however, the cause is unknown. To investigate possible pathogenic mechanisms, the authors performed a review of all adult animals from a captive prosimian population that had postmortem examinations over the past 10 years. They performed a detailed histologic evaluation of all suspected proliferative liver lesions and diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma in 14 of 145 lemurs (9.7%). Affected animals ranged between the ages of 6 and 40 years old. The tumors had an unusually aggressive growth pattern for animal species; metastasis to the lungs or mediastinum was evident in 7 of 14 animals. Thirty-one animals-9 with hepatocellular carcinomas and 22 age-matched controls without hepatic neoplasia-were tested to evaluate the relationship between hepatic iron stores (as well as other trace metals) and the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma. There was no difference between the hepatic iron, copper, or molybdenum in lemurs with hepatocellular carcinoma and those without, suggesting that iron is not a key element in the pathogenesis of liver tumor formation. Analysis of 22 serum samples from animals with and without liver tumors indicated no evidence of active infection with a hepadnavirus, the virus family that includes hepatitis B virus. Hepatitis C virus and aflatoxin B1 were considered as potential causes and ruled out owing to lack of associated histopathologic lesions. In conclusion, hepatocellular neoplasia is relatively common in captive prosimians, although previously suspected etiologies seem unlikely. KeywordsHepadnaviridae, hepatocellular carcinoma, iron, lemur, liver cell adenoma, neoplasms, prosimiansLemurs and lorises are members of the suborder Prosimii, the most primitive members of the Primate family. 15 Lemurs are native to the island of Madagascar, whereas lorises are found in southern Asia. 15 Most of these species are endangered in their natural habitat, and small breeding populations are maintained at various sites around the globe. Our understanding of the general background of neoplastic disease in prosimians is limited to a few publications. 17 In a recent publication, hepatocellular neoplasia was identified as the most common spontaneous neoplasm in prosimians.17 Before this review article, spontaneous hepatic neoplasms were sporadically reported in the literature with only occasional mention of metastasis.Liver tumors in domestic animals are uncommon, representing approximately 1% of overall tumor incidence. Similarly, malignant hepatic neoplasia in anthropoid primates is uncommon. Review of the literature reveals descriptions of fewer than 16 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and 5 cholangiocarcinomas in nonhuman primates. 16 Only 5 chimpanzees with hepatocellular neoplasia have been reported. Three of the tumors were carcinomas: One occurred in a chimpanzee with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), a member of the hepadnaviral family, with concurrent hepatitis D virus, a satellite virus of ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Captive Prosimians

Zadrozny

Williams

Remick³

et al. 2009

Vet Pathol

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“…Adult baboons and monkeys had <3% prevalence at necropsy of >10,000 animals from 3 colonies that included older ages (55)(56)(57)(58)(59). Prosimian neoplasia is similar, 1%-3% of adults (60). In view of the absence of mammary carcinoma in chimpanzees, the documentation of mammary carcinoma in prosimians and monkeys (references in ref.…”

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confidence: 99%

Evolution of the human lifespan and diseases of aging: Roles of infection, inflammation, and nutrition

Finch

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

317

284

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Humans have evolved much longer lifespans than the great apes, which rarely exceed 50 years. Since 1800, lifespans have doubled again, largely due to improvements in environment, food, and medicine that minimized mortality at earlier ages. Infections cause most mortality in wild chimpanzees and in traditional forager-farmers with limited access to modern medicine. Although we know little of the diseases of aging under premodern conditions, in captivity, chimpanzees present a lower incidence of cancer, ischemic heart disease, and neurodegeneration than current human populations. These major differences in pathology of aging are discussed in terms of genes that mediate infection, inflammation, and nutrition. Apolipoprotein E alleles are proposed as a prototype of pleiotropic genes, which influence immune responses, arterial and Alzheimer's disease, and brain development.chimpanzee | pathology H umans have the longest life spans of any primate. Even under the conditions of high mortality experienced by hunterforagers, the human life expectancy at birth (LE 0 ) is twice that of wild chimpanzees. This inquiry considers the demographics and pathology of aging in humans and great apes as an approach to understanding how aging processes evolved with longer lifespans. I argue that immune functions and nutrition have been of major importance in the evolution of aging and longevity.

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“…For instance, 50% of animals have cataracts by age 7 and substantial cognitive decline is evident by age 10 (Beltran et al 2007;Picq 2007). Older mouse lemurs contract a wide range of tumors (Remick et al 2009). Although we lack detailed information on the incidence of tumors in this species, about 20% of animal deaths were tumorassociated among captive prosimians generally.…”

Section: Overview Of Primate Research Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate aging in the mammalian scheme: the puzzle of extreme variation in brain aging

Finch

Austad²

2012

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At later ages, humans have high risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD) which may afflict up to 50% by 90 years. While prosimians and monkeys show more substantial changes, the great apes brains examined show mild neurodegenerative changes. Compared with rodents, primates develop and reproduce slowly and are long lived. The New World primates contain some of the shortest as well as some of the longest-lived monkey species, while the prosimians develop the most rapidly and are the shortest lived. Great apes have the largest brains, slowest development, and longest lives among the primates. All primates share some level of slowly progressive, age-related neurodegenerative changes. However, no species besides humans has yet shown regular drastic neuron loss or cognitive decline approaching clinical grade AD. Several primates accumulate extensive deposits of diffuse amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) but only a prosimian-the gray mouse lemur-regularly develops a tauopathy approaching the neurofibrillary tangles of AD. Compared with monkeys, nonhuman great apes display even milder brain-aging changes, a deeply puzzling observation. The genetic basis for these major species differences in brain aging remains obscure but does not involve the Aβ coding sequence which is identical in nonhuman primates and humans. While chimpanzees merit more study, we note the value of smaller, shorterlived species such as marmosets and small lemurs for aging studies. A continuing concern for all aging studies employing primates is that relative to laboratory rodents, primate husbandry is in a relatively primitive state, and better husbandry to control infections and obesity is needed for brain aging research.

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Neoplasia in Prosimians: Case Series from a Captive Prosimian Population and Literature Review

Cited by 58 publications

References 57 publications

Spontaneous Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Captive Prosimians

Spontaneous Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Captive Prosimians

Evolution of the human lifespan and diseases of aging: Roles of infection, inflammation, and nutrition

Primate aging in the mammalian scheme: the puzzle of extreme variation in brain aging

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