Abstract
Relative to the dog, integration of the cat into the “One Health” concept has been more restricted, particularly in the field of molecular oncology. Beyond the continual need to enhance the sophistication of feline healthcare per se, the unique spectrum of naturally-occurring cancers in the cat offers tremendous opportunities for comparative and translational advances that may have mutual benefit for human and veterinary medicine. The study of feline cancers additionally may generate new insight into underexplored aspects of tumor biology that are less accessible in other species, such as the relationship between chronic inflammation and neoplasia, and the role of viruses in malignant transformation. Several factors that have hindered molecular studies of feline cancers have now been surmounted, with the most fundamental step forward coming from the development of a high-quality reference genome sequence assembly for the cat. This article reviews landmark studies that have led to our current appreciation of feline genome architecture, and outlines techniques used in cancer cytogenomics, from conventional karyotyping analysis through to the development of genomic microarrays and beyond. A summary of progress in the identification and characterization of chromosomal aberrations in feline cancers is provided using examples from studies of injection-site sarcomas, lymphomas and mammary tumors.
Highlights
The domestic cat offers a diverse range of opportunities to contribute to the “One Health” concept, which capitalizes on the integration of complementary human and veterinary biomedical research efforts for synergistic gain
The concepts of cancer cytogenomics are well established in human medicine, and enormous strides have been made in translating the same fundamental principles to domestic dog cancers
The unique range and distribution of cancers diagnosed in our feline companions fills a series of critical niches that have confounded progress in human medicine
Summary
The domestic cat offers a diverse range of opportunities to contribute to the “One Health” concept, which capitalizes on the integration of complementary human and veterinary biomedical research efforts for synergistic gain. The cat has served as a powerful model system for studying facets of neuroscience, reproduction and both heritable and infectious disease, and the field of feline oncology offers several novel angles to the comparative medicine arena. The ability to explore these attributes from a molecular standpoint has become possible only relatively recently through intensive efforts to characterize domestic cat genome organization in detail. The combination of data from complementary approaches allows us to explore the cat genome directly in context with that of humans and other key players in comparative biomedical research. In turn we may begin to investigate in earnest the causes and consequences of genomic abnormalities associated with heritable and spontaneous disease in our feline companions
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