Simon Deycmar, Brendan J Johnson, Karina Ray, George W Schaaf, Declan Patrick Ryan, Cassandra Cullin, Brandy L Dozier, Betsy Ferguson, Benjamin N Bimber, John D Olson, David L Caudell, Christopher T Whitlow, Kiran Kumar Solingapuram Sai, Emily C Romero, Francois J Villinger, Armando G Burgos, Hannah C Ainsworth, Lance D Miller, Gregory A Hawkins, Jeff W Chou, Bruno Gomes, Michael Hettich, Maurizio Ceppi, Jehad Charo, J Mark Cline
BACKGROUND: Naturally occurring colorectal cancers (CRC) in rhesus macaques share many features with their human counterparts and are useful models for cancer immunotherapy; but mechanistic data are lacking regarding the comparative molecular pathogenesis of these cancers. METHODS: We conducted state-of-the-art imaging including CT and PET, clinical assessments, and pathological review of 24 rhesus macaques with naturally occurring CRC. Additionally, we molecularly characterized these tumors utilizing immunohistochemistry (IHC), microsatellite instability assays, DNAseq, transcriptomics, and developed a DNA methylation-specific qPCR assay for MLH1, CACNA1G, CDKN2A, CRABP1, and NEUROG1, human markers for CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP)...
March 19, 2024: Journal of Translational Medicine