Modeling of response to endocrine therapy in a panel of human luminal breast cancer xenografts.

Resistance to endocrine therapy is a major complication of luminal breast cancer and studies of the biological features of hormonal resistance are limited by the lack of adequate preclinical models. The aim of this study is to establish and characterize a panel of primary human luminal breast carcinoma xenografts, and to evaluate their response to endocrine therapies. Four hundred and twenty-three tumor fragments obtained directly from patients have been grafted in the interscapular fatpad of Swiss nude mice. After stable engraftment with estradiol supplementation, xenografted tumors have been validated by conventional pathology and immunohistochemistry examination, and additional molecular studies. In vivo tumor growth and response to different endocrine treatments were evaluated. We have engrafted 423 tumors including 314 ER+ tumors, and 8 new luminal breast cancer xenografts have been obtained (2.5%). Tumor take was much lower for luminal tumors than for non-luminal tumors (2.5 vs. 24.7%, P < 0.0001), and was associated with two independent criteria, i.e., ER status (P < 0.0001) and a high grade tumor (P = 0.05). Histological and immunohistochemical analyses performed on patient's tumors and xenografts showed striking similarities in the tumor morphology as well as in the expression level of ER, PR, and HER2. Response to hormone therapy, evaluated in 6 luminal models, showed different sensitivities, thus exhibiting heterogeneity similar to what is observed in the clinic. We have established a panel of primary human luminal breast cancer xenografts, recapitulating the biological and clinical behaviors of patient tumors, and therefore suitable for further preclinical experiments.

Establishment and characterisation of a new breast cancer xenograft obtained from a woman carrying a germline BRCA2 mutation.

BACKGROUND: The BRCA2 gene is responsible for a high number of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, and studies of the BRCA2 biological functions are limited by the lack of models that resemble the patient's tumour features. The aim of this study was to establish and characterise a new human breast carcinoma xenograft obtained from a woman carrying a germline BRCA2 mutation. METHODS: A transplantable xenograft was obtained by grafting a breast cancer sample into nude mice. The biological and genetic profiles of the xenograft were compared with that of the patient's tumour using histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), BRCA2 sequencing, comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH), and qRT-PCR. Tumour response to standard chemotherapies was evaluated. RESULTS: Histological profile identified the tumour as a basal-like triple-negative breast cancer. Targeted BRCA2 DNA sequencing of the xenograft showed the presence of the mutation previously identified in the carrier. Comparative genomic hybridisation array profiles of the primary tumour and the xenograft revealed a high number of similar genetic alterations. The therapeutic assessment of the xenograft showed sensitivity to anthracyclin-based chemotherapy and resistance to docetaxel. The xenograft was also highly sensitive to radiotherapy and cisplatin-based treatments. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes a new human breast cancer xenograft obtained from a BRCA2-mutated patient. This xenograft provides a new model for the pre-clinical drug development and for the exploration of the drug response biological basis.

CD44 targeting reduces tumour growth and prevents post-chemotherapy relapse of human breast cancers xenografts.

CD44 is a marker of tumour-initiating cells and is upregulated in invasive breast carcinoma; however, its role in the cancer progression is unknown. Here, we show that antibody-mediated CD44-targeting in human breast cancer xenografts (HBCx) significantly reduces tumour growth and that this effect is associated to induction of growth-inhibiting factors. Moreover, treatment with this antibody prevents tumour relapse after chemotherapy-induced remission in a basal-like HBCx.

Newly characterised ex vivo colospheres as a three-dimensional colon cancer cell model of tumour aggressiveness.

BACKGROUND: New models continue to be required to improve our understanding of colorectal cancer progression. To this aim, we characterised in this study a three-dimensional multicellular tumour model that we named colospheres, directly obtained from mechanically dissociated colonic primary tumours and correlated with metastatic potential. METHODS: Colorectal primary tumours (n=203) and 120 paired non-tumoral colon mucosa were mechanically disaggregated into small fragments for short-term cultures. Features of tumours producing colospheres were analysed. Further characterisation was performed using colospheres, generated from a human colon cancer xenograft, and spheroids, formed on agarose by the paired cancer cell lines. RESULTS: Colospheres, exclusively formed by viable cancer cells, were obtained in only 1 day from 98 tumours (47%). Inversely, non-tumoral colonic mucosa never generated colospheres. Colosphere-forming capacity was statistically significantly associated with tumour aggressiveness, according to AJCC stage analysis. Despite a close morphology, colospheres displayed higher invasivity than did spheroids. Spheroids and colospheres migrated into Matrigel but matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 activity was detected only in colospheres. Mouse subrenal capsule assay revealed the unique tumorigenic and metastatic phenotype of colospheres. Moreover, colospheres and parental xenograft reproduced similar CD44 and CD133 expressions in which CD44+ cells represented a minority subset of the CD133+ population. CONCLUSION: The present colospheres provide an ex vivo three-dimensional model, potentially useful for studying metastatic process.

Inefficient growth arrest in response to dNTP starvation stimulates gene amplification through bridge-breakage-fusion cycles.

Cells often acquire resistance to the antiproliferative agents methotrexate (MTX) or N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) through amplification of genes encoding the target enzymes dihydrofolate reductase or carbamylphosphate synthetase/aspartate transcarbamylase/dihydroorotase (CAD), respectively. We showed previously that Syrian hamster BHK cells resistant to selective concentrations of PALA (approximately 3 x ID50) arise at a rate of approximately 10(-4) per cell per generation and contain amplifications of the CAD gene as ladder-like structures on one of the two B9 chromosomes, where CAD is normally located. We now find that BHK cells resistant to high concentrations of PALA (approximately 15 x ID50) appear only after prior exposure to selective concentrations of PALA for approximately 72 h. Furthermore, in contrast to untreated cells, BHK cells pretreated with selective concentrations of MTX give colonies in high concentrations of PALA, and cells pretreated with selective concentrations of PALA give colonies in high concentrations of MTX or 5-fluorouracil. As judged by measuring numbers of cells and metaphase cell pairs, BHK cells do not arrest completely when starved for pyrimidine nucleotides by treatment with selective concentrations of PALA for up to 72 h. We propose that DNA damage, caused when cells fail to stop DNA synthesis promptly under conditions of dNTP starvation, stimulates amplification throughout the genome by mechanisms--such as bridge-breakage-fusion cycles--that are triggered by broken DNA. Amplified CAD genes were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization both in cells where amplification was induced by PALA pretreatment and in cells in which the amplification occurred spontaneously, before selection with PALA. The ladder-like structures that result from bridge-breakage-fusion cycles were observed in both cases.

Enhancement of pulmonary metastases induced by decreased lung natural killer cell activity.

Administration of repeated high doses of 7.5 mg chlorozotocin [(CZT) CAS: 54749-90-5]/kg to syngeneic WAG rats bearing the rhabdomyosarcoma 9-4/0 enhanced the incidence of spontaneous metastasis compared to its incidence in untreated rats. This enhancement was observed concomitantly with an increase in the survival of 9-4/0 rhabdomyosarcoma and P 77 fibrohistiocytoma tumor cells, labeled with [125I]5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine or 51Cr and injected iv. Within the first 24 hours after P 77 cell injection, the lungs retained 10% of the cells while the lungs of controls or of rats given one CZT injection only retained 0.06%. The natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity of cells flushed out from lung capillaries [lung intracapillary cells (LIC)] was studied concomitantly in a 4-hour 51Cr release assa against YAC-1 and P 77 target cells. A large reduction was again observed in NK cytotoxicity but only after repeated injections of 7.5 mg CZT/kg. Lung defenses were gradually restored after treatment stopped. Administration of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid with CZT restored the NK cell cytotoxicity of LIC and inhibited lung metastases amplification. The close relationship between metastasis and NK activity indicates the need for caution as regards the effects of chemotherapy on NK activity.

Solubilization and degradation of extracellular matrix by various metastatic cell lines derived from a rat rhabdomyosarcoma.

Examination by use of WAG syngeneic female rats was made on 4 rat rhabdomyosarcoma sublines expressing different metastatic potentials for their abilities to degrade proteoglycans and glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM), deposited by corneal endothelial cells and metabolically labeled with [3H]glycosamine and [35S]sulfate. Of the label incorporated in ECM, 10-20% was released in the culture medium in 3 days by the cell lines studied. The proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, and glycoproteins released by the cells from ECM were separated and partially characterized. Most of the ECM glycoproteins were recovered in the region of 200,000 (200K) on gel chromatography. Glycopeptides of 10K-20K apparent molecular weight were minor components. The glycosaminoglycan chains of the proteoheparan sulfate were partially hydrolyzed to 20K fragments. Tumor cells increased also the solubilization of the nondegraded matrix macromolecules. About 5-8% of the radioactivity of the ECM remained associated with the tumor cells detached from the ECM. ECM degrading activity of the sublines did not correlate with their ability to colonize the lungs after iv injection but did correlate with their ability to metastasize to the lungs from the primary subcutaneous site.

Evidence for splenic suppressor cells in C3H/He, T-cell-deprived C3H/He, and nude mice bearing a 3-methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma.

Suppressor cells were demonstrated in the spleens of C3H/He mice carrying 3-methylcholantrene-induced fibrosarcomas. These cells inhibited the in vitro reactivity of normal lymphocytes to T- and B-cell mitogens. They disappeared within a few days after the tumor was surgically removed. Pretreatment of spleen cells (ScC) from tumor-bearing (TB) mice with either iron and a nagnet, antiserum against Thy 1.2 antigen plus complement, or antiserum against immunoglobulin plus complement demonstrated that the suppressor cells were adherent, non-T-cells bearing immunoglobulin at their surfaces. The suppressive effect could still be demonstrated by addition of SpC from TB mice 24 or 48 hours after phytohemagglutinin stimulation of normal SpC, SpC from TB C3H/He mice inhibited mitogen-induced stimulation of both C3H/He and DBA/2 lymphocytes. In T-cell-deprived TB C3H/He mice, suppressor cells were also observed and had the same characteristics as those in non-T-cell-deprived mice. In nude mice, however, although suppressor cells were active, they were not adherent and did not bear immunoglobulin at their surfaces. The existence of these suppressor cells may be one reason why the immune system of TB animals is unable to reject the tumor.

Methionine dependency of malignant tumors: a possible approach for therapy.

When methionine (Met), an essential amino acid, was substituted for by its precursor homocysteine (Hcy) in the culture medium, normal cells such as fibroblasts proliferated normally. In contrast, many tumor cells failed to grow or grew at a lower rate. Met dependency is acquired simultaneously with cell transformation, as observed with HBL 100, a human mammary epithelial cell line that acquired increased malignancy as a function of in vitro passage number, and NIH/3T3 (J10), a mouse fibroblast line transformed by transfection with the human HRAS oncogene. A relationship was observed between Met dependency and metastatic potential of the RMS-21, RMS-S4T, and RMS-J1 sublines derived from RMS-0, a rat rhabdomyosarcoma cell line: the higher the metastatic potential of the cell line, the higher the concentration of Met required to maintain its proliferation. Met-independent cells derived from the RMS-0 line, obtained by a progressive decrease of Met in the culture medium lost their tumorigenicity when injected into rats fed with Met-deprived diets. In addition, the in vitro motility of RMS-S4T tumor cells, a marker of metastatic capability, decreased in Met-free Hcy-complemented (Met- Hcy+) medium. Similarly, RMS-0 tumor cells, preincubated in a Met- Hcy+ culture medium for 24 hours, evidenced a decreased capacity to form lung colonies when injected into syngeneic rats: the median number of lung colonies was 27 and 3 (P less than .05) for cells cultivated in Met+ Hcy- and Met- Hcy+ media, respectively. An amino acid-defined mixture reproducing casein composition was used as a protein source in the diets fed to RMS-J1 tumor-bearing rats. Dietary substitution of Hcy for Met (i.e., met deprivation) resulted in decreased tumor growth (from 44.4 +/- 1.0 to 40.6 +/- 1.4; P less than .05) and prevention of metastatic spread (from 37 to 0; P less than .05). In conclusion, exogenous Met can be substituted for Hcy to maintain the survival of normal cells but is essential for tumor cell growth in vivo as well as in vitro. Therefore, this defect of cancerous versus normal cells could be used for a therapeutic purpose.

Promotion of micrometastasis proliferation in a rat rhabdomyosarcoma model by epidermal growth factor.

Using a rat rhabdomyosarcoma 9-4/0, we investigated the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in tumor dissemination. In vitro, we detected high-affinity EGF receptors on tumor cells and stimulation of their proliferation by EGF. When injected iv, EGF-pretreated cells demonstrated an increased capacity to form lung colonies and to invade lymphatic tissue. In vivo, EGF treatment led to increased metastatic spread of subcutaneous tumors. When primary tumors were ablated, and the treatment was given from the time of graft until ablation (seeding step), no effect on metastatic spread was noticed. When treatment was given from the time of ablation until death (growth step), EGF increased the number of lung metastases and of invaded lymph node sites.

Enhanced cloning efficiency of murine rhabdomyosarcoma cells after chlorozotocin treatment: relationship with enhanced lung metastasis.

The effect of chlorozotocin [(CZT) CAS: 54749-90-5; 2-(3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosoureido)-D-gluco-pyranose] was studied on a series of tumor cells, cultured or extracted fresh primary or transplanted tumors, by means of clonogenic assay. The ability of most rat rhabdomyosarcoma cells to form colonies in soft agar was enhanced when exposed to the water-soluble nitrosourea chloride CZT. The tumor cells tested were derived from a) several primary tumors induced in WAG rats by colloidal nickel, then cultured and exposed to CZT early during in vitro passage; b) the 9-4 tumor, also Ni-induced but maintained in long-term culture; and c) the Ni-induced 9-4/0 tumor, maintained by transplantation in syngeneic rats. No inhibition of colony formation was observed in any of the cell lines even at high concentrations of CZT. Adriamycin, chosen as a control treatment, strongly inhibited the cloning efficiency (CE) of the tumor cells. In vivo, the weekly injection of 10 mg CZT/kg body weight into syngeneic rats bearing transplanted tumors led to an enhancement of lung metastasis formation. The CZT enhancement of CE of tumor cells and its relationship to increased in vivo tumor metastasis is discussed.

Immunity to a 3-methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma in the C57BL/6 mouse: in vivo analysis by the adoptive tumor neutralization test.

Analyses of the adoptive tumor neutralization test (modified Winn test) in C57BL/6 mice made immune to a 3-methylcholantheene-induced fibrosarcoma showed that the reaction was mediated by a thymus-derived lymphocyte, it was tumor-specific, and the resistance of the immunized donor mouse to the challenge was strongly correlated with the protection of the recipient mouse. Proliferation of immune cells and close contact between tumor cells and immune T-cells were required. The hypothesis of a participation of the recipient in the reaction was considered because of the lack of adoptive protection of pangenic nude mice.

Growth, metastasis, immunogenicity, and chromosomal content of a nickel-induced rhabdomyosarcoma and subsequent cloned cell lines in rats.

Karyotype patterns, growth, metastasis, and immunogenicity were compared in a rhabdomyosarcoma induced by a single injection of metallic nickel with those in subsequent tumor-cloned cell lines. The primary tumor was induced in a male WAG rat by im injection of 20 mg nickel powder. The parental cell line (9-4/0) and 8 cell subpopulations (J 9-4) isolated from a primary tumor by cloning on agarose were examined. The tumor cell dose inducing tumors in 50% of the animals after sc injection (TD50) and the in vitro growth characteristics showed a marked heterogeneity between parental and cloned tumor cell lines. In vitro doubling times and saturation densities were also heterogeneous without showing a discernible relationship with TD50. Chromosome patterns of the cell lines exhibited very similar modal numbers, whereas chromosome numbers were somewhat different; neither of these exhibited any correlation with tumorigenicity. Parental cell line 9-4/0 expressed a significant degree of immunogenicity, but it did not protect against pulmonary metastasis in immunized rats. Among 6 clones studied, only clone J 9-4/2 appeared to be immunogenic and reduced metastatic spread. The relevance of the comparison between the different characteristics is discussed.

Inhibition of rat natural killer cell function by carcinogenic nickel compounds: preventive action of manganese.

The effects of carcinogenic nickel [(Ni) CAS: 7440-02-0] and Ni compounds on the natural killer (NK) cell activity of rat peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were studied. Rhabdomyosarcomas were locally induced by one im injection of Ni or Ni subsulfide [(Ni3S2) CAS: 12035-72-2] dust in the hind leg of WAG rats. A weakly tumorigenic dose of 5 mg Ni3S2 (tumor incidence, 2%) induced a transient decrease of PBMC NK activity against YAC-1 cells in vitro (from the 17th to the 23d wk after Ni3S2 inoculation), which could be restored by in vivo injections of partially purified rat fibroblastic interferon (IFN). Injection of 20 mg Ni (tumor incidence, 47.5%) produced a long-lasting depression of NK cell activity (from the 8th to the 23d wk). In vivo chronic IFN treatment of the Ni-injected rats neither restored NK cell activity nor affected the tumor incidence. However, NK cells of Ni-treated animals responded normally to IFN in vitro. Prospective analysis of individual NK cell responses showed that a persistent depression of basal NK cell activity was restricted to rats that subsequently developed a tumor. In these animals the time between carcinogen treatment and clinical detection of the primary tumor was positively correlated with the mean level of NK cell activity (3-4 determinations/rat). Admixture of manganese to Ni inhibited the development of tumors and also prevented the depression of NK cell activity produced by Ni alone. Noncarcinogenic Ni oxide stimulated NK cell activity. These results point out the possible involvement of NK cells in resistance to Ni-induced carcinogenesis.

Potentiation of lonidamine and diazepam, two agents acting on mitochondria, in human glioblastoma treatment.

BACKGROUND: Cellular metabolism in glioblastoma multiforme, the most common primary brain tumor in humans, is characterized by a high rate of aerobic glycolysis that is dependent on mitochondria-bound hexokinase. Moreover, high levels of glucose utilization and tumor aggressiveness in glioblastoma are associated with a high density of mitochondrial benzodiazepine receptors. We sought to inhibit glioblastoma metabolism by simultaneously inhibiting hexokinase with lonidamine and binding benzodiazepine receptors with diazepam. METHODS: Cellular glioblastoma metabolism in five glioblastoma cell lines was assessed in vitro by measuring cell proliferation (by use of a tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay, measurement of DNA synthesis, and assessment of cell cycle distribution), by measuring membrane fluidity (by fluorescence polarization measurement of cells stained with a fluorescent probe), and by measuring changes in intracellular pH. Immunodeficient nude mice bearing subcutaneous xenografts of human glioblastoma cells were used to assess the antitumor activities of lonidamine and diazepam; the mice were treated twice daily with lonidamine (total daily dose of 160 mg/kg body weight) and/or diazepam (total daily dose of 1 mg/kg body weight) for 10 consecutive days. RESULTS: When used in combination, the two drugs had a stronger effect on glioblastoma cell proliferation and metabolism in vitro than did either agent used alone. In vivo, the combination of lonidamine and diazepam was significantly more effective in reducing glioblastoma tumor growth than either drug alone (two-sided P<.01, Mann-Whitney U test, comparing growth of treated tumors with that of untreated tumors); this tumor growth retardation was maintained as long as treatment was given. CONCLUSION: The combination of lonidamine and diazepam--drugs that target two distinct mitochondrial sites involved in cellular energy metabolism--potentiates the effects of the individual drugs and may prove useful in the treatment of human glioblastomas.

Response of small-cell lung cancer xenografts to chemotherapy: multidrug resistance and direct clinical correlates.

BACKGROUND: Patients with small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs) initially respond to combination chemotherapy. Only a few benefit in terms of long-term survival because most relapse. Such outcome may be attributable to development of multidrug resistance. PURPOSE: The response of SCLC to chemotherapy was examined in terms of (a) patient survival, (b) drug sensitivity of tumors in patients and of tumor xenografts in nude mice, and (c) expression of multidrug resistance gene MDR1 and GST-pi gene. METHODS: Tumor samples obtained from seven untreated patients and from one patient both before and after chemotherapy were transplanted into nude mice. The patients were treated with a combination of cyclophosphamide (C'), cisplatin (C), doxorubicin (A), and etoposide (V) (C'CAV) or C'AV and radiotherapy. Drug sensitivity of SCLCs was tested in nude mice that had received tumor xenografts from these seven patients. The expression of MDR1 and GST-pi genes was assessed in the mRNA extracted from xenografts by Northern blot analysis. P-glycoprotein was quantified by enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: The patients' responses to C'CAV closely correlated with those of the corresponding xenografts. The tumors of the two patients who showed long-term survival after C'CAV completely regressed when they were transplanted into nude mice and subsequently treated with C'CAV. Despite initial complete response, the remaining five patients died during year 1. A high percentage of mice receiving the tumor grafts from these five patients showed only partial tumor regression after C'CAV treatment. The MDR1 transcript was detected in all five of these xenografts. Four of five xenografts were from untreated patients, and the fifth was from a treated patient. MDR1 mRNA expression was absent in the tumor of this fifth patient before chemotherapy, but both the mice receiving the corresponding xenograft and the patient showed expression of MDR1 after C'CAV treatment. MDR1 mRNA expression was absent in the tumor xenografts obtained from two patients with long-term survival. Expression of P-glycoprotein correlated with MDR1 mRNA expression. All xenografts except one expressed the GST-pi gene. CONCLUSIONS: The absence of MDR1 gene expression during chemotherapy for SCLC indicates a favorable prognosis, gene expression is often coincident with ineffective chemotherapy, and tumor xenografts can be appropriately used to predict response to chemotherapy. IMPLICATIONS: Failure of chemotherapy to control SCLC seems to be related to an acquired multidrug resistance involving the MDR1-mediated mechanism. Therapeutic benefit could therefore be expected from chemotherapy combined with inhibitors of MDR1.

Cytostatic effect of spleen cells of tumor-bearing mice on syngenetic tumor cells.

Spleen cell suspensions of methylcholanthrene-induced tumor-bearing mice were tested for their ability to inhibit tumor growth in vitro. The level of cytostasis was correlated with tumor growth and disappeared rapidly after surgical removal of the tumor. Pretreatment by anti-Thy 1-2 antiserum and complement, or by carbonyl iron and a magnet, showed that adherent, non-T-cells were the main effector cells of the cytostatic antitumor effect. Thymus cells suspensions from tubor-bearing mice were not effective in inhibiting tumor growth. This cytostatic effect was not tumor specific, inasmuch as the same spleen cell suspension inhibited growth of tumor cells of different origin.

Fibroblast-dependent tumorigenicity of cells in nude mice: implication for implantation of metastases.

The inadequate nature of the microenvironment is one of several factors considered in the failure of tumor engraftment in athymic mice; in the present work, we have tried to more adequately reconstitute it by injecting tumor cells together with fibroblasts. We have demonstrated that the s.c. co-inoculation of fibroblasts with different kinds of tumor cells of animal origin [rat rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) 9-4/0, rat hepato-carcinoma FAO] or human origin (colonic adenocarcinoma HT29, Ewing's sarcoma pleural metastasis EW-S1) is necessary for tumor take and growth when the number of tumor cells alone is below the tumorigenic dose. We have shown that the s.c. coinoculation of 10(6) fibroblasts and 10(2) RMS 9-4/0 tumor cells induced a tumor take in all the recipient mice, while 10(2) tumor cells alone never gave any tumor. With a tumorigenic number of RMS 9-4/0 tumor cells (10(4), addition of 10(6) fibroblasts decreased the delay between cell injection and tumor appearance, thereby increasing tumor take and growth rate. These results were observed not only in nude animals (mice and rats) used as recipient animals but also in normal WAG rats receiving the syngeneic RMS 9-4/0 tumor cells, and they were independent of the nature or origin of the different fibroblasts cells. This helper effect has also been observed in the normal WAG rats. I.v. injection of tumor cells from a poorly metastatic 9-4/8 subline, derived from the RMS 9-4/0 line and mixed with 10(6) fibroblasts, gave a high number of lung colonies. Addition of 10(6) irradiated 9-4/8 tumor cells instead of fibroblasts did not increase the lung colonizing potential. Fibroblast-conditioned medium mixed with tumor cells instead of fibroblasts also enhanced tumor take and size but to a lesser extent than did the fibroblasts themselves. Only endothelial cells cultured from porcine aorta had a similar helper effect among the cells tested. It is argued in the discussion that the proliferating state of cultivated fibroblasts is a determinant factor conferring upon them the ability to promote tumor cell growth, while fibroblasts very numerous at the implantation site but quiescent might not be efficient in cooperation. Changes in fibroblast morphology and physiology may be necessary in order for tumor cells to express their tumorigenicity.

Differential adhesiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma-derived cloned metastatic cell lines to vascular endothelial monolayers.

A series of 11 cloned cell lines derived from a primary, nickel-induced rat rhabdomyosarcoma was evaluated for their metastatic capacity (number of lung colonies following i.v. injection) and attachment kinetics to confluent pig endothelial cell monolayers grown in vitro. The morphology of the adhering cells was also studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Cells from all lines tested began to attach to the endothelial monolayers within 15 min of incubation at 37 degrees C, with 64% to 93% of the cells adhering after 2 h. Attachment rates at 30 min ranged from 29 to 48% for four lines classed as "weakly adhesive" (attachment, less than 50%) and from 53 to 78% for seven lines classed as "highly adhesive" (attachment, greater than 50%). Four clones of five displaying low lung-colonizing capacities also showed low attachment rates to endothelial monolayers in vitro. All of six highly colonizing lines studied had high attachment rates. A degree of positive correlation was observed between the amount of cell surface fibronectin as evaluated by immunofluorescence and the early phase attachment rates (and lung-colonizing capabilities) of the different cloned cell lines. Early (15 min) attachment of tumor cells to isolated extracellular matrix preparations proceeded at higher rates than to endothelial monolayers, and previously detected differences between high- and low-colonizing clones were less evident with these matrix substrates. Our results suggest possible interrelationships between specific cell adhesion properties and the metastatic potential of blood-borne tumor cells.

Antitumoral activity of bombesin analogues on small cell lung cancer xenografts: relationship with bombesin receptor expression.

Gastrin releasing peptide (GRP), the human homologue of bombesin (BN), is an autocrine growth factor for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells. The synthetic octapeptides [D-cpa1-beta-Leu8-des-Met9]litorin (BIM 26182) and [D-Phe6-Leu13-CH2NH-Cpa14]bombesin(6-14)NH2 (BIM 26189) are potent GRP/BN antagonists of the proliferation of 3T3 and rat pancreas cells. The effect of these analogues on the proliferation of four SCLC cell lines (SCLC 6, SCLC 41, SCLC 75, SCLC 74R) was tested in vitro and in vivo. Two of these SCLC lines (SCLC 41M and SCLC 75) had receptors for BN/GRP and expressed the prepro-GRP mRNA. BIM 26182 and BIM 26189 inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation into the DNA of SCLC 41 cells, stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation in SCLC 6, and had no effect on the two other cell lines. The SCLC implanted s.c. in nude mice were treated with either BIM 26182 or BIM 26189. BIM 26182 and BIM 26189 injected at the doses of 50 micrograms twice a day (s.c.) around the tumor for 10 to 21 days delayed the growth of SCLC 41 and of SCLC 75. The maximal effect was observed during the treatment period, after which the tumors regrew, suggesting a cytostatic effect of these peptides. No inhibitory effect of the peptides on SCLC 74R or SCLC 6 growth was observed. These data suggest that GRP antagonists are able to inhibit the in vitro and in vivo growth of BN/GRP receptors-positive SCLC.