Introduction: The aim of the present study was to describe different
biological aspects of Ehrlich
tumor in
mice , such as
body weight evolution,
tumor growth rate, histological
organization and systemic
immune response after treatment with high-diluted
thymulin (10-9 M, named 5CH).
Methods: Tumor assessment was focused on macro- and microscopic aspects;
parameters included occurrence of
necrosis ,
embolism and
tumor development, in addition to
quantitative analysis of
apoptosis (
caspase-3 ),
cell proliferation (Ki-67) and
angiogenesis (
vascular endothelial growth factor -
VEGF ) by means of specific
immunohistochemistry markers.
Spleen cell populations were evaluated by
flow cytometry analysis .
Results: Mice treated with
thymulin 5CH exhibited changes in the
tumor microenvironment , such as reduced micro-
embolism incidence and
cytokeratin expression, with increased
caspase-3 expression in the
tumor cells . These findings indicate some apoptotic activity by the
tumor cells induced by the
treatment , even though no reduction of the macroscopic
tumor mass occurred. No changes in the systemic
immune response were detected, as the balance among
spleen cell populations remained unchanged.
Conclusions: The results indicate that
treatment of
mice bearing Ehrlich
tumor with
thymulin 5CH induces some specific changes in the
tumor environment . However, it did not influence systemic
immunity parameters . Adjuvant use of
thymulin 5CH in oncological clinical practice is still a matter of discussion. (AU)