Isolation and Characterization of a Murine Spontaneous High-Grade Follicular Lymphoma with Restricted In Vivo Spreading--a Model for Lymphatic Metastasis Via the Mesentery.

Spontaneous or induced malignant lymphomas in mice are valuable tools for studying human lymphoproliferative diseases, including the mechanism of migration between peripheral lymphoid organs and positioning within distinct tissue compartments. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a novel spontaneous lymphoma from BALB/c mice showing restricted tissue distribution and metastasis. The lymphoma cells display CD19, B220, MHC II, surface IgG2a/kappa chain with VH7183 rearrangement of the IgH gene, indicating their B-cell origin. Serial intraperitoneal injection of primary tumor into both BALB/c and RAG-1-deficient hosts led to the successful propagation of lymphoma. Despite the cytological characteristics of high-grade follicular B-cell lymphoma, the tumor cells (denoted as Bc-DLFL.1) showed significantly lesser spreading to extraabdominal locations upon intraperitoneal passage compared to splenic and mesenteric lymph node expansion. In mesenteric lymph nodes the high endothelial venules contained only few tumor cells, while the lymphatic vessels were almost completely filled with lymphoma cells. Similarly, the LYVE-1-positive lymphatic capillaries within the mesentery were packed with lymphoma cells. These findings suggest that Bc-DLFL.1 cells likely propagate primarily via the lymphatic circulation within the mesentery, therefore this tumor may offer an in vivo model to investigate the tumor cell migration via the lymphatic circulation from the peritoneal cavity.

Revising lysenin expression of earthworm coelomocytes.

Lysenin is a species-specific bioactive molecule of Eisenia andrei earthworms. This protein is a potent antimicrobial factor; however its cellular expression and induction against pathogens are still not fully understood. We developed a novel monoclonal antibody against lysenin and applied this molecular tool to characterize its production and antimicrobial function. We demonstrated by flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry that one subgroup of earthworm immune cells (so called coelomocytes), the chloragocytes expressed the highest amount of lysenin. Then, we compared lysenin expression with earlier established coelomocyte (EFCC) markers. In addition, we determined by immunohistology of earthworm tissues that lysenin production is only restricted to free-floating chloragocytes. Moreover, we observed that upon in vitro Staphylococcus aureus but not Escherichia coli challenged coelomocytes over-expressed and then secreted lysenin. These results indicate that among subpopulations of coelomocytes, lysenin is mainly produced by chloragocytes and its expression can be modulated by Gram-positive bacterial exposure.