Tumor pathophysiology: the perfusion model

A procedure for perfusing a tumor as an isolated organ separated from the host is described. Details of the following steps have been outlined: preparation of a tumor connected to the host by a single artery and vein, transfer of the tumor from the host to the ex vivo perfusion system, constitution of the perfusion circuit, composition of the perfusates, control of vascular and metabolic parameters during perfusion.

Pharmacokinetics of methotrexate in solid tumors

The transport of methotrexate (MTX) into Walker 256 carcinoma (W256) and hepatoma 5123 (H5123) transplanted in rats was investigated after a pulse injection and continuous infusion of the drug. A mathematical model was developed which adequately described the distribution and transport of MTX in both solid tumors. In H5123 the uptake was limited by the amount of drug carried by plasma (flow-limited transport), but in W256 MTX uptake was limited by the rate at which the drug crossed the tissue barriers (tissue-limited transport). Relative uptake by the solid tumors was almost eightfold more efficient with low than with high doses. MTX concentration in tumor interstitial fluid equilibrated with that of plasma in about 50 hr using a micropore chamber with a diffusion coefficient of 0.5 microm/min as sampling device. MTX concentration was higher in resistant than in responsive tumors.

Angiogenic and angiostatic microenvironment in tumors--role of gangliosides

Gangliosides are important components of the cell membrane that are usually shed in the surrounding microenvironment by neoplastic cells. Gangliosides can also modulate the angiogenic response of microvessels stimulated by angiogenic factors. The experiments reported here make a contribution to the assessment of the nature of this angiogenic modulation, by demonstrating that a) GM3 gangliosides can block the proliferation of endothelium induced by neoplastic cells from human tumors of five different origins; b) this block also occurs when the endothelial cells are preincubated with GM3 and disappears when the cells are returned to a medium poor in GM3; c) in the presence of GM3 the capacity of the endothelial cells to bind to fibronectin and to collagen types I and IV was sharply reduced; d) concentrations of GM3 able to block endothelial cell growth are counteracted by addition to the medium of GT1b ganglioside. The data suggest that the prevalence of a microenvironment rich in GM3 prevents proliferation of vascular endothelium, but the appropriate presence of another ganglioside, such as GT1b, nullifies the effect. Modulation of the angiogenic response of vascular endothelium to angiogenic factors released by tumors is probably dependent on the distribution and activity of growth factor receptors on the endothelial cell surface. The nature and concentration of the gangliosides in the endothelial microenvironment have a decisive influence on this event and possibly on the progression of tumor-induced angiogenesis.

Prostaglandins and gangliosides of tumor microenvironment: their role in angiogenesis

In the solid tumor the microenvironment is the space limited by the basement membrane of the microvessels and the neoplastic cells membrane. It includes the stroma and a liquid phase, the tumor interstitial fluid (TIF). We developed a method to sample TIF in vivo and found it rich in prostaglandins. In the rabbit cornea PGE1 induces neovascularization and acts as an angiogenesis factor. Before angiogenesis appears the ganglioside content of the cornea doubles with sharp reduction of the GM3/GD3 ratio. These gangliosides are not angiogenic but they influence the endothelial cell behavior. In particular when the PGE1 dose is insufficient to induce angiogenesis, enrichment of corneal tissue with GD3 or GM1 stimulates angiogenesis. However, when the corneal tissue is enriched with GM3, doses of PGE1, normally angiogenic fail to do so. The same was observed when bFGF substituted PGE1 as an angiogenesis trigger. The gangliosides tested acted as modulators of the angiogenic response by promoting the angiogenic capacity of molecules, such as PGE1 or bFGF, normally present in the tissue microenvironment. Several neoplastic cells, especially melanomas, shed gangliosides in the microenvironment. Their modulatory effect on angiogenesis may influence metastatic and/or primary tumor growth.

Angiogenesis can be stimulated or repressed in vivo by a change in GM3:GD3 ganglioside ratio

BACKGROUND

We had previously observed that rabbit cornea stimulated by an angiogenic factor 1) became richer in total gangliosides and 2) reduced the GM3:GD3 ganglioside ratio. Moreover, experimentally induced global enrichment of corneal gangliosides favors angiogenesis.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

The objective of this work was to explain the possible relationship between angiogenic response and changes in the GM3:GD3 ratios observed in vivo. Cornea was utilized because it is avascular and transparent; i.e., the onset of opacity permitted exclusion of angiogenesis produced by a generic inflammatory response. Prostaglandin E1 or basic fibroblast growth factor were applied as angiogenesis triggers. Angiogenesis in vivo and mobilization and growth of microvascular endothelium in vitro were taken as parameters to indicate whether differences in GM3:GD3 ratios could modify the extent of the angiogenic response.

RESULTS

In vivo angiogenesis, whether prostaglandin E1 or basic fibroblast growth factor induced, was repressed by GM3 and enhanced by GD3 or GM1 enrichment of the cornea. In vitro growth and motility of microvascular endothelium were reduced by GM3 addition to the medium and returned to normal levels by addition of GD3.

CONCLUSIONS

Formation of new vessels induced by two different angiogenic factors could be stimulated or repressed in the cornea by reduction or enhancement of the GM3:GD3 ratio of tissue gangliosides. Changes in the relative proportion of molecules normally present in adult tissues, like prostaglandin E1, basic fibroblast growth factor, GM3, GD3, were sufficient to modulate or even block angiogenesis.

Growth and motility of microvascular endothelium are modulated by the relative concentration of gangliosides in the medium

The data reported were obtained as an attempt to understand whether the change in total concentration and relative ratios of the 3 major corneal gangliosides (GM3, GM2, GD3) previously observed in corneas stimulated by an angiogenic molecule (Ziche et al., 1989) was a relevant event in the angiogenic response of the tissue. The effect on endothelial cell growth was tested for the 3 corneal gangliosides added singly to the culture medium, and GM3 was found to possess a substantial growth inhibitory effect as compared to GM2 and GD3. The growth-limiting effect of GM3 was counteracted to a different degree by the addition of a second ganglioside to the culture medium. A mixture of GM3 + GM2 + GD3 in the proportion similar to that found in the cornea stimulated by an angiogenic molecule was able to sustain a sharp increment in cell growth and motility when added to cultures of capillary endothelium. On the contrary, when the 3 components of the mixture were in the proportion present in the normal cornea, the increment in growth or motility did not occur. A simple change in the relative proportions of the 3 gangliosides was sufficient to trigger or prevent an increment in growth and motility of the endothelial cells. These data in vitro suggest that the changes in concentration and relative ratios of the 3 major corneal gangliosides observed in vivo when the cornea was stimulated by an angiogenic molecule were an event targeted to favour growth and mobilization of the capillary endothelium located within the limbal vessels at the periphery of the cornea.

Gangliosides, copper ions and angiogenic capacity of adult tissues

The report summarizes the work of our laboratory aimed at improving the understanding of the angiogenic response of adult tissues, an event that transforms a micro-embolus of neoplastic cells into a growing metastasis. Attention has been focused on tumor-induced angiogenesis. The following aspects of the subject are discussed: (a) relationship between size of vascular network and tumor growth rate or tumor cell population; (b) angiogenic capacity of tumors and role that prostaglandin E1 may have as an angiogenesis factor; (c) relationship between acquisition of angiogenic capacity and neoplastic transformation of a cell population; (d) modification of tissue composition at the onset of angiogenesis; (e) behaviour of copper ions and copper carriers in the course of the angiogenic response; (f) the influence of gangliosides on endothelial cell motility, survival and growth in vitro; (g) modulation of the angiogenic response by gangliosides (GM1, GT1b) in vivo.

Synergism between gangliosides and basic fibroblastic growth factor in favouring survival, growth, and motility of capillary endothelium

The experiments reported were motivated by the observation that in vivo gangliosides promoted angiogenesis when the dose of the angiogenic factor was too low to be effective (Ziche et al.: Laboratory Investigation 61:629-634, 1989). As an approach to understanding the mechanism of this modulatory effect, we analysed the influence that gangliosides have on survival, growth, and migration of capillary endothelium when an angiogenesis factor like basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was present in the culture medium. Clones of bovine capillary endothelium were cultivated in media unable to sustain survival over a 72 h period. With this experimental approach, cell survival was evaluated after addition of either bFGF or gangliosides or both to the medium. The Boyden chamber procedure was utilized to measure the influence of bFGF or gangliosides on cell mobilization across a micropore filter. Low doses of both molecules, ineffective when added singly to the culture media, improved all three parameters when added in combination. A synergic effect between bFGF and the gangliosides (GM1, GD1b, GT1b) was observed for the improvement of survival or growth and for the acceleration of endothelial cell migration. The removal of sialic acid from the ganglioside molecule prevented any effect on all three parameters. The addition of sialic acid alone to cultures was also totally ineffective. In the adult organism most angiogenic events occur under conditions of tissue damage. The synergism between gangliosides and bFGF can be interpreted as the initial phase of a process for which endothelial cell survival is the indispensable first step in the formation of a new vascular network.

Gangliosides promote the angiogenic response

Formation of new capillaries was induced in rabbit corneas by optimal doses of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) or basic fibroblastic growth factor. Suboptimal doses of either of these angiogenesis inducers were unable to elicit corneal angiogenesis. However, the addition of gangliosides (GM1 or GT1b) to the insufficient dose of the angiogenic inducer, not only promoted neovascularization but strongly enhanced the number and growth rate of the newly formed capillaries as compared with the effect of an optimal dose of the angiogenesis inducer alone. Removal of the ganglioside stimulation led to the disappearance of the newly formed capillaries. Re-establishment of the ganglioside stimulation renewed the appearance of a conspicuous vascular network. Removal of sialic acid from the ganglioside molecule nullified its stimulatory effect on angiogenesis. GMI or GT1b or sialic acid were not angiogenic by themselves. Corneas ready to be invaded by newly formed capillaries induced by an optimal dose of an angiogenesis factor such as PGE1 had a ganglioside content about twice that of unstimulated corneas. The results are interpreted to indicate that ganglioside molecules influence capillary formation not as angiogenesis inducers but as promoters of vessel morphogenesis. The data support the hypothesis that in vivo the level of gangliosides in the tissue milieu could influence the evolution of pathologic processes in which new formation of capillaries is a critical event.

Retinyl acetate-induced arthritis in C3H-A(vy) mice

Severely impaired musculoskeletal mobility in C3H-A(vy) mice was noted during a pharmacologic trial evaluating the antitumorigenic properties of retinyl acetate (RAc). To determine the etiology of this impairment, we studied 103 female C3H-A(vy) mice that were fed RAc in daily doses of 75-300 micrograms or placebo and were killed after 3-16 months. Whole-body radiographs and histologic sections of the hindlimbs were scored for presence and severity of arthritis. C3H-A(vy) mice treated with RAc in any dose had a significantly higher incidence of arthritis than placebo-treated mice. Histologic evidence of enthesopathic disease closely paralleled the radiographic changes and ranged from small enthesophytes at tendinous and capsular insertions to complete periarticular bony bridging. Articular cartilage was not grossly affected. The incidence and severity of arthritis were significantly correlated with the total dose of RAc administered. The bony metaplasia induced by RAc was similar to the pathologic changes caused by other retinoids. This model may be useful for studying the pathogenesis of periarticular bone formation in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis and related syndromes.

Influence of gangliosides on primary and metastatic neoplastic growth in human and murine cells

The influence of gangliosides on tumor growth and frequency of metastasis in vivo as well as on growth and motility of neoplastic cells in vitro was tested utilizing human and rodent cell populations. In mice receiving injections of a ganglioside mixture twice daily the tumor volume, the number of spontaneous metastases per animal, and the number of mice with metastasis was approximately double that of controls. Preincubation of neoplastic cells with the ganglioside mixture doubled the number of metastatic foci in the lungs of mice receiving the cells by i.v. injection. Addition of a ganglioside mixture to the culture medium enhanced motility of neoplastic cells about 3-fold. This finding was similar to that observed for capillary endothelium. The presence of gangliosides in the culture media for a 48-h incubation period about doubled the number of neoplastic cells as compared to controls; the same was observed for capillary endothelium. The data are interpreted to indicate that gangliosides improve growth and mobilization of capillary endothelium and neoplastic cells. Both events may concur in enhancing tumor growth in vivo, the first by improving angiogenesis, the second by direct action on the neoplastic cell population.

Considerations on the mechanism of the angiogenic response

The principal objective of our work is to sufficiently understand the mechanism of angiogenesis in the adult organism to allow interference with the process on a rational basis. It is apparent that several "factors" can trigger angiogenesis. To test these, we used the rabbit cornea mostly because it is avascular (i.e., the background is zero) and transparent (i.e., the newly formed capillaries that invade the cornea are easily visible in the unanaesthetized animal). Under these conditions, it was found that the cornea ready to be colonized by capillaries under the action of an angiogenesis effector becomes rich in copper ions and sialic acid. Motility of bovine capillary endothelium was utilized to analyze the angiogenesis process on the ground that mobilization of capillary endothelium is the first morphological event observed during angiogenesis in vivo and the methods to measure cell motility are reasonably accurate. With this approach it was found that heparin, fibronectin, and gangliosides are involved in the mobilization of capillary endothelium. The precise interaction among these three components is not yet clear.

Effect of pregnancy and nursing on the growth of metastases from N-nitroso-N-methylurea-induced mammary carcinomas

Pregnancy increased the survival times of inbred BUF/N rats bearing occult metastasis of a mammary carcinoma at the time of conception. Nursing following delivery nullified the effect of pregnancy. The similarity of the controlled experimental data with the limited clinical observations is noted. An experimental model of rat mammary carcinoma has been described that possesses a highly metastasizing capacity and can be utilized to study the behavior of clinically silent metastasis.

Expression of kappa-casein in normal and neoplastic rat mammary gland is under the control of prolactin

An 820-nucleotide-long cDNA clone for the kappa-casein (the casein micelle-stabilizing protein) from rat mammary gland was isolated, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence from the nucleotide sequence revealed a signal peptide, 21 amino acids long, and a mature protein of 157 amino acids. The signal peptide of rat kappa-casein was highly homologous to that of the precursor to ovine kappa-casein. However, little homology was apparent when the mature kappa-casein protein sequences from ovine or bovine sources were compared with rat kappa-casein. The kappa-casein mRNA content of the mammary tissue was found to increase during its functional differentiation. Prolactin appears to modulate the production of kappa-casein mRNA. Mammary glands of virgin females had no detectable kappa-casein mRNA; however, a marked induction of kappa-casein mRNA was obtained by intravenous infusion of prolactin. Mammary carcinomas did not follow the same pattern. 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary carcinomas had normally low levels of kappa-casein mRNA, but intravenous prolactin infusion increased the levels by 2-fold. The MTW9 mammary carcinoma that grows only in the presence of high levels of mammotropic hormones had kappa-casein mRNA content equivalent to that in 10-day lactating rat mammary gland. Continuous venous infusion of prolactin to MTW9 mammary carcinoma did not modify the kappa-casein mRNA levels. Nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary carcinomas had no detectable kappa-casein mRNA, and intravenous prolactin infusion was unable to induce it.

Angiogenesis in vivo and selective mobilization of capillary endothelium in vitro by heparin-copper complex

The objective of this work was to contribute to the interpretation of the mechanisms of capillary formation in the adult tissues. We have observed that the heparin-copper complex is angiogenic in vivo and stimulates migration of capillary endothelium in vitro. This effect is specific for capillary endothelium since aortic endothelium or fibroblasts from the rabbit cornea or human skin were unresponsive.

Characterization of a chemoattractant for endothelium induced by angiogenesis effectors

The mechanism of neovascularization was further explored by the use of chemically defined angiogenesis effectors. The vascularization of the rabbit cornea was selected as an experimental approach that permits comparison of one cornea treated by the angiogenesis effector with the contralateral cornea of the same subject treated by the same molecule deprived of angiogenic capacity. Under these conditions, we observed that neovascularization was initiated by the appearance of a chemoattractant for the bovine capillary endothelium only in the cornea treated by the angiogenesis effector. The chemoattractant was purified about 150-fold by a single-step procedure, using gelatin:Sepharose affinity chromatography. Chemoattraction resulted from the combined effect of a chemotactic factor(s) and an activating factor(s). The association of the two enhanced 5- to 8-fold the motility of the capillary endothelium in a concentration-dependent manner with optimum at 0.2 mg/ml. The activating factor(s) does not have chemotactic capacity, but without it, chemotaxis is reduced to about one half. The chemotactic complex was present in the cornea regardless of the nature of the angiogenesis effector used as the triggering device. Heat and proteases eliminated chemotaxis and destroyed the chemotactic complex. Thus, neovascularization may be triggered by effectors able to induce in the cornea proteins, normally not present, that influence angiogenesis via mobilization of capillary endothelium.

Mobilization of capillary endothelium in vitro induced by effectors of angiogenesis in vivo

An assay to measure endothelial cell mobilization on a gelatin substratum has been developed. Utilization of the gelatin-agarose and Boyden chamber assays established that: (a) fragments or extracts of corneas treated with several effectors of angiogenesis in vivo acquired the capacity to mobilize the capillary endothelium in vitro; (b) this mobilization was selective for the capillary endothelium; endothelium from aorta and fibroblasts from human skin or rabbit cornea were unresponsive; and (c) among the effectors of angiogenesis utilized alone; i.e., without the intermediary action of the cornea, none were able to mobilize the capillary endothelium in vitro, except for the heparin-copper complex. The data are interpreted to indicate that new formation of capillaries in vivo is the end result of a cascade of events of which heparin and copper are important components.

Ceruloplasmin, copper ions, and angiogenesis

The ability to induce new formation of capillaries in the cornea was tested for ceruloplasmin, the copper carrier of serum, for fragments of the ceruloplasmin molecule with and without copper, for heparin, and for glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, bound or not bound to copper ions. Male or female 2- to 3-kg New Zealand White rabbits were used. These experiments were prompted by the previous observation of copper accumulation in the cornea during angiogenesis and by the inability of copper-deficient rabbits to mount an angiogenic response. The results showed that the three different molecules were all able to induce angiogenesis provided that they were bound to copper. Fragments of the ceruloplasmin molecule also induced angiogenesis but only when copper was bound to the peptides. The data are interpreted to indicate that copper ions are involved in the sequence of events leading to angiogenesis and that the carrier molecules may be of quite a different nature.

Role of prostaglandin E1 and copper in angiogenesis

The interstitial fluid of MTW9A and Walker carcinomas and their ethanol extract induced strong angiogenic response in the rabbit (New Zealand White) corneal test. The fluid collected in vivo was rich in E-type prostaglandins, and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) in particular was strongly angiogenic at the lowest dose as compared with the angiogenic responses of prostaglandins E2, I2, and F2 alpha. Neoplastic fibroblasts also induced a strong angiogenic response, but in indomethacin-treated rabbits neovascularization failed to occur. Copper was concentrated in the cornea during PGE1-induced neovascularization, and copper-deficient rabbits were unable to mount an angiogenic response in the corneal test. Ceruloplasmin, the copper carrier of plasma, was found to be angiogenic at high doses. In indomethacin-treated rabbits, however, ceruloplasmin at the same high doses failed to induce angiogenesis. The experiments are interpreted to indicate that angiogenesis is the end result of a sequence of events, two of which are PGE1 production and copper mobilization in the tissue where neovascularization occurs.

Angiogenesis and neoplastic progression in vitro

In vivo cell populations at high risk of neoplastic transformation have been shown to acquire the ability to induce new formation of vessels. The present experiments tested whether the same change occurred during neoplastic transformation in vitro. In four cell populations (human HBL 100 mammary epithelium, BALB/c fibroblasts, C57BL-MG epithelium, and Syrian golden hamster embryo cells), angiogenic capacity appeared during their cultivation in vitro and was evident long before a neoplastic transformation could be recognized. The data were interpreted to support the hypothesis that acquisition of angiogenic capacity by a cell population normally devoid of this capacity indicates an increased risk of neoplastic transformation.

Temperature gradients and local perfusion in a mammary carcinoma

Temperature gradients of mammary tumors in randombred Sprague-Dawley rats under normothermia, hypothermia, and hyperthermia were determined, and their experimental modifications were utilized to assess differences in perfusion rates within the neoplastic tissue. Normothermic tumors showed a circadian rhythm with zenith at midnight and nadir at midday. Differences between highest and lowest temperatures recorded during the 24-hour period reached up to 3 degrees C. Similar oscillations were observed in subcutaneous tissue without tumor. An average temperature increment of 0.5-1.0 degrees C was observed when a tumor was transferred from the subcutaneous to the abdominal location. Gradients larger than 1 degrees C were observed within the same tumor in locations only a few millimeters distance from each other. The nonuniformity in temperature within normothermic tumors was exaggerated during hyperthermia. No appreciable change in temperature gradients was seen within a normothermic tumor when tumor blood flow was doubled or reduced to one-third of the basal level. Hyperthermia increased both volume and temperature of tumor efferent blood. As expected, decrease or increase in blood flow during hyperthermia increased or decreased tumor temperature, respectively, but substantial temperature gradients up to 2 degrees C still persisted within adjacent regions. The extent of temperature changes in the tumor could not be correlated with a known change in blood supply. A pulse of cold serum into the tumor afferent artery produced a substantial reduction of tumor blood flow, but only a small depression in tumor temperatures, and a very small change in tumor temperature gradients. No appreciable modification could be brought about in tumor temperature levels and temperature gradients within the tumor by pulses of cold serum in the afferent artery during hyperthermia. After external cooling of the tumor, the time necessary to compensate for temperature depression did not correlate with either the reduction of temperature or with the thickness of the tumor tissue separating the thermistor from the cold source. The results indicate extensive anisotropy of temperature and blood distribution within growing neoplastic tissue and suggest that heat transfer by convection within the tumor is much less effective than it is commonly assumed.

Angiogenesis and prediction of sarcoma formation by plastic

The capacity to induce new formation of capillaries was tested in cells attached to plastics. It is known that large plastic coverslips implanted s.c. in CBA mice produce sarcomas more rapidly and in a greater number than do small coverslips. We observed that within a few weeks after implantation the cells attached to the large coverslips showed an angiogenic capacity about 5-fold greater than that of the cells attached to the small coverslips. Months before a sarcoma was evident, angiogenesis induced by the cells attached to the large coverslips predicted the high risk of neoplastic transformation by large coverslips.

Effect of ovariectomy on hormone receptors and growth of N-nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary tumors in the rat

Estrogen receptor(s) (ER), progesterone receptor(s) (PGR), androgen receptor(s) (ANR), and prolactin receptor(s) (PRLR) were measured in N-nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary tumors in intact female Sprague-Dawley rats and in rats 9 days after ovariectomy. Following ovariectomy, 12 of 15 tumors regressed to 47.7 +/- 5.5% of the original size (hormone-dependent tumors), while the remaining three had arrest of growth reaching 88.8 +/- 7.3% of their original sizes. Cytosol ER level was 50.3 +/- 6.6 fmol/mg protein in tumors of intact rats and was significantly lower (25.6 +/- 8.3 fmol/mg, p < 0.025) in the ovariectomized group. PGR was abundantly present in ten of 13 tumors of intact rats (mean, 144.5 +/- 46.8) but was undetectable in five of six hormone-dependent tumors after ovariectomy (p < 0.01). ANR ws detectable at low levels in only four of 13 tumors of intact rats but in none of six hormone-dependent tumors after ovariectomy. PRLR was not significantly different in tumors of intact and ovariectomized rats (20.6 +/- 2.4 and 15.6 +/- 1.8 fmol/mg, respectively). In three tumors that had arrest of growth after ovariectomy, the levels of ER, PGR, ANR, and PRLR were not significantly different from those of the hormone-dependent tumors. We conclude that the majority of N-nitrosomethylurea-induced rat mammary tumors are hormone dependent. ER, PGR, and PRLR were abundantly present in the majority of these tumors, while ANR was present in only four of 13 tumors. The levels of ER and PGR were significantly lower following ovariectomy, while PRLR was not significantly changed.

Fiber Optic Microfluorimetry for Acute and Chronic In-Vivo Animal Studies

Highly localized long-term measurements of tumor transport properties are performed with pairs of adjacent, parallel single-strand optic fibers embedded in a laboratory animal. External illumination and light sensing equipment detect local concentration of a fluorescent indicator initially injected into the venous system. Under appropriate conditions, blood flow per unit volume, capillary permeability, and uptake of fluorescent drugs can be determined from the fluorescence time history. The observation volume has a characteristic dimension on the order of 0.5 mm. Chronic tests in 20 animals monitored for 1–2 weeks have demonstrated that the technique is practical, the tumor histology is acceptable, and the measured local tissue uptake is comparable to average values in the literature. The technique is also suitable for acute experiments using a miniature fiber optic needle probe.

Influence of lithium on mammary tumor growth in vivo

The possibility that lithium ions stimulate growth of mammary tumors in vivo has been suggested by their mitogenic action in vitro on normal and neoplastic mammary epithelium [8] and their clinical use as stimulators of neutrophil production in tumor-bearing patients treated with cytotoxic drugs [14,15]. Three experiments were performed to assess this possibility. Buffalo/N female rats received a single injection of N-nitrosomethylurea (NMU) at a dose known to produce mammary carcinomas in about 50% of animals under standard conditions. Under lithium treatment, the incidence of tumors did not increase significantly. Sprague-Dawley female rats treated with a single dose of 7,12-dimethylbenz[alpha] anthracene (DMBA), but showing no mammary tumors after 4 months, received lithium in their drinking water for 3 additional months. The number of late-appearing tumors was not increased by lithium treatment. Buffalo/N females with NMU-induced tumors were castrated, and the subsequent changes in tumor volume were compared in lithium-treated and control animals. The regression-regrowth curves were not altered by lithium treatment. These results are in contrast to the growth stimulatory capacity of lithium on mammary epithelium observed in vitro [8] and indicate it is very unlikely that lithium ions have an undesirable growth stimulatory action on primary mammary carcinomas in vivo.

Effect of retinyl acetate on the incidence of mammary carcinomas and hepatomas in mice

Studies were designed to determine the efficacy of retinyl acetate (RA) in preventing mammary tumorigenesis in C3H-Avy female mice. Mice were fed a stock diet supplemented with RA beadlets at concentrations of 83, 41, and 21 mg/kg diet. Control animals received stock diet supplemented with placebo beadlets. The RA diet was started at conception in 1 group of animals whose mothers were fed RA from the time of mating. Two other groups of animals were placed on the RA diet at weaning or at 3 months of age. Mice were killed and necropsied 1 month after the appearance of the first mammary tumor or at 15 months of age if no tumor developed. No significant difference in incidence of mammary carcinomas was found between control and RA-fed mice. The incidence was 80--90% in all groups. The number of tumors per mouse (1.6--2.1) and the tumor latency period (10.2--11.6 mo) were not influenced by RA in the diet. Two unexpected observations were made: 1) Control mice autopsied at 12 months of age or older showed a 70% incidence of hepatomas, whereas the incidences were approximately 11, 17, and 46% in mice fed 83, 41, and 21 mg RA/kg diet, respectively. 2) Severe damage to most articulations was induced by RA, even at the dose of 21 mg/kg diet, which failed to cause any other sign of toxicity.

Cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate and protein kinase activity in insulin-dependent and -independent mammary tumors

Approximately 70% of primary 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)-anthracene-induced mammary tumors regressed when (tumor-bearing) rats were made diabetic after treatment with streptozotocin. In the intact animal, cyclic adenosine 3':5"-monophosphate (cAMP) levels of tumors that regressed following the induction of diabetes were initially 4-fold lower than in unresponsive tumors but increased 4-fold during regression. The insulin-independent tumors showed no statistically significant changes. cAMP binding in cytosol of regressing tumors was about 80% above the initial values at 36 hr after therapy but decreased to about 45% 1 week later. On the contrary, the binding capacity of the nuclei showed a 56% increase at 36 hr and increased gradually to about 3-fold 1 week later. Within 36 hr after treatment, total histone kinase activity increased 127% in the cytosol and 153% in the nuclei of regressing tumors. The increment of histone kinase activity was almost totally in the cAMP-dependent component of the enzyme. These changes were not apparent in insulin-independent tumors. The results are interpreted to indicate that mammary tumor regression due to diabetes involves the cAMP system and occurs through a sequence of events similar to those observed during regression induced by either ovariectomy or dibutyryl cAMP (cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate) treatment.

Blood flow and heat transfer in Walker 256 mammary carcinoma

True thermal conductivity of 13 Walker 256 mammary carcinomas in noninbred Sprague-Dawley rats averaged 3.2+/-0.9 mW/cm/degrees C under physiologic conditions. A comparison of the effective thermal conductivity in 4 tumors with and without blood flow revealed large differences ranging from 14 to 132%. When the blood supply to the tumor was doubled or reduced to one-half, the effective thermal conductivity varied proportionally to the square root of the perfusion rate. The values of thermal conductivity were obtained from a tumor preparation in which blood flow was monitored continuously during temperature changes. These changes were measured by thermistors and produced by thermal probes incorporated by the growing tumor, not surgically inserted within the tissue at the time of measurement. Inasmuch as tissue necrosis was not a dominant factor, the data are interpreted to reflect the degree of difference in local perfusion of the neoplastic tissue.

Acquisition of angiogenic capacity and neoplastic transformation in the rat mammary gland

The ability to induce formation of new vessels was tested in fragments of rat mammary tissue transplanted onto the rabbit iris and observed through the transparent cornea. Virgin, pregnant, and lactating glands showed an angiogenic capacity in about 5% of implants. In contrast mammary carcinomas induced angiogenesis in 75 to 100% of implants. Fragments of mammary gland previously treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[alpha]anthracene of N-nitrosomethylurea but without histological evidence of neoplastic transformation showed an angiogenic response in about 5% of implants. The same low angiogenic response was detected in primary hyperplastic alveolar nodules. However, angiogenesis was observed 2 to 3 times more frequently in implants from hyperplastic outgrowths that acquired of continuous transplantability and showed a high degree of neoplastic transformation. These data on the rat mammary gland confirm previous findings on mouse mammary gland, indicating that: (a) neoplastic epithelium has a higher angiogenic capacity than does normal epithelium; and (b) hyperplastic epithelium at high risk of undergoing neoplastic transformation induces angiogenesis more frequently than does hyperplastic epithelium with low tumor potential.

Arrest of synthesis of specific proteins at the onset of mammary tumor regression

MTW9 mammary carcinoma regressing after removal of mammotropin stimulation was used as a model to test the hypothesis that the augmented activity of lysosomal enzymes observed during regression may be triggered by a modification of the protein composition of the cytoplasm. In support of the hypothesis, we observed that: (a) the pattern of leucine incorporation into cytosol proteins differs between growing and regressing tumors; (b) the difference is localized in three bands of the electrophoretic pattern; and (c) the change in pattern appears within 6 hr after hormone removal, about 4 hr after prolactin levels in blood were below the concentration needed by MTW9 to grow. These observations are in line with our previous finding of an increased susceptibility of cytosol proteins to proteolytic digesion during MTW9 regression.

Considerations on the preneoplastic lesions of the mammary gland

The general characteristics of the preneoplastic lesions of the human mammary gland, as they are known through histologic description, are outlined, and data obtained from the experimental analysis of mammary gland preneoplasia in five areas of endeavor are discussed. Results obtained with transplantation procedures and aimed at defining the growth potential of hyperplastic outgrowths are reported. Information derived from the study of events able to induce benign hyperplastic outgrowths or their malignant transformation in the murine mammary gland is summarized. Attempts to predict neoplastic transformation in morphologically hyperplastic epithelium of human and rodent glands are discussed. The present status of efforts toward the prophylaxis of preneoplastic lesions of the mammary gland is described. Considerations of the relationship between preneoplasia and tumor dormancy conclude the presentation.

alpha-Lactalbumin content of rat mammary carcinomas and the effect of pituitary stimulation

Primary mammary carcinomas induced in nonlactating rats by 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene or methylnitrosourea contained alpha-lactalbumin (alphaLA) in quantities equal to or less than 10% of the amounts found in the parenchyma of the 5-day lactating gland. Only two of five transplantable mammary carcinomas contained alphaLA when growing in rats without hormonal stimulation. Hormonal stimulation maintained by transplantation into lactating females for 146 generations (65 months) failed to induce alphaLA production in dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene no.1 transplantable mammary carcinoma. Transplantation of a pituitary gland under the kidney capsule of the host (a) increased alphaLA content of primary dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced mammary carcinomas, (b) reduced alphaLA content of primary methylnitrosourea-induced mammary carcinomas, and (c) was unable to modify the alphaLA levels in five transplantable mammary carcinomas.

Spontaneous lymphosarcoma arising in a nude mouse: characterization in vivo and in vitro

A lymphosarcoma spontaneously arising in a nude mouse and a continuous cell line (NML-1) derived from it are described and compared. The primary tumor and a transplantable tumor line from it were composed of lymphoid cells, with no C-type viral particles seen by electron microscopy. The culture line was composed of cells with morphologic and functional properties of macrophages; budding C-type particles were abundant. The cells in the tumors produced in nude mice by injection of the NML-1 cells also resembled macrophages morphologically rather than lymphocytes; however, by electron microscopy, no C-type particles were seen. The findings suggest some type of in vivo suppression of complete expression of the virus.

Angiogenesis: a marker for neoplastic transformation of mammary papillary hyperplasia

Mouse mammary papillomas elicit new formation of vessels when transplanted onto the rabbit iris. This angiogenic capacity is a property of carcinomas but not of the resting mammary gland. In mouse papillary hyperplasias, however, this property appears much earlier than any morphological or clinical sign of carcinoma. A test for angiogenic capacity may reveal a step in the progression toward clinical malignancy and thus could be used to screen for neoplastic potential of hyperplastic epithelium in biopsy tissues.

Increased susceptibility of cytosol proteins to proteolytic digestion during regression of a hormone-dependent mammary tumor

Regression of MTW9 mammary carcinoma, which consistently follows withdrawal of mammotropic hormones, was characterized by a rapid decrease of thymidine incorporation into DNA but only a slight reduction or uridine incorporation into RNA and amino acid incorporation into proteins. Within 24 hr of hormone withdrawal, cytosol proteins of MTW9 became more easily degraded by trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, or subtilisin BPN'. Labilization of cytosol proteins occurred much earlier than any change in the level of protein synthesis or lysosomal enzyme activity. The data showing increased susceptibility to proteolysis could not be explained either by the presence of endogenous proteases, by the destruction of the exogenous proteases used in the assay, or by the existence of protease inhibitors. Nor were any differences detected either in the distribution of radioactive precursor among the cytosol proteins from growing or regressing tumors or in the electrophoretic pattern of the same proteins. Preincubation of the cytosol proteins with dithiothreitol or with prolactin, 17 beta-estradiol, progesterone, and hydrocortisone did not modify the susceptibility to proteolysis. However, after heat denaturation, cytosol proteins of regressing and growing tumors became equally susceptible to proteolysis. It is suggested that regression of MTW9 mammary carcinoma occurs not only because cell reproduction is arrested, but also because susceptibility of cytosol proteins to proteolysis is increased.

Angiogenic capacity of preneoplastic lesions of the murine mammary gland as a marker of neoplastic transformation

The angiogenic capacity of normal, preneoplastic, and neoplastic murine mammary tissues from high-tumor-incidence strains (C3H, C3H-AVV, C3H-AVVfB) was compared by implanting small biopsies on the iris surface in New Zealand White rabbits. Proliferation of iris blood vessels was studied by: (a) in vivo slit-lamp stereomicroscopy and fluorescein angiography; (b) colloidal carbon injection of the microvasculature; and (c) histological examination. Ninety % of mammary tumor implants elicited neovascular changes after 48 to 72 hr, regardless of their histological classification or the presence or absence of mammary tumor virus. Corticosteroid treatment did not abolish this response. In contrast, only 6% of implants from normal mammary glands caused any vasoproliferation. Thirty % of implants from premalignant hyperplastic alveolar nodules produced a pattern of vessel growth similar to tumor implants. D-2 line (hyperplastic alveolar nodule outgrowth) tissues, which have a high predicted tumor incidence, induced significantly more neovascular responses (p less than 0.002) than do morphologically and biochemically similar D-1 line tissues, which have a low predicted tumor incidence. These data suggest that angiogenic capacity is expressed during the malignant progression of murine mammary tissues; this property may provide a means for identifying those preneoplastic tissues that are most at risk for cancer.