GROWTH INTERACTION INVIVO BETWEEN TUMOR SUB-POPULATIONS DERIVED FROM A SINGLE-MOUSE MAMMARY-TUMOR

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  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 40  (11) , 3977-3981
Abstract
Several tumor cell populations were previously isolated from a single, spontaneously arising mammary tumor of a BALB/cfC3H mouse and established in tissue culture. These subpopulations differ according to many criteria, including growth parameters and expression of tumor-associated antigens. The interaction in vivo of several of these subpopulations was tested by injecting cell suspensions of the same or different sublines into opposite flanks of BALB/cfC3H or BALB/c mice. The growth characteristics of certain subpopulations were altered by the presence of a different subpopulation on the opposite side. In order to understand the mechanism of interaction, 2 subpopulations (410 and 168) were chosen for further study. In BALB/cfC3H mice, the presence of line 410 tumors on 1 flank inhibited 410 and 168 tumors on the other flank. Line 168 tumors did not inhibit 410 or 168 tumors. The inhibitory effect of line 410 appeared to be immunological, since it was increased by injecting line 410 several weeks before line 168, it was abrogated in mice subjected to 400-rad X-irradiation 2 days prior to tumor cell injection, mice could be made resistant to line 410 and line 168 tumors by implantation followed by surgical removal of line 410 but not of line 168, and resistance could be adaptively transferred with lymph node cells from line 410-sensitized mice in Winn assays. Immunity to tumor-associated antigens may be 1 way in which cells of a heterogeneous tumor can interact.