SPONTANEOUS PYROGEN PRODUCTION BY MOUSE HISTIOCYTIC AND MYELOMONOCYTIC TUMOR-CELL LINES INVITRO

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  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 147  (5) , 1503-1516
Abstract
Tumor-associated fever occurs commonly in acute leukemias and lymphomas. The capacity for in vitro production of pyrogen by 3 mouse histiocytic lymphoma cell lines (J-774, PU5-1.8, p 388 D1), 1 myelomonocytic line (WEHI-3) and lymphoma-derived lines (RAW-8 and R-8) was studied. Pyrogen was released spontaneously into the culture medium during growth by all cell lines with macrophage or myeloid characteristics including lysozyme production; R-8 cells, of presumed B [bone marrow-derived]-lymphocyte origin, did not produce pyrogen. When injected into mice, the pyrogens gave fever curves typical of endogenous pyrogen, were inactivated by heating to 56.degree. C and by pronase digestion, and appeared to be secreted continuously by viable cells. Two pyrogenic molecular species produced by J-774 cells were identified by Sephadex filtration, one of MW .simeq. 30,000 and the other .gtoreq. 60,000. Three carcinoma cell lines of human origin [renal carcinoma CaKi-1 renal, carcinoma CaKi-2 and hepatic carcinoma SK-HEP-1] and SV-40 3T3 mouse fibroblasts did not produce pyrogen in vitro. Some malignant cells derived from phagocytic cells of bone marrow origin probably retain their capacity for pyrogen production, and may spontaneously secrete pyrogen during growth.