COMPARISON OF THE CHEMOTACTIC RESPONSIVENESS OF 2 FIBRO-SARCOMA SUB-POPULATIONS OF DIFFERING MALIGNANCY

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 102  (2) , 160-167
Abstract
There are several points of similarity between the processes of cancer metastasis and inflammation. In both, cells circulate in the vasculature, arrest and cross vessel walls, thereby entering the extravascular tissues. In vitro, leukocytes and some, but not all, tumor cells exhibit chemotaxis. Since the chemotactic responses of leukocytes effect their transvascular migration, chemotactic responsiveness may contribute to the ability of circulating tumor cells to localize in extravascular tissues. A relationship between chemotactic responsiveness of tumor cells and their behavior in vivo was studied. Two subpopulations of cells were isolated from a [mouse] methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma. The 2 cell lines were compared with regard to their biologic behavior in vivo and their chemotactic responsiveness in vitro. In vivo one subpopulation was highly malignant. An injection of 2.0 .times. 105 cells into the footpad of syngeneic mice led to the development of primary tumors in 87% of the animals and lung metastases in 61% of the animals with primary tumors. This line demonstrated chemotaxis to a factor that behaved similarly in gel filtration and showed immunologic reactivity similar to that of a previously described tumor cell chemotactic factor derived from the 5th component of complement. An injection of the same number of cells from the 2nd subpopulation of fibrosarcoma cells led to the development of primary tumors in only 12% of syngeneic mice; lung metastases did not occur. Neither this subpopulation nor normal embryonic fibroblasts demonstrated chemotactic responsiveness. The ability of tumor cells to respond to specific chemotactic stimuli may be one of the many unique properties which distinguish malignant from benign tumor cells. This is the 1st report documenting the chemotactic responsiveness of non-ascites, tumors and fibrosarcomas.