NON-IMMUNOLOGICAL CELL-DEATH OF INTRAVENOUSLY INJECTED MURINE TUMOR-CELLS

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 60  (1) , 29-37
Abstract
Most DBA mastocytoma and Sarcoma 180 cells trapped in the lungs of mice after i.v. injection died within 7 h. Rates of cell death were similar for both tumor cell lines. Rates of tumor cell death were unrelated to whether the cells were allogeneic or syngeneic, induced platelet aggregation or not, had different patterns of subsequent tumor growth, or were injected in varying numbers. Cell death was by coagulative necrosis, not apoptosis. Sarcoma 180 tumor cells were quickly localized in the lung and enclosed in platelet aggregates which remained, with degranulation, until the time of tumor cell death. Platelet aggregation did not appear to play a role in tumor cell killing. The prevention of platelet aggregation by pretreatment of mice with an anticoagulant had little effect on the rate of death of tumor cells in the lung. Mastocytoma tumor cells did not cause platelet aggregation, yet died in the lund at similar rates to Sarcoma 180 cells. The killing of tumor cells in the lung did not appear to be cell-mediated. No mononuclear cells were seen in the vicinity of tumor cells and the type of cell death was not that associated with cell-mediated killing. The tumor cells did not die within 6 h of being injected into the peritoneal cavity. A nonspecific non-immunological process apparently results in the death of i.v. injected tumor cells in the lung. This process was not affected by differing O2 levels in the inhaled gas.