THE PARADOXICAL EFFECTS OF THIOGLYCOLLATE-INDUCED MACROPHAGES ON THE GROWTH OF B-16 MELANOMA-CELLS INVIVO AND INVITRO

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 71  (3) , 293-299
Abstract
The effect of thioglycolate-induced macrophages on the growth of syngeneic B16 melanoma cells was studied. Thioglycollate-induced macrophages showed strong cytostasis and cytotoxicity towards B16 tumor cells in vitro. However, these effects were not demonstrable in an in vivo assay which involved local transfer and experimental metastasis. In contrast to the in vitro results, mice injected i.v. with B16 tumor cells and thioglycolate-induced peritoneal exudate cells developed a significantly higher number of lung metastases than mice injected with B16 tumor cells alone. Possible reasons for the failure of thioglycolate-induced macrophages to exhibit cytostatic and cytotoxic activity in vivo are discussed.