Truncated TrkB mediates the endocytosis and release of BDNF and neurotrophin-4/5 by rat astrocytes and schwann cells in vitro.

Binding and cross-linking studies with radiolabeled neurotrophins demonstrate that cultured rat hippocampal astrocytes lack full-length TrkB, but do express high levels of truncated TrkB (tTrkB). In astrocytes and Schwann cells, tTrkB appears to have the novel function of mediating the endocytosis of neurotrophins into an acid-stable, Triton X-100 resistant intracellular pool that is released back into the medium in a temperature-dependent manner. Chloroquine treatment, trichloroacetic acid solubility, and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed that when incubated with astrocytes or Schwann cells for at least 48 h neither the intracellular nor the released neurotrophins were significantly degraded. The endocytosis and release of neurotrophins may represent a novel mechanism whereby neuroglia can regulate the local concentration of these neurotrophic factors for extended periods of time.

B16 melanoma variants selected by one or more cycles of spontaneous metastasis to the same organ fail to exhibit organ specificity.

Metastatic clones of the mouse B16 melanoma spontaneously disseminate from subcutaneous tumors throughout the body in two stages, initially to the lungs and secondarily from established lung metastases to systemic sites. From the heterogeneous 'parent' B16 melanoma cell line and from two representative clones, G3.5 and G3.12, cell populations were selected after one or more cycles of tumor growth or metastasis to a particular site, to determine whether metastatic variants with greater organ preference or specificity could be generated. Variants with enhanced secondary metastatic activity were obtained only from G3.12 tumor-disseminated metastases growing in the lungs or in systemic organs. Regardless of the organ of selection or the number of selection cycles, all variants exhibited an overall increase in secondary metastasis incidence and burden in the brain, adrenals, kidneys and ovaries, but no organ preference or specificity was obtained. Populations that grew especially well in the brain, ovaries or liver following intravascular injection were either non-metastatic or exhibited no organ preference during spontaneous metastasis. The increased secondary metastatic activity of G3.12 variants was apparently not due to either longer host survival or to tumor-disseminated cells bypassing the lungs, but may result from enhanced growth potential or greater secondary dissemination capability imparted during growth as lung metastases.

B16 melanoma metastasis to an "artificial organ" implant.

The mouse B16 melanoma metastasizes in two stages, first to the lungs and then from lung metastases to systemic organs. Despite widespread dissemination, visible metastases generally occur only in the brain, adrenals, kidneys, ovaries, pancreas, and mesentery. As a novel approach to investigate the basis of metastatic patterning in this system, the possibility was explored that an implantable "artificial organ" could serve as a site for the occurrence and experimental modulation of secondary-stage metastasis. Each implant consisted of a cellulose disc 4 mm in diameter, with a central 1-mm polymer pellet to effect local sustained release of angiogenic or growth factors in a s.c. environment. During the secondary spread of tumors initiated with the B16 melanoma clone G3.12 and with the more metastatic variant G3.12/BM2, metastatic involvement of implants containing angiogenic factors was mainly as invisible micrometastases demonstrable by bioassay; visible metastases were rare and were located in implant blood vessels. Metastasis occurred in about 30% (G3.12) and 50% (G3.12/BM2) of implants with vasculature induced by ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer alone. Endothelial cell growth factor and heparin promoted greater vascularization but did not significantly alter metastatic involvement of implants. Release of tumor cell mitogenic activity from pellets containing a crude extract of mouse lungs increased the incidence of G3.12/BM2 metastasis in implants to over 70% and stimulated growth of visible metastases within the cellulose matrix. In contrast, liver extract inhibited metastasis growth. Colonization of implants following intracardiac injection of G3.12/BM2 cells was generally similar to metastasis, but visible colonies formed more readily and were less dependent on the influence of lung extract. These results indicate that metastasis and colonization can occur regularly in implants and that the relative favorability of the implant environment for secondary tumor growth can be altered by incorporation of tumor cell growth modulators.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor increases survival and differentiated functions of rat septal cholinergic neurons in culture.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was found to promote the survival of E17 rat embryo septal cholinergic neurons in culture, as assessed by a histochemical stain for acetylcholinesterase (AChE). A 2.4-fold increase in neuronal survival was achieved with 10 ng/ml BDNF. After initial deprivation of growth factor for 7 days, BDNF failed to bring about this increase, strongly suggesting that BDNF promotes cell survival and not just induction of AChE. BDNF was also found to increase the levels of cholinergic enzymes; choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and AChE activities were increased by approximately 2-fold in the presence of 50 ng/ml BDNF. BDNF produced a 3-fold increase in the number of cells bearing the NGF receptor, as detected by the monoclonal antibody IgG-192. Although NGF had no additive effect with BDNF in terms of neuronal survival, suggesting that both act on a similar neuronal population, the combination of both produced an additive response, approximately a 6-fold increase, in ChAT activity.

Differences in organization of metastatic and nonmetastatic tumors initiated by the same B16 melanoma clone in mature and young mice.

Subcutaneous transplants of mouse B16 melanoma clone G3.26 grow more slowly, and are markedly more metastatic to the lungs, in mature (greater than 12-month-old) mice than in young (2-month-old) mice. Previous studies suggested that tumors in young mice fail to disseminate viable tumor cells into the hematogenous circulation. To determine if changes in intratumor organization might accompany this altered tumor behavior, G3.26 tumors growing in young and mature mice were examined comparatively at progressive sizes relative to the onset of metastatic dissemination in the older mice. Although the degree of necrosis was comparable in both groups of tumors, vascular density, measured morphometrically in histological sections, was significantly lower in tumors from mature mice at a size when dissemination would be occurring. With the onset of reduced vascular density in tumors in mature mice, there was a substantial increase in the proportion of viable tumor cells that was hypoxic, based on radioresistance and incorporation of the hypoxic cell sensitizer, misonidazole. Quiescent tumor cells, identified by flow cytometry, were also more numerous in tumors from mature mice than in tumors from young mice. Although the importance of these differences in tumor organization to enhanced metastatic behavior is unclear, increased intratumor hypoxia might promote generation of metastatic variants. Alternately, dissemination of tumor cells might be facilitated through a reduced and possibly defective vasculature.

The role of intratumor environment in determining spontaneous metastatic activity of a B16 melanoma clone.

B16 melanoma-derived cell lines and clones that initiate rapid-growing and nonmetastatic tumors in normal young (2-month-old) mice were previously shown to form slower-growing and highly metastatic tumors in normal mature or aged (greater than 10-month-old) mice. Similarly, slower tumor growth and enhanced metastasis occurred in young mice hyperimmunized against tumor-associated antigens. The metastatic characteristics of subcutaneous tumors initiated by one B16 melanoma clone, G3.26, were examined in normal young mice, normal mature mice, young mice immunized against G3.26 cells, and young mice maintained on a diet of 50% less food than usual. In normal young mice, tumors rarely disseminated viable lung metastases, even at very large sizes, and viable tumor cells were not detected in blood obtained by whole-body vascular perfusion. In contrast, tumors in mature, in immunized, and in calorie-restricted mice gave rise to visible lung metastases in 60-90% of mice, with dissemination beginning at relatively small tumor sizes. These tumors grew 27-78% slower than tumors in normal young mice, but in no case was expression of metastatic activity dependent on longer host survival. In all three experimental hosts, metastatic activity was transient and not expressed during subsequent growth of metastases in young mice. Different host mechanisms operating in mature, immune, and calorie-restricted mice were probably responsible for suppressing tumor growth. However, the consistent generation of metastatic activity under such diverse conditions suggests a common basis for promotion of metastasis, possibly related to intratumor environment alterations resulting from slower tumor growth.

B16 melanoma spontaneous brain metastasis: occurrence and development within leptomeninges blood vessels.

Subcutaneous tumors initiated with mouse B16 melanoma clones G3.5 and G3.12 disseminated visible spontaneous brain metastases in 67 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, of mice with extensive lung metastasis. Most brain metastases appeared as pigmented emboli within blood vessels of the leptomeninges overlying the cerebral cortex. Intravascular metastases consisted of tumor cell aggregates surrounded by fibrous material and generally contained viable cells that proliferated in culture. Some metastatic emboli apparently proliferated intravascularly to such an extent as to cause vessel disruption, permitting tumor invasion into the adjacent cerebral cortex. Cultured cells from G3.12 leptomenings metastases produced tumors that metastasized to a much greater extent than unselected G3.12 tumors, but brain metastasis still occurred only secondarily, after initial dissemination to the lungs. In contrast, G3.5 brain metastasis-derived populations formed tumors that ultimately metastasized to the brain to lesser extents than did unselected G3.5 tumors. One selected variant, G3.12/BM2, reproducibly formed visible and viable brain metastases in more than 80 per cent of tumor-bearing mice, and lethal or potentially lethal brain metastases in 10-15 per cent of mice. This variant may serve as a model for clinical brain metastasis.

Host immunity to mycoplasma antigens introduced into B16 melanoma cells: effect on tumor growth rate and metastasis.

Immunization of syngeneic C57BL/6 mice with X-irradiated B16 melanoma cells was previously shown to elicit antibodies specific to viral antigens on the melanoma cells. When immunized mice were challenged with viable subcutaneous transplants of B16 melanoma cells that formed non-metastatic tumors in normal mice, tumors failed to develop in some mice, but there was a high incidence of lung metastasis in mice with progressively growing tumors. To determine whether protective immunity and/or enhanced metastasis were the consequences of immune responses specific for inherent tumor-associated viral antigens, non-metastatic B16 melanoma cells were deliberately infected with Mycoplasma arginini. The result was incorporation of perpetuating antigens that elicited, in mycoplasma-immunized mice, humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to infected (B16-M+) but not uninfected (B16-M-) cells. When mycoplasma-immunized mice were challenged with B16-M+ and B-16M- subcutaneous transplants, only B16-M+ tumors were rendered slower-growing and appreciably more metastatic. By contrast, in mice immunized against uninfected B16 melanoma cells, both B16-M+ and B16-M- tumors grew more slowly, and metastasized to a greater extent, than corresponding tumors in unimmunized mice. Enhanced metastasis was not experimentally separable from reduced tumor growth rate and was not simply the consequence of a longer period of tumor growth. Evidence suggests that host immunity does not directly promote metastasis, but that reduced tumor growth rates resulting from protective immunity are more conducive to successful dissemination of metastases.

Metastatic dissemination of B16 melanoma: evidence that metastases can result from nonspecific trapping of disseminated tumor cells.

Spontaneous metastasis from tumor transplants of two representative mouse B16 melanoma clones, G3.5 and G3.12, was examined experimentally to determine whether initial dissemination to the lungs, or secondary systemic spread from established lung metastases, resulted from organ-specific tropism or from nonspecific trapping of circulating tumor cells in capillary beds. In parabiosed mice, subcutaneous tumors metastasized extensively within hosts, but guests remained metastasis-free except following the rare involvement of the parabiotic junction during secondary spread. Intrasplenic tumor transplants metastasized to the liver, whereas intrarenal transplants metastasized to the lungs, reflecting patterns of venous drainage. Subcutaneous implants of neonatal lung and kidney in the flank opposite from the site of tumor initiation acquired metastases only during secondary systemic spread, and there was no evidence of organ selectivity. Metastases from various organs, and derived cell lines, when transplanted subcutaneously grew into tumors that initially metastasized exclusively to the lungs. These results indicate that both initial and secondary metastases of these B16 melanoma transplants occurred by nonspecific trapping of tumor cells in the first capillary bed encountered. In contrast, organ colonization following intravenous injection of tumor cells frequently proceeded beyond the first capillary bed.

Syngeneic monoclonal antibodies to B16 melanoma viral antigens.

Four stable IgM monoclonal antibody-producing hybridomas were generated by fusing mouse myeloma cells with spleen lymphocytes from C57BL/6 mice hyperimmunized against the syngeneic B16 melanoma. All four monoclonal antibodies (R31/15, R37/4, R37/6, and R37/7), in common with polyclonal antiserum from immunized mice, recognized antigens on the same complex of related cell surface molecules specified by endogenous AKR-type murine leukemia virus, designated the B16-gp/70/80/85 antigen complex. Reactivity with this antigen complex was demonstrated by radioimmunoprecipitation. Specificity for viral Mr 70,000 glycoprotein-related antigens was indicated by absorption of antibody activity by endogenous AKR virus and by inhibition of antibody binding to B16 melanoma cells by monospecific antiserum to murine leukemia virus Mr 70,000 glycoprotein. Neither polyclonal nor monoclonal antibodies recognized antigens on fish, guinea pig, swine, or human melanoma cell lines. Polyclonal antiserum reacted with several other mouse melanomas and with certain mouse lymphoma lines induced by, or harboring, endogenous murine leukemia viruses, but the monoclonal antibodies were unreactive except for recognition of antigens on Harding-Passey mouse melanoma cells by antibody R37/4 and on RL male 1 mouse lymphoma cells by antibody R37/7. Only monoclonal R37/7 was cytotoxic for cultured B16 melanoma cells in an antibody- and complement-dependent assay with guinea pig complement, although all antibodies were cytotoxic with rabbit complement. In reflecting the predominant humoral immune response to the B16 melanoma detected in syngeneic mice during tumor growth, these monoclonal antibodies will permit experimental amplification of that response to help determine how that immunity influences tumor growth and metastatic dissemination.

Failure of orally administered RA233 to influence B16 melanoma growth or metastasis.

Possible prophylactic antitumor and/or antimetastatic effects of long-term oral administration of a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation, the pyrimido-pyrimidine derivative RA233, were assessed using four phenotypically distinct clones of the mouse B16 melanoma. The clones tested included: a poorly tumorigenic, very slowly growing and poorly metastatic population (G3.15); a moderately tumorigenic and slowly growing population that frequently metastasizes to the lungs (G3.5); a highly tumorigenic, moderately growing and highly metastatic population (G3.12); and a highly tumorigenic and rapidly growing population that is generally nonmetastatic but can be slightly metastatic when tumors are initiated by very small numbers of cells (G3.26). Addition of 0.5 mg/ml RA233 to the drinking water continuously from the time of subcutaneous injection of cultured tumor cells until death from tumor growth, which resulted in a daily uptake of 80-100 mg/kg of drug per mouse, failed to significantly influence the tumorigenicities, tumor growth rates, metastatic incidences, or metastatic burdens of any of these clones. RA233 at doses equivalent to those delivered daily to experimental animals strongly inhibited ADP-induced aggregation of homologous C57BL/6 mouse platelets and exhibited selective anti-proliferative effects on cultured cells. Although RA233 prolonged bleeding times, pharmacokinetic analysis indicated that clearance of RA233 from mice was so rapid that achievement of sustained circulating levels sufficient to influence tumor cells or platelet-tumor cell interactions by oral administration was unlikely.

Development of host immunity to phenotypically diverse B16 melanoma clones. Implications for tumor growth and metastasis.

A B16 melanoma clone and four derived subclones exhibiting markedly different tumorigenic and metastatic potentials in young C57BL/6 mice were investigated comparatively to determine relative immunogenicities and capacities to induce humoral and cell-mediated immune responses following subcutaneous injection. All five populations stimulated some production of circulating antibody to a cell surface antigen complex (B16-gp70/80/85) specified by endogenous murine leukemia virus, as well as spleen-cell-mediated cytolytic and cytostatic activity apparently directed to the same antigens, but to varying extents. Immunogenicity and relative capacity to induce immunity were inversely related to tumorigenicity and tumor growth rate but were not obviously correlated with metastatic behavior. There were indications that tumor behavior might be influenced by developing or naturally acquired host immunity. The most rapidly growing clone, G3.26, which was poorly immunogenic and nonmetastatic in young mice, grew more slowly and was markedly metastatic in normal-aged mice in which some natural humoral and cellular responses cross-reactive with B16-gp70/80/85 antigens were detected. Furthermore, the highly immunogenic and normally nonmetastatic clone, G3.15, was appreciably metastatic in mice immunosuppressed by T lymphocyte depletion. In other cases, however, tumor behavior in immunosuppressed and immunopotentiated mice did not consistently indicate a critical role for host immunity in determining metastatic or nonmetastatic activity.

Metastatic dissemination of B16 melanoma: pattern and sequence of metastasis.

The progressive metastatic spread from subcutaneous transplants of two subpopulations of the mouse B16 melanoma, slow-growing clone G3.5 and fast-growing clone G3.12, was examined during tumor growth in C57BL/6 mice and after surgical excision of tumors of various sizes. In addition to enumeration of visible and lethal or potentially lethal ("clinically relevant") metastases, the occurrence of visibly undetectable proliferating (occult) or nonproliferating (dormant) micrometastases was assessed by implanting lymph nodes and organs subcutaneously into normal mice and monitoring for resulting tumor growth. Occult or dormant metastases were disseminated initially to the lungs from G3.5 tumors of 3-4 mm in mean geometric diameter (MGD) and G3.12 tumors of 6-7 mm in MGD. The ipsilateral axillary lymph node (IALN), the regional draining lymph node for these tumors, received metastases after the lungs, initially from 10 to 12-mm tumors. Subsequently, occult or dormant and visible metastases first appeared in systemic organs and lymph nodes (kidneys, adrenal glands, ovaries, and contralateral axillary lymph node) at tumor sizes of about 26 mm in MGD. Systemic metastases occurred only in mice with large and numerous lung metastases and did not depend on the continuing presence of the subcutaneous tumor or on the presence of IALN metastases, which indicated that established lung metastases were a generalizing site from which systemic metastatic spread initiated. After tumor excision, death generally resulted from extensive lung metastasis. Occasional lethal or clinically relevant metastases were also observed in the IALN, kidneys, adrenal glands, ovaries, brain, eyes, and urinary bladder; liver involvement was evident exclusively as occult or dormant micrometastases. Terminal metastatic patterns of these B16 melanoma transplants were as widespread and indiscriminate as those of malignant melanoma in humans.

Phenotypic interconversion of B16 melanoma clonal cell populations: relationship between metastasis and tumor growth rate.

Three distinct dissemination-related phenotypes have been recognized in clones of the mouse B16 melanoma based on in vivo behavior: metastatic (spontaneously disseminating to the lungs from solid tumors), colonizing (capable of forming tumor colonies in the lungs following intravenous injection), and null (tumorigenic but non-metastatic and non-colonizing). From a progenitor null clone, G3, subclones that became phenotypically diversified in vitro (metastatic G3.5 and null G3.15) and in vivo (metastatic G3.12 and colonizing G3.26) were derived. During long-term culturing, G3 cells became metastatic and then lost that activity, G3.5 and G3.12 cells gradually lost metastatic activity, and G3.26 cells became slightly metastatic and non-colonizing. Subclone G3.15 became highly metastatic after a single subcutaneous (s.c.) tumor passage. In aged mice, and in young mice injected with incompletely-tumorigenic cell doses, G3 and G3.26 s.c. tumors were metastatic, but cells cultured from those tumors or metastases were non-metastatic when tested in young mice at standard highly-tumorigenic cell doses. The behavior of G3.5 and G3.12 tumors was not altered in aged mice or when tumors were initiated with small cell inocula. Analysis of growth characteristics associated with these phenotypic interconversions indicated that lung-colonizing potential was directly related to the ability of the cells to grow as multicell colonies in 0.3% agar, and that metastatic activity was expressed by tumors that grew at moderate rates. In young mice receiving standard cell doses, G3.5 and G3.12 tumors inherently grew at that rate, whereas G3 and G3.26 tumors grew more rapidly and G3.15 tumors grew more slowly. Regardless of inherent phenotype, all clones were capable of expressing metastatic activity, at least transiently, as tumor growth was altered to moderate rates. Expression of metastatic behavior might, therefore, be regulated to some extent by tumor growth characteristics.

Growth characteristics of clonal cell populations constituting a B16 melanoma metastasis model system.

Three distinct dissemination-related phenotypes have been distinguished among cell subpopulations of the mouse B16 melanoma: tumorigenicity, spontaneous metastasis from subcutaneous tumors, and organ colonization following intravenous injection of cells. From a progenitor clone (G3) of tumorigenic but nonmetastatic and noncolonizing (null) cells that underwent phenotypic diversification in vitro and in vivo, 4 subclones were obtained: G3.5 (culture-generated metastatic), G3.12 (tumor-generated metastatic), G3.15 (culture-generated null), and G3.26 (tumor-generated colonizing). The growth potentials of the parent clone and derived subclones were investigated comparatively in in vivo assays (tumorigenicity, tumor growth rate, and lung colonization potential), monolayer culture assays (generation time, saturation density, clonogenicity, and rate of detachment by trypsin), and in soft agar. In overall growth potential, G3.26 greater than G3.12 greater than G3, G3.5 greater than G3.15. These results indicate that metastatic populations of the B16 melanoma are not the most rapidly and effectively growing cells obtainable from that tumor.