The effect of low calcium diet, mithramycin, and dichlorodimethylene bisphosphonate on humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy in nude mice transplanted with the canine adenocarcinoma tumor line (CAC-8)

Effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] and its analogues (EB1089 and analog V) on canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) in nude mice

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 and its analogues on tumor growth and body weight, changes in plasma ionized calcium, parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) production, bone resorption, and the distribution of the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor (VDR) on tumors in nude mice-bearing the canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8). Thirty-seven nude mice were implanted subcutaneously with CAC-8. Two weeks after implantation, the mice were divided into 5 groups and injected intraperitoneally 3 times/week for 4 weeks with 5 different substrates. Group I (nontumor-bearing mice) were injected with vehicle. Groups II through V were CAC-8-bearing mice injected with the following: Grp. II, vehicle; Grp. III, analog V; Grp. IV, 1,25(OH)2D3; and Grp. V, EB1089. Our results showed that mice body weight (% change) of CAC-8-bearing mice was significantly lower than those of nontumor-bearing mice (p<0.05). CAC-8-bearing mice treated with analog V maintained their body weight better than CAC-8-bearing mice treated with either vehicle, 1,25(OH)2D3, or EB1089. A reduction of tumor growth was observed in CAC-8-bearing mice treated with 1,25(OH)2D3 and its analogues; however, the reduction was not statistically significant compared to the vehicle-treated CAC-8-bearing mice. All CAC-8-bearing mice increased osteoclastic bone resorption and hypercalcemia. Immunohistochemical staining of CAC-8 with VDR antibody demonstrated a positive reaction in nuclei of tumor cells. In conclusion, CAC-8-bearing mice treated with analog V were more active and maintained their body weight better than other CAC-8-bearing groups. Analog V-treated mice also showed no toxic side effects of hypercalcemia despite an increase in plasmaionized calcium comparable to nontumor-bearing mice. Tumor volumes of CAC-8-bearing mice treated with 1,25(OH)2D3 and its analogues were smaller than vehicle-treated CAC-8-bearing mice. This finding suggested an inhibitory effect on tumor cell growth.

Dependence of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy on parathyroid hormone-related protein expression in the canine anal sac apocrine gland adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) nude mouse model

Circulating parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is the primary humoral factor in dogs with spontaneous humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) and adenocarcinomas derived from apocrine glands of the anal sac. A canine apocrine adenocarcinoma model of HHM in nude mice (CAC-8) was developed and characterized. After 32 passages in vivo, a spontaneous variant of the tumor (CAC-8 Lo Ca) that has altered cellular morphology and that fails to induce HHM in tumor-bearing nude mice has been discovered. The hypercalcemic and nonhypercalcemic tumor lines were compared by tumor weight, effect on body weight, serum calcium concentration, plasma PTHrP concentration, histopathology, expression of PTHrP protein by radioimmunoassay and immunohistochemistry, and expression of PTHrP mRNA by in situ hybridization and northern blot analysis. Messenger RNA expression for other factors and cytokines known to alter PTHrP secretion or bone resorption in vivo, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta), were also measured in the adenocarcinomas. There was no significant difference in weight of individual tumors. Nude mice bearing the CAC-8 (Lo Ca) tumor maintained normal body weight as compared with non-tumor-bearing control mice. In contrast, mice with the CAC-8 (Hi Ca) tumor had markedly decreased body weights. The CAC-8 (Hi Ca) tumor-bearing mice had severe hypercalcemia (mean = 13.4 mg/dl) and increased plasma concentrations of PTHrP (30.4 pM), whereas the CAC-8 (Lo Ca) tumor-bearing mice had a mean serum calcium concentration of 10.1 mg/dl and mildly increased PTHrP concentrations (5.7 pM) as compared with control mice (9.0 mg/dl and 1.0 pM, respectively). The original tumor (CAC-8 [Hi Ca]) is a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, whereas the variant tumor (CAC-8 [Lo Ca]) is a solid carcinoma with both polygonal and spindle-shaped cells. The CAC-8 (Lo Ca) tumor had decreased PTHrP mRNA expression and protein synthesis. Messenger RNA expression of TGF beta, TNF alpha, IL-1, and IL-6 was similar in both tumors and was consistent with the central role of PTHrP in the induction of hypercalcemia in this animal model.

Ultrastructural and histomorphometric evaluations of gallium nitrate on bone in nude mice bearing a canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) model of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy

Gallium is a group IIIa transition metal that lowers serum calcium by an unknown mechanism and has been utilized in the treatment of cancer-associated hypercalcemia. The purpose of this study was to histomorphometrically investigate the ultrastructural effects of gallium nitrate on osteoclasts and osteoblasts in trabecular bone of normal nude mice and nude mice with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. Two groups of normal nude mice (n = 7 and n = 8, respectively) and two groups of hypercalcemic nude mice (n = 9) bearing a serially transplantable canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) were treated with vehicle or gallium nitrate. Osteoclasts were hypertrophied in vehicle-treated tumor-bearing nude mice as compared with vehicle-treated nontumor-bearing nude mice. Osteoclasts from tumor-bearing nude mice treated with gallium nitrate were significantly decreased in size and had fewer intracytoplasmic vesicles as compared with osteoclasts from vehicle-treated tumor-bearing nude mice. Degenerate osteoclasts, characterized by pyknotic nuclei and increased cytoplasmic vacuolation, were observed in both groups of gallium-treated nude mice. Osteoblasts from vehicle-treated tumor-bearing nude mice were hypertrophied and had extensive lamellar arrays of rough endoplasmic reticulum as compared with osteoblasts from vehicle-treated nontumor-bearing nude mice. Osteoblasts in gallium-treated nude mice (tumor-bearing and nontumor-bearing) were small and flattened with poorly developed cytoplasmic organelles. This investigation demonstrated that osteoclasts and osteoblasts in nude mice treated with gallium nitrate had ultrastructural evidence of decreased metabolic and functional activity. The results suggest that gallium nitrate lowers serum calcium by inhibiting osteoclastic bone resorption.

Effects of gallium nitrate in nude mice bearing a canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) model of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy

Hypercalcemic nude mice bearing a canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) model of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) were treated daily with gallium nitrate (60 mg/kg of elemental gallium subcutaneously (SC) on day 0, followed by 20 mg/kg/day) for 5 days. Gallium nitrate significantly decreased (p < 0.01) serum calcium in tumor-bearing animals on days 2 and 5 of treatment (mean 13.7 +/- 0.7 mg/dl on day 0 versus 11.6 +/- 0.3 on day 2 and 12.4 +/- 0.5 on day 5). Urinary calcium excretion was decreased (p < 0.05) in the gallium-treated, tumor-bearing animals (0.11 +/- 0.01 mg calcium/mg creatinine) compared with hypercalcemic tumor-bearing mice (0.30 +/- 0.06). Both nontumor control and tumor-bearing mice treated with gallium nitrate lost body weight during the treatment period (p < 0.01). Gallium nitrate had no effect on tumor growth. Histomorphometric evaluation of lumbar vertebrae stained for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase revealed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the number of osteoclasts/mm trabecular bone and perimeter of trabecular bone lined by active osteoblasts (p < 0.01) in the gallium-treated tumor-bearing mice compared with tumor-bearing controls. Osteoclast length (mm) was significantly increased in both the nontumor and tumor-bearing gallium-treated animals (p < 0.05) compared with nontumor and tumor-bearing control mice. Serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels were increased in tumor-bearing animals, but gallium nitrate had no effect on circulating levels (not detectable in nontumor control mice versus 82 +/- 21 pg/ml in tumor-bearing mice and 107 +/- 12 pg/ml in gallium-treated tumor-bearing mice).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy on the parathyroid gland in nude mice

The ultrastructure of parathyroid chief cells was examined from four groups of nude mice (NIH:Swiss) with different serum calcium concentrations. The groups consisted of eight male mice with hypercalcemia induced by transplantable canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8), eight female mice with hypercalcemia induced by infusion of parathyroid hormone-related protein, ten male control mice, and six male mice fed a low calcium (0.01%) diet. Hypercalcemia induced by malignancy or parathyroid hormone-related protein infusion was associated with low serum phosphorus concentration, a decrease in the number of secretory and prosecretory granules in the parathyroid chief cells, and an increase in the cytoplasmic area of chief cells. Prominent myelinlike membranous whorls were present in the cytoplasm of chief cells of tumor-bearing and parathyroid hormone-related protein-infused hypercalcemic mice. Mice fed a low calcium diet had decreases in the number of secretory granules and cell area but increases in the number of prosecretory granules compared with control mice. The number of mitochondria and the nuclear area of chief cells were similar in all four groups. The prominent membranous whorls and increased cytoplasmic area of chief cells from these hypercalcemic mice mark these cells as distinctly different from the parathyroid chief cells of other species with hypercalcemia.

Hypercalcemia

Elevated serum calcium occurs relatively uncommonly in dogs and rarely in cats. Hypercalcemia can serve as a marker of disease that enables diagnosis but may also contribute to development of lesions and the clinical signs of disease. Specific clinical signs do not necessarily accompany hypercalcemia, and its presence will frequently be unsuspected. Fortuitous hypercalcemia is often discovered after a review of serum biochemical profile results. This article emphasizes malignancy-associated hypercalcemia and the emergence of cholecalciferol rodenticide toxicity as an important cause of hypercalcemia, as well as its treatment.

Effects of infusion of human parathyroid hormone-related protein-(1-40) in nude mice: histomorphometric and biochemical investigations

Female nude mice were infused with 5.0, 3.0, or 1.0 micrograms/day of synthetic human parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) or control diluent with subcutaneous Alzet miniosmotic pumps for 7 days. Serum calcium was increased (p less than 0.01) on days 3 (13.9 mg/dl), 5 (13.6 mg/dl), and 7 (12.9 mg/dl) in mice infused with PTHrP at 5.0 micrograms/day compared with control nude mice (8.8 mg/dl). Serum calcium was significantly increased to a lesser degree in mice infused with 1.0 micrograms/day PTHrP (day 3) or 3.0 micrograms/day (days 3 and 7). Serum phosphorus was decreased (p less than 0.01) in all three groups of mice infused with PTHrP (4.6 mg/dl, 5.0 micrograms/day; 6.7 mg/dl, 3.0 micrograms/day; and 6.4 mg/dl, 1.0 micrograms/day) compared with controls (8.5 mg/dl). Serum 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol was increased (2.4-fold) in mice infused with PTHrP (5.0 and 3.0 micrograms/day). The urinary calcium-creatinine ratio (0.74 compared with 0.034 in controls) was increased (p less than 0.03) in mice infused with PTHrP (5.0 micrograms/day), but the urinary phosphorus-creatinine ratio was not different from that in controls. The urinary cAMP-creatinine ratio was increased (1.6-fold) in mice infused with PTHrP (5.0 micrograms/day). Static bone histomorphometry revealed increased (p less than 0.01) trabecular bone area, osteoblast perimeter, osteoid perimeter, osteoid width, wall width, osteoclast area, number of osteoclasts, and osteoclast perimeter in trabecular bone of lumbar vertebrae from mice infused with PTHrP. Dynamic bone histomorphometry demonstrated increased (p less than 0.01) double-labeled perimeter, mineralizing perimeter, and bone formation rate. The results of this study indicated that PTHrP increased serum calcium and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, decreased serum phosphorus, increased urinary excretion of calcium, phosphorus, and cAMP, and increased both bone resorption and formation in nude mice. PTHrP mimics the action of native PTH in vivo and is likely to be an important protein in the pathogenesis of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy.

Quantitative bone histomorphometry in nude mice bearing a human squamous cell lung cancer

We performed quantitative bone histomorphometry on lumbar vertebrae in hypercalcemic tumor-bearing athymic mice carrying a human squamous cell carcinoma. For comparison, studies were also performed in athymic mice that received bovine 1-34 parathyroid hormone (PTH) infusion at the rate of 0.167 micrograms/hr for 7 days. In both the PTH-infused and tumor-bearing animals, percent cortical and total bone areas were significantly reduced as compared to controls, whereas trabecular bone was significantly reduced only in the tumor-bearing animals. Trabecular perimeter lined by osteoclasts was significantly increased in both tumor-bearing (1.7-fold) and PTH-infused animals (2.8-fold) compared to control mice. Trabecular perimeter lined by active osteoblasts was significantly reduced in the tumor-bearing animals (to 42% of control) and unchanged in the PTH-infused animals (97% of control). Tumor-bearing animals had significantly reduced resorptive as well as formative surfaces as compared to the PTH-infused animals. Dynamic histomorphometry revealed a marked reduction in bone formation rate (23% of control) in the tumor-bearing animals. The studies therefore demonstrate a marked inhibition of bone formation associated with increased bone resorption in this model of hypercalcemia of malignancy. These observations are similar to those seen in the human syndrome.

Pathogenesis of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy

The three biologic activities most commonly associated with tumors that produce Humoral Hypercalcemia of Malignancy (HHM) include; 1) adenylate cyclase stimulating activity (PTH-like activity), 2) in vitro bone resorbing activity, and 3) transforming growth factor activity. The canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) model of HHM contains all three activities and the first two are inhibited by a PTH receptor antagonist. These data in light of the recent purification of PTH-related peptides from human tumors suggest that CAC-8 produces a PTH-related protein that is important in the pathogenesis of hypercalcemia. The CAC-8 tumor is a well characterized example of HHM and offers several advantages for further investigations on the pathogenesis of HHM: 1) transplantable tumor line from a spontaneous neoplasm in the dog, 2) tumor extracts contain the three biologic activities associated with HHM, 3) slow progressive growth rate in nude mice permits investigations on treatment of HHM, 4) increased bone resorption and formation in nude mice mimics the effects of PTH on bone, and 5) the only model of HHM that has been demonstrated to contain bone resorbing activity that can be inhibited by a PTH receptor antagonist.