Endocrine therapy of human breast cancer grown in nude mice

Role of natural killer cells in hormone-independent rapid tumor formation and spontaneous metastasis of breast cancer cells in vivo

Natural killer (NK) cells play a central role in host defense against tumor and virus-infected cells. Direct role of NK cells in tumor growth and metastasis remains to be elucidated. We here demonstrated that NOD/SCID/gammac(null) (NOG) mice lacking T, B and NK cells inoculated with breast cancer cells were efficient in the formation of a large tumor and spontaneous organ-metastasis. In contrast, breast cancer cells produced a small tumor at inoculated site in T and B cell knock-out NOD/SCID mice with NK cells while completely failed to metastasize into various organs. Immunosupression of NOD/SCID by treatment with an anti-murine TM-beta1 antibody, which transiently abrogates NK cell activity in vivo, resulted in enhancing tumor formation and organ-metastasis in comparison with non-treated NOD/SCID mice. Activated NK cells inhibited tumor growth in vivo. The rapid and efficient engraftment of the breast cancer cells in NOG mice suggests that this new animal model could provide a unique opportunity to understand and investigate the mechanism of tumor cell growth and metastasis. Our results suggest that NK cells play an important role in cancer growth and metastasis and could be a promising immunotherapeutic strategy against cancer either alone or in combination with conventional therapy.

Natural killer cells in breast cancer cell growth and metastasis in SCID mice

Natural killer (NK) cell is an important component of the innate immune system and plays a central role in host defense against tumor and virus-infected cells. This review briefly summarizes the role of murine NK cells in tumor growth and metastasis of breast cancer cells in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. Conventional SCID and NOD-SCID strains have been used to study for xenotransplantion of human tumors. SCID mice models of cancer mimic human diseases and have provided valuable information. However, these mice strains have some residual immunity such as NK cells that somewhat limit post-transplantation growth and metastasis of human xenografts. In contrast, NOD/SCID/gammac(null) (NOG) mice without common gamma-chain inoculated with breast cancer cells were most efficient in the formation of a large tumor and metastasis. NOG mouse strain without NK activity appears to be more promising as tool for xenotransplantion of human cancer. This new xenotransplant model is relevant and can be recommended for use in clarifying the mechanism of growth of cancer cells as well as for developing new therapeutic strategies against cancer.

17 beta-Estradiol-mediated growth inhibition of MDA-MB-468 cells stably transfected with the estrogen receptor: cell cycle effects

Estrogen receptor (ER)-negative MDA-MB-468 human breast cancer cells were stably transfected with wild-type human ER and utilized as a model for investigating estrogen- and aryl hydrocarbon (Ah)-responsiveness. Treatment of the stably transfected cells with 10 nM 17 beta-estradiol (E2) resulted in a significant inhibition (> 60%) of cell proliferation and DNA synthesis, which was blocked by 10(-7) M ICI 182 780. Analysis by flow cytometry indicated that treatment with E2 increased the percentage of cells in G0/G1 (from 68.8 to 89.4) and decreased cells in S (from 18.4 to 3.4) and G2/M (from 12.8 to 7.2) phases of the cell cycle. The effects of E2 on the major cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, retinoblastoma protein (RB), E2F-1, and cyclin-dependent kinase activities were also investigated in the stably transfected MDA-MB-468 cells. The results demonstrated that the growth inhibitory effects of 10(-8) M E2 in ER stably transfected MDA-MB-468 cells were associated with modulation of several factors required for cell cycle progression and DNA synthesis, including significant induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21cip-1 ( > 4-fold increase after 12 h) and decreased E2F1 and PCNA protein levels. These results show that the growth-inhibitory effects of E2 in the stably transfected cells were due to multiple factors which result in growth arrest in G0/G1 and inhibition of DNA synthesis.

Evaluation of the growth rate of MCF-7 breast cancer multicellular spheroids using three mathematical models

Growth data on 60 multicellular spheroids of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were fitted, on an individual basis, by the Gompertz, Bertalanffy and logistic equations. MCF-7 spheroids, initiated and grown in medium containing oestrogens, exhibited a growth rate that decreased continuously as spheroid size increased. Plots of spheroid volume v. time generated sigmoid curves that showed an early portion with an approximately exponential volume increase; a middle region or retardation phase characterized by a continuously decreasing growth rate; and, finally, a late segment or plateau phase approaching zero growth rate, that permitted an estimate of the maximum spheroid size (Vmax). Growth curves generated by MCF-7 spheroids under different experimental conditions (hormones, drugs and radiation exposures) can be compared after normalization. Linearized forms of the fitted Gompertz curves provided a convenient way to express differences in growth rate.

Preclinical models for the evaluation of targeted therapies of metastatic disease

It has been estimated that approx 60-70% of cancer patients harbor overt or subclinical metastases at diagnosis, and it is the eradication of such systemic disease that largely determines survival. Preclinical tumor model systems employed to evaluate potential new treatment strategies should aim to represent the process and patterns of metastasis of their clinical counterparts as closely as possible. Severe combined immune-deficient (SCID) and nu/nu mice have been extensively used as hosts for the growth of human tumor cell lines and in some cases fresh tumor material. However, in most instances the resulting neoplasms fail to metastasize, and the aberrant immune systems of such animals has limited their use mainly to passive therapies of localized disease. Recently, the development of specially selected tumor variants and the use of appropriate orthotopic sites for implantation has provided several models in which dissemination can be demonstrated. Where the gene coding for a potential target antigen has been cloned, and where its overexpression or mutation is associated with malignancy (e.g., c-erbB-2, H-ras), transgenic mice may yield tumors that will develop in these immunocompetent hosts. In some cases such tumors exhibit metastasis. A third approach is to transfect human genes of interest into appropriate rodent tumors expressing the desired metastatic phenotype. These various approaches are compared with particular reference to mammary carcinoma biology.

The nude mouse as an in vivo model for human breast cancer invasion and metastasis

Human breast cancer xenografts only rarely invade and metastasize in nude mice, and have therefore only had limited use as a model for studying mechanisms involved in breast cancer spreading. However, recent reports describe differences not only between various cell lines but also between strains of immune-deficient mice in terms of providing a model for studies of the invasive and metastatic capability of human breast cancer xenografts. Genetic labelling of human cancer cells with the lacZ gene is described as a specific and highly sensitive method for identification of micrometastases in such a model.

IGF-I and IGF-II expression in human breast cancer xenografts: relationship to hormone independence

Although the growth of some estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancers can initially be hormonally manipulated, all will eventually escape hormonal control. It is possible that the expression of polypeptide growth factors is initially under the control of steroid hormones, while the hormone unresponsive state is characterized by constitutive expression of growth factors. We studied the relationship between hormone responsiveness and IGF expression in xenograft models. The ER+ T61 xenograft was established from a primary breast cancer and has been continually passaged in athymic mice. ER+ MCF-7 cells and ER-MDA-MB-231 cells were grown in tissue culture and then inoculated into athymic mice. ER+ xenograft growth was regulated by estrogen, but with opposite results--T61 xenografts are inhibited by estrogen, while MCF-7 xenografts require estrogen for tumor formation. All xenografts expressed type I and II IGF receptors. Although T61 xenografts also express an alternatively spliced IGF-I mRNA, its expression was not regulated by estrogen. Both xenografts expressed IGF-II in a hormonally regulated manner--T61 levels were depressed by estrogen, while MCF-7 levels were increased. Thus, in these model systems, xenograft regulation of tumor growth is accompanied by parallel changes in IGF-II expression. In the estrogen independent MDA-MB-231 cells, IGF-II was constitutively expressed. These data show that IGF-II expression correlates with estrogen treatment, suggesting that autocrine expression of IGF-II may mediate estrogen-regulated cell growth.

The biology of metastatic breast cancer

Early detection and surgical removal of breast cancer are most effective in managing a disease that may affect up to one in ten women in North America and Western Europe. However, one of the most important prognostic indicators for breast cancer is the presence of neoplastic cells in the axillary lymph nodes. The dissemination of cells from a primary lesion, resulting in the progressive growth of metastatic carcinoma in distant sites (including bone, lungs, liver, and brain) is the most common cause of death in breast cancer patients. Experimental studies on the biology of metastatic breast cancer have used rodent tumor systems, and, in recent years, the transplantation of human breast carcinoma cells into athymic mice. The results of such studies, combined with clinical observations, suggest that metastasis is not a random event. The formation of secondary lesions is the result of a sequence of selective events. A better understanding of the metastatic phenotype from cellular and molecular analyses will provide a basis for rational approaches to preventing and treating this most lethal aspect of breast cancer.

Studies of human breast cancer metastasis using nude mice

Athymic nude mice have been used in recent years to study the biology of human tumors and to assess therapeutic responses in vivo rather than just in vitro. Some human tumors metastasize in nude mice, providing model systems for analyzing various aspects of the metastatic phenotype of human neoplasms. For breast carcinomas, however, the tumor-take rate of surgical specimens is low, and only a limited number of cell lines proliferate in nude mice. The site of injection of the breast carcinoma cells is important; tumors grow at a lower inoculum dose and with shorter latent intervals after implantation in the mammary fatpad of nude mice than after injection in the subcutis. One breast carcinoma cell line, MDA-MB-435, metastasizes from mammary fatpad tumors to lymph nodes, lungs, and other visceral organs. In contrast, two other cell lines show lower metastatic ability. Intravenous injection and injection of tumor cells into the internal carotid artery of nude mice produces lung and brain metastases, respectively, thus simulating the arrest and organ colonizing steps of the metastatic cascade. These different techniques demonstrate the potential of experimental studies of human breast cancer growth and metastasis using nude mice.

Growth kinetics of four human breast carcinomas grown in nude mice

The immune-deficient nude mouse with human tumor xenografts is an appropriate model system for performing detailed growth kinetic examinations. In the present study one estrogen and progesterone receptor-negative (T60) and three receptor-positive (Br-10, MCF-7, T61) human breast cancer xenografts in nude mice were investigated. The proliferative tumor characteristics were examined by growth curves, thymidine labelling technique, and flow cytometric DNA analysis performed on fine-needle aspirations. The results showed that the tumors had growth kinetics comparable to other human tumor types with cell generation times of 42 to 60 hours. The three receptor-positive tumors had slower growth rate, larger tumor volume doubling time, and smaller growth fraction and labelling index than the receptor-negative tumor. However, no single proliferation parameter was sufficient to characterize the growth kinetics of individual tumors or to describe proliferative differences between the tumors.