Application of improved tissue piece enzyme digestion method in primary culture of human colorectal cancer cells in vitro

AIM

To investigate methods of primary culture of human colorectal cancer cells in vitro by application of improved tissue piece enzyme digestion method.

METHODS

Human colorectal cancer cells were cultured by improved tissue piece enzyme digestion method, which combines the tissue explant method with Ⅳ collagenase digestion method. Colorectal cancer cells were obtained by optimizing culture conditions, promoting adherence, controlling pollution, and purifying the cells. Wright Giemsa staining and immunocytochemistry were used to identify the cells.

RESULTS

Wright Giemsa staining of the cells showed karyomegaly and purple red-stained colorectal cancer cells. Immunocytochemistry staining showed that the cells were carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) positive and the cytoplasm was brown.

CONCLUSION

We have improved the tissue piece enzyme digestion method, which allows to obtain free cells quickly and make full use of the tissue pieces which have not been digested completely. The improved tissue piece enzyme digestion method has a high success rate, and cultured cells have been identified as colorectal cancer cells.

Growth Hormone Protects the Intestine Preserving Radiotherapy Efficacy on Tumors: A Short-Term Study

The efficacy of radiotherapy on tumors is hampered by its devastating adverse effects on healthy tissue, particularly that of the gastrointestinal tract. These effects cause acute symptoms that are so disruptive to patients that they can lead to interruption of the radiotherapy program. These adverse effects could limit the intensity of radiation received by the patient, resulting in a sublethal dose to the tumor, thus increasing the risk of tumor resistance. The lack of an effective treatment to protect the bowel during radiation therapy to allow higher radiation doses that are lethal to the tumor has become a barrier to implementing effective therapy. In this study, we present a comparative analysis of both intestinal and tumor tissue in regard to the efficacy and the preventive impact of a short-term growth hormone (GH) treatment in tumor-bearing rats as a protective agent during radiotherapy. Our data show that the exogenous administration of GH improved intestinal recovery after radiation treatment while preserving the therapeutic effect against the tumor. GH significantly increased proliferation in the irradiated intestine but not in the irradiated tumors, as assessed by Positron Emission Tomography and the proliferative markers Ki67, cyclin D3, and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen. This proliferative effect was consistent with a significant increase in irradiated intestinal villi and crypt length. Furthermore, GH significantly decreased caspase-3 activity in the intestine, whereas GH did not produce this effect in the irradiated tumors. In conclusion, short-term GH treatment protects the bowel, inducing proliferation while reducing apoptosis in healthy intestinal tissue and preserving radiotherapy efficacy on tumors.