Different characteristics of hepatoid and non-hepatoid α-fetoprotein-producing gastric carcinomas: An experimental study using xenografted tumors
✍ Scribed by Kikuo Aizawa; Teiichi Motoyama; Satoshi Suzuki; Norio Tanaka; Hiroshi Yabusaki; Shinsuke Tanaka; Ichiro Muto; Otsuo Tanaka; Katsuyoshi Hatakeyama
- Book ID
- 102866948
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1994
- Tongue
- French
- Weight
- 826 KB
- Volume
- 58
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0020-7136
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✦ Synopsis
The characteristics, including metastatic potential, of 5 xenografts of a-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric carcinomas in nude mice, designated TSG I, TSG3, TSG I I, TSG I7 and TSGIO, were examined. Of these xenografts, TSG I, TSG I I and TSGZO were regarded as hepatoid adenocarcinomas based on their morphological resemblance to hepatocellular carcinoma, frequent immunoreactivity for liver-cell markers, and excessive production of AFP with a high concanavalin A (Con-A)-binding property of hepatic type. On the other hand, TSG3 and TSG I 7 tumors showed the features of poorly differentiated medullary adenocarcinoma with scattered AFP-positive cells consistent with low AFP levels in mouse sera, and negative immunoreactivity for other liver-cell markers. Ultrastructurally, these tumors were composed of undifferentiated cells with a little adenocarcinomatous differentiation. Moreover, the AFP produced by TSG3 and TSG I 7 tumors had an extremely high Con-A nonbound fraction (80% to 90%). which was different from that of the hepatic or yolk-sac types. Therefore, both TSG3 and TSG I7 tumors were regarded as non-hepatoid, poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas which could be differentiated from any types of AFP-producing gastric carcinoma. Furthermore, cells from hepatoid adenocarcinoma strains (TSG I, TSG I I and TSG2O) injected into the spleens of nude mice produced liver metastases in all the mice examined, whereas cells from non-hepatoid carcinoma strains (TSG3 and TSG 17) produced few or no liver metastases. Our data show that some non-hepatoid AFPproducing gastric carcinomas have lower liver-metastasizing potential than hepatoid AFP-producing nastric carcinomas.