Tumour metastasis in mice with reduced immune reactivity. II. Studies with a highly antigenic MCA-induced sarcoma in thymectomized and/or sub-lethally irradiated C57BL/6J mice

✍ Scribed by Mart Suurküla; Bernt Boeryd

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1974
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 555 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910140510

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Spontaneous metastasis formation was studied in thymectomized and/or sublethally irradiated syngeneic C57BL/6J mice of a highly antigenic MCA‐induced sarcoma. The tumour has a low incidence of mainly pulmonary metastases in normal mice. The tumour was transplanted between 1 day and 3 months after irradiation. The immune competence was tested by the antibody response against SRBC and by studying the transplantation immunity against the tumour and allogeneic skin grafts. A wide range of immune‐suppressive states was obtained as shown by the antibody response against SRBC and by the transplantation immunity against the tumour. Local tumour growth at the transplantation site was more rapid in female than in male mice, but the difference was markedly reduced after the immunosuppressive procedures. This growth was slower in the thymectomized and irradiated groups than in the groups which were irradiated only, suggesting an inverse relationship between tumour growth and the degree of immunosuppression in this system. In contrast to this, tumour spread to lungs and lymph nodes was more pronounced in thymectomized and irradiated groups than in the groups irradiated only. The treatments caused varying and sometimes opposite effects on local tumour growth in the two sexes. The effect on tumour spread, if present, was always enhancing. Thus the effect of the two treatments on tumour growth was not similar to that on tumour spread. On some occasions the effects were even opposite to each other.