Inhibition by human recombinant tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases of human amnion invasion and lung colonization by murine B16-F10 melanoma cells

The human tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 28,000. It appears to be ubiquitous in human mesoderm tissues and has previously been shown to be identical to the collagenase inhibitor isolated from human skin fibroblasts. TIMP inhibits type I- and IV-specific collagenases and other neutral metalloendoproteinases that may be responsible for the degradation of extracellular matrix in tumor cell metastasis. In this work we have utilized recombinant human TIMP (rTIMP) obtained by expression of its cDNA gene (Carmichael et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83:2407, 1986). The rTIMP is shown to have similar inhibition properties as natural TIMP against human skin fibroblast collagenase. In an in vitro amnion invasion assay system, rTIMP inhibited the invasion of B16-F10 murine melanoma cells through the human amniotic membrane at an identical concentration to that reported previously for natural TIMP. The mechanism by which rTIMP inhibits amniotic membrane invasion was compared to the mechanism by which the fibronectin receptor binding peptide RGDS and the aminin receptor binding peptide YIGSR inhibit amnion invasion. RGDS and YIGSR inhibited strong binding of the tumor cells to the amniotic membrane. In contrast rTIMP did not inhibit the cell adhesion step in amnion invasion, but actually increased the number of tumor cells that were tightly bound to the amnion. Thus rTIMP appears to inhibit a later step in the amnion invasion process, following B16-F10 cell adhesion. C57BL/6 mice treated with i.p. injections of rTIMP every 12 h for 6.5 days showed a significant inhibition of metastatic lung colonization by B16-F10 murine melanoma cells. While the rTIMP inhibited the number of metastatic lung tumors formed, it had no significant effect on the size of the lung tumors. Furthermore, tumors grown s.c. in mice receiving 12-h i.p. injections of rTIMP for 6.5 days, as in the in vivo colonization assay, showed no difference in size from controls. Thus the anticolonization effect of rTIMP appears not be due to an effect on tumor growth, but on the invasion step itself. The inhibition of lung colonization in C57BL/6 mice by rTIMP is one of the first examples showing an antimetastatic effect of a selective metalloproteinase inhibitor in a mammalian animal model, and supports an essential role for metalloproteinase(s) in the extravasation and invasion of tumor cells during lung colonization by blood-borne tumor cells.     

Metastatic potential of cloned murine melanoma cells transfected with activated c-Ha-ras

We sought to determine whether the transfection of tumorigenic but not metastatic cells with the activated c-Ha-ras oncogene was invariably associated with acquisition of the metastatic phenotype. Three clonally derived lines of the K-1735 murine melanoma, characterized as nonmetastatic or poorly metastatic, were transfected with plasmids containing the 6.6-kilobase BamHI fragment of the mutant human c-Ha-ras gene and the neo gene, that confers resistance to neomycin (pSV2neoEJ). Cells transfected with pSV2neo, a plasmid containing the neo gene, served as controls for the procedure of Polybrene-mediated transfection. All cell lines were injected into syngeneic C3H/HeN and into athymic mice, and the results were compared with those produced by highly metastatic K-1735 M-2 cells. Although the pSV2neoEJ-transfected cells produced more rapidly growing s.c. tumors than the control cell lines did, the incidence of spontaneous metastasis was not increased. Following i.v. inoculation, the c-Ha-ras transfectants were retained in lung vasculature in greater proportions than pSV2neo counterpart transfectants were. The c-Ha-ras transfectants also produced significantly more lung tumor colonies, which grew faster than the few lung tumor colonies in mice given injections of control melanoma cells. We concluded that transfection of the activated c-Ha-ras oncogene into nonmetastatic K-1735 melanoma cells leads to accelerated tumor growth in vivo and can confer the ability to form lung colonies after i.v. injection but not the ability to metastasize from a primary s.c. tumor.     

Preferential organ attachment and invasion in vitro by B16 melanoma cells selected for differing metastatic colonization and invasive properties

Murine B16 melanoma sublines have been sequentially selected in vivo for low (B16-F1) or high (B16-F10) lung, high ovary (B16-O10) or high brain (B16-B15b) colonization, and in vitro for enhanced tissue invasion (B16-BL6). These B16 sublines were tested in vitro in a syngeneic organ adhesion/invasion assay to determine differences in tumor and/or host tissue properties that might account for preferential metastasis to certain sites. Tissues used were murine C57BL/6 lung, ovary and heart. In 8 independent experiments high lung-colonizing B16-F10 cells bound to and infiltrated into lung tissue better than ovary or heart tissue, while high ovary-colonizing B16-O10 cells attached to and invaded into ovary tissue at higher rates than lung or heart tissue. Only highly tissue-invasive B16-BL6 cells were able to invade heart tissue within 18 h in the experiments. The results suggest that organ metastatic colonization preferences by malignant cells may be determined, in part, by differences in the abilities of metastatic tumor cells to attach to and invade target tissue.     

Differences in the post-translational modification of proteins by polyamines between weakly and highly metastatic B16 melanoma cells

The identification of (γ-glutamyl)polyamines in proteolytic digest of proteins from the cytosolic and particulate fractions of B16-F10 and B 16-F1O^Lr6 cell lines, originating from a spontaneous tumor in C57BL/6 mice, indicates that polyamines are incorporated into melanoma cell proteins by transglutaminases (TGases-EC 2.3.2.13). The levels of spermidine-derived protein cross-links were found to be inversely related with the meta-static potential of the 2 melanoma lines. Characterization of TGase activity in the 2 tumor cell lines showed 3 types of enzyme. The soluble cellular TGase activity (TGase C) was higher, and increased more, during the growth of the least metastasizing clone B16-F10^Lr6 than in the B16-F10 line, which is the most metastasizing. Consistently, NN⁸-bis(γ-glutamyl) spermidine, which is responsible for protein cross-link formation, was present in greater amount in B16-F10Lr6 cells. The enhancement by theophylline of soluble-TGase activity and spermidine-dependent protein cross-links of B16-F10 cells reduced, with linear dose dependence, the ability of these cells to penetrate through human fibronectin-coated membrane in an in vitro assay of invasiveness. Our data confirm and extend earlier observations indicating that the propensity of a tumor to metastasize can be indirectly related to intracellular levels of TGase activity, and provide the basis for some speculation concerning the role of polyamines as modifiers of murine melanoma cell proteins in metastasis.     

Migration of tumor cells to organ-derived chemoattractants

Certain tissues contain unique factors which are chemotactic for metastatic tumor cell lines. Extracts of bone, brain, liver, and lung were tested for their ability to promote either the migration or the chemoinvasion, i.e., their penetration through a reconstituted basement membrane barrier, of various metastatic tumor cells. Using a modified Boyden chamber assay for chemotaxis, B16-Br2 melanoma cells, which metastasize to brain, migrated most actively to brain extract. Lung-directed T241-PM2 fibrosarcoma cells migrated selectively to lung extract. Further, murine M50-76 reticulum cell sarcoma cells, which metastasize to liver and ovaries, were preferentially attracted to liver extract, and MCF-7 breast adenocarcinoma cells with high bone and brain colonization potential were found to migrate most actively to bone and brain extracts. Partial purification of tissue extracts showed that the factors in brain and liver are of different molecular weights. These data suggest that tissue-specific factors in different target tissues attract tumor cells which home to those sites.     

Selective inhibition of proteolytic enzymes in an in vivo mouse model for experimental metastasis

Peptide aldehyde transition state analogue inhibitors of serine and cysteine proteases have been used to selectively inhibit proteases for which prior evidence supports a role in tumor cell metastasis. These enzymes include cathepsin B, urokinase plasminogen activator (PA), and thrombin. The inhibition constants of the peptidyl aldehyde inhibitors show that they are highly selective for a particular targeted serine or cysteine protease. The inhibitors are introduced by i.p. injection or by miniosmotic pumps into syngeneic C57BL/6 mice also given injections of B16-F10 melanoma cells, and the number of metastatic foci in the lung was determined. While the injection protocol gave an initially high but changing in vivo concentration of inhibitor over time, the minipump implant gave a constant steady state concentration of inhibitor over 5-7 days. Minipump infusion of leupeptin (acetylleucylleucylargininal), a strong inhibitor of cathepsin B at a steady state plasma concentration 1000-fold greater than its Ki(cathepsin B), gave no significant decrease in lung colonization by the B16 tumor cells. Ep475, a stoichiometric irreversible peptide inhibitor of cathepsin B-like proteases, also did not significantly inhibit metastatic foci formation. Introduction of selective inhibitors of urokinase PA, tert-butyloxycarbonylglutamylglycyl-argininal and H-glutamylglycylargininal at concentrations near its Ki, produced no significant decrease in mouse lung colonization. The selective thrombin inhibitor D-phenylalanylprolylargininal infused to a steady state concentration 100-fold greater than its Ki dramatically increased B16 melanoma colonization of mouse lung. The results indicate that neither secreted cathepsin B-like nor urokinase PA have roles in B16 colonization of mouse lung, while thrombin may have a role in preventing metastasis. These experiments do not eliminate roles for a cathepsin B-like enzyme or urokinase PA in the initial steps of the metastatic process.     

Effect of MHC class-I transfection on local tumor growth and metastasis in an H-2-negative clone derived from a chemically induced fibrosarcoma.

GR9 is a chemically induced fibrosarcoma composed of clones with different H-2 class-I expression. These clones differ with respect to local growth and spontaneous metastasis. The B9 clone (H-2 negative) is highly tumorigenic (local growth) but of low metastatic potential (spontaneous metastasis assay). We have analyzed the effect that transfection of H-2Dd and H-2Kd genes on this clone have upon local growth, lung colonization after i.v. injection and ability to form spontaneous metastases. The results showed that the effect on local growth of transfection of the Kd-gene was stronger than that of the Dd gene. In addition, B9 co-transfected with H-2Kd and Dd genes showed the highest immunogenic properties in syngeneic BALB/c mice. Interestingly, the pSV2-neo transfected clone gave almost the same result as that obtained with Dd transfection. Lung colonization after i.v. injection of the different clones (experimental metastasis), paralleled the results obtained for local growth: the number of lung nodules followed the cadence KdDd less than Kd less than Dd less than pSV2. Survival of mice was always inversely correlated with local growth, e.g., all mice injected with 5 x 10(5) B9 H-2KdDd transfected cells survived. In contrast, no mice injected with the B9 control did. These differences were abrogated in irradiated and nude BALB/c mice. Finally, all transfected clones remained non-metastatic in a spontaneous metastasis assay, behaving as the control, non-transfected B9 cells.     

Characterization of plasma membrane shedding from murine melanoma cells

Tumor cells release intact portions of their plasma membranes in the process of membrane fragment shedding. This released material has been shown to inhibit various synthetic functions of normal cells, which may play an important role in certain patho-physiological events occurring in advanced-stage cancer patients. Our studies on metastatic variants of the murine B16 melanoma, B16-F1 (low incidence of lung colonization) and B16-F10 (high incidence of lung colonization) indicate that the shed membrane fragment material is composed predominantly of vesicles, ranging in size from 20 to 100 nm in diameter. The release of membrane fragments represents a small percentage (approximately 16%) of the total shedding of plasma membrane components. Membrane fragments were shed at a higher rate from the highly "metastatic" (colonizing) B16-F10 cells than from poorly metastatic B16-F1 cells, resulting in a 2-fold greater accumulation of membrane fragment material by cultures of B16-F10 cells than by B16-F1 cultures during the 48-hr assay period. The study of various intracellu ar metabolic processes (protein and RNA synthesis, glycosylation, and generation of ATP) required for the shedding of membrane fragments indicated that the shedding event is only dependent on energy when inhibitors of the above processes are present for 2 hr. Treatment of cells with these inhibitors for 8 hr results in cessation of the shedding process, indicating both a limited pool of components to be shed and the requirement for further synthesis of the shed material. Glycoprotein components of the shed membrane fragments were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In addition to quantitative differences, 2 additional bands were present in fluorographs from SDS-PAGE gels from the B16-F10 membrane fragment material which were not present in fluorographs from B16-F1 fragments. The glycoprotein components of shed membrane fragments were shown to represent selected domains of the cell's plasma membranes, in that only certain plasma membrane glycoproteins are shed as part of membrane fragments. The glycoproteins released as non-particulate molecules into the extracellular environment failed to exhibit these quantitative and qualitative differences.     

Inhibition of fibrinolysis by a synthetic urokinase inhibitor enhances lung colonization of metastatic murine mammary tumor cells

We have investigated the role of coagulation and fibrinolysis during the metastatic lung colonization of F3II mouse mammary carcinoma cells. The selective synthetic urokinase inhibitor B623 significantly enhanced lung colonization and blocked the antimetastatic effect of heparin when administered i.p. during the first stages of metastasis formation. In B623-treated mice the overall activity of the fibrinolytic system was reduced and circulating urokinase was specifically inhibited by this agent. In vitro studies demonstrated that B623 induces the aggregation of F3II cells in the presence of mouse plasma and facilitates the entrapment of tumor cells in a fibrin gel matrix. Our data suggest that imbalances of fibrin deposition and removal may dramatically influence metastatic lung colonization.     

Generation and control of metastasis in experimental tumor systems; inhibition of experimental metastases by a tilorone analogue

The role of the chemical compound RMI 10,874DA (3,6-bis[2-(dimethylamino)-ethoxyl]-9H-xanthene-9-onedihydrochloride) in the abrogation of the metastatic spread of tumor cells was studied. Pre-treatment of BALB/c mice with the RMI 10,874DA compound (referred to below as tilorone analogue) completely eliminated lung colonization of an H-2-negative (GR9.B9) MCA-induced fibrosarcoma clone in an experimental metastasis assay. Other murine tumors, including H-2-positive and H-2-negative chemically induced fibrosarcoma clones and B16 melanoma, were also sensitive to the treatment; orally administered tilorone analogue given one day before the i.v. injection of tumor cells markedly inhibited lung colonization. The effect was not due to direct toxicity of tilorone analogue on tumor cells, but instead it was dependent on NK cells; this was suggested by the finding that anti-asialo GM₁ treatment of mice abrogated the effect of tilorone analogue. Kinetic studies of splenic NK activity in tilorone-treated mice showed a rapid boosting of NK-cell activity, the greatest stimulation occurring the day before removal of splenocytes for ⁵¹Cr-release assay against YAC-1 target cells. These kinetics correlated with the inhibition of in vivo lung colonization after tilorone analogue treatment. Inhibition of experimental tumor metastasis was dose-dependent and was observed when animals were treated the day before or the day after tumor-cell injection. Furthermore, repeated treatment of mice with this tilorone analogue significantly reduced lung colonization.     

Cell shape modulation alters glycosylation of a metastatic melanoma cell-surface antigen

B16-F1 melanoma cells cultivated in vitro as spheroids on a non-adhesive substrate acquire in a reversible fashion an increase in lung colonization in vivo as compared to cells cultured as a monolayer. After neuraminidase treatment of protein blots, the spheroidal cells expressed an increased binding of 125I-labelled peanut lectin (PNA) to a unique glycoprotein of Mr 78,000 (gp78) which after desialylation migrated in SDS-polyacrylamide gels as an Mr 86,000 protein. Antibodies were generated against this glycoprotein purified on PNA-Sepharose and its expression on the surface of viable B16-F1 cells was demonstrated. Growth of B16-F1 melanoma cells in suspension is associated with the altered glycosylation of gp78 which may be related to the increased metastatic ability of these cells. In vitro treatment of B16-F1 cells with anti-gp78 Fab fragments prior to their injection into the tail veins of syngeneic mice resulted in a 2-fold increase in the appearance of tumor lung colonies.     

Genetically engineered mouse melanoma and mouse Lewis lung carcinoma models

Melanoma B16-F10 cells and Lewis lung carcinoma LL/2 cells were engineered with a bacterial gene -- chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) -- by establishing stable transductants. Expression of CAT in both cell types did not alter the ability of these cells to grow into tumors when injected subcutaneously into mice. In addition, the measurement of CAT levels in the lung using a simple ELISA assay revealed a close correlation with direct counting of metastatic nodules. Thus, the CAT-expressing cells will likely have wide ranging applications to quantify tumor metastasis especially in situations where visual counting is difficult. The availability of genetically labeled mouse B16-F10 melanoma and Lewis lung carcinoma cell lines will facilitate future studies of the mechanism and progression of cancer and the discovery of new therapies.     

Inhibition of invasion,gelatinase activity,tumor take and metastasis of malignant cells by N-acetylcysteine

The thiol N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is currently considered one of the most promising cancer chemopreventive agents by virtue of its multiple and coordinated mechanisms affecting the process of chemical carcinogenesis. Recent studies have shown that an unpaired cysteine residue in the propeptide plays a key role in inactivation of latent metastasis-associated metalloproteinases: the present study was designed to assess whether NAC could also affect tumor take, invasion and metastasis of malignant cells. As assessed by zymographic analysis, NAC completely inhibited the gelatinolytic activity of type-IV collagenases in the cells tested (gelatinases A and B). Moreover, NAC was efficient in inhibiting the chemotactic and invasive activities of tumor cells of human (A2058 melanoma) and murine origin (K1735 and B16-F10 melanoma cells as well as C87 Lewis lung carcinoma cells) in Boyden-chamber assays, which are predictive of the invasive and metastatic properties. Reduced glutathione (GSH) had a similar, although less effective activity. The number of lung metastases decreased sharply when B16-F10 murine melanoma cells, injected i.v. into nude mice, were pre-treated with NAC and resuspended in medium supplemented with 10 mM NAC. In other experiments NAC was given in drinking water, starting 48-72 hr before subcutaneous inoculation of either B16-F10 cells or of their highly metastatic variant B16-BL6, or intramuscular injection of LLC cells. In all experiments NAC treatment decreased the weight of the locally formed primary tumor and produced a dose-related delay in tumor formation. Spontaneous metastasis formation by B16-F10 and B16-BL6 tumors was slightly yet significantly reduced by oral administration of NAC. However, this was not observed for Lewis lung tumors. These data indicate that NAC affects the process of tumor-cell invasion and metastasis, probably due to inhibition of gelatinases by its sulfhydryl group, with the possible contribution of other mechanisms, including the potent antioxidant activity of this thiol. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Forskolin: a potential antimetastatic agent

Forskolin, a diterpene from the roots of an Indian plant, Coleus forskohlii, is a potent platelet aggregation inhibitor and has been examined for its effects on (a) tumor-induced human platelet aggregation and (b) pulmonary tumor colonization in mice. These studies employed a subline of B16 murine melanoma, B16-F10 (highly metastatic to lungs). Forskolin (2 microM) strongly inhibits the melanoma cell-induced human platelet aggregation. A single dose of forskolin (82 micrograms/mouse) administered intraperitoneally 30 or 60 min prior to tail vein injection of cultured B16-F10 cells (2 or 3 X 10(5) cells/mouse) reduced tumor colonization in the lungs by more than 70%. Similar results were obtained in three separate experiments. These findings raise the possibility that forskolin could prove of value in the clinic for the prevention of cancer metastasis.     

Protein-kinase-C inhibitor calphostin C reduces B16 amelanotic melanoma cell adhesion to endothelium and lung colonization.

We recently reported that the Ca(2+)- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C (PKC), was involved in rat Walker carcinosarcoma cell adhesion to large-vessel endothelium. We extended our studies to explore the role of this kinase in the adhesion to small-vessel endothelium and lung colonization of murine B16 amelanotic melanoma (B16a). Subpopulations of B16a cells, which differ in lung-colonization potentials, were isolated by centrifugal elutriation from solid tumors. In this study, we demonstrate that cells from a high metastatic sub-population (HM340), when compared with cells from a low metastatic sub-population (LM180), exhibit elevated levels of total cellular as well as membrane-bound PKC. The increase in PKC in cells from the HM340 correlates positively to their increased ability to adhere to murine pulmonary-microvessel endothelial-cell monolayer, and to form pulmonary colonies in syngeneic mice. Calphostin C, a potent and selective PKC inhibitor, decreases in a dose-dependent manner the adhesion to endothelium and the lung colonization of cells from both the low and the high metastatic sub-populations with IC50 at sub-micromolar concentrations. In conclusion, our results suggest that PKC may be a key element in regulating tumor-cell metastasis and that PKC inhibitors may be anti-metastatic agents.     

Loss of metastatic responsiveness to cell shape modulation in a newly characterized B16 melanoma adhesive cell variant

Repeated selection of an adherent subpopulation from B16-F1 melanoma cells growing in suspension culture on poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate) [poly(HEMA)] coated plates resulted in the isolation of an adherent variant designated B16-A10. B16-A10 cells are more adherent to poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate) coated plates than are B16-F1 cells and express an organized actin structure characteristic of highly adherent low metastatic cells as opposed to the poor cytoskeletal organization of B16-F1 cells. Upon growth in suspension, B16-A10 cells do not acquire the enhanced metastatic capability characteristic of B16-F1 cells and they express similar lung colonizing ability irrespective of the culture conditions. The increased metastatic ability of B16-F1 cells in suspension culture has previously been associated with the decreased accessibility of surface proteins to lactoperoxidase catalyzed iodination and with the increased expression of sialylated peanut agglutinin-binding oligosaccharides on these proteins. B16-A10 cells which show no cell shape induced increase in metastatic ability do not undergo alteration in either of these two properties in suspension culture. The absence of these two phenomena on B16-A10 cells grown in suspension indicates that they are interrelated and involved in the increased metastatic ability of B16-F1 cells grown in suspension.     

Inhibition of macrophage Ia antigen expression by shed plasma membrane vesicles from metastatic murine melanoma lines

Shed plasma membrane-derived vesicles from metastatic variants of the murine B16 melanoma were examined for their ability to inhibit the induction of murine immune region-associated (Ia) antigen expression on macrophages, the initial step in the formation of an immune response. Membrane material that appears as a greater than 50 million-dalton fraction on column chromatography is found only in conditioned media from tumor cells and not in culture media from normal cells, such as murine 3T3 cells. Membrane vesicles from both metastatic variants B16-F1 (low lung colonizing) and B16-F10 (high lung colonizing) were taken up by macrophages; however, only membrane vesicles isolated from the B16-F10 cultures exhibited significant inhibitory activity for Ia induction. This inhibition appears to result from enhanced prostaglandin synthesis, since treatment with aspirin can reverse the membrane vesicle-induced inhibition. The inhibitory component(s) released into the media was demonstrated to be predominantly associated with membrane vesicles; however, the component(s) retained its activity after Triton X-100 treatment, indicating that the intact membrane vesicle was not necessary for the action of the inhibitory material. Treatments with heat (65 degrees C) and proteases (papain) indicated that the inhibitory component(s) is a heat-labile protein.     

Modulation of the lung colonization of B16-F1 melanoma cells by citrus pectin.

CONTEXT: Studies have shown that the galactoside-containing simple sugars and anti-galactoside-binding lectin antibodies may affect experimental tumor cell metastasis. However, the limited number of reagents used thus far necessitate further observations. PURPOSE: Natural citrus pectin (CP) and pH-modified CP (MCP), rich in galactose residues, were used to study the involvement of carbohydrates containing galactoside residues in cellular interaction in vitro and in lung colonization in vivo of B16-F1 melanoma cells. METHODS: B16-F1 melanoma cells were incubated with various concentrations of CP and MCP. Their ability to form homotypic aggregation in vitro and tumor lung colonization in vivo in 8-week-old female C57BL/6 mice was then analyzed. RESULTS: The CP binds to the surface of B16-F1 melanoma cells; this binding can be inhibited by lactose at a concentration of 0.15 M. Intravenous injection of the murine B16-F1 melanoma cells with the natural CP resulted in a significant increase (up to threefold) in the appearance of tumor colonies in the lung and in increased homotypic aggregation properties of the cells, while injection of MCP significantly decreased B16-F1 experimental metastasis (greater than 90%). CONCLUSIONS: Tumor galactoside-binding proteins mediate cellular recognition by linking oligosaccharides with terminal D-galactoside residues on adjacent cells. Successful interference with such a process with MCP may lead to a reduced ability to form tumor cell emboli and metastasis. IMPLICATIONS: These findings imply that the galactose-containing carbohydrate side chains of CP might mimic or compete with the natural ligand(s) of the tumor galactoside-binding protein (gal-lectin) and thus affect cellular interactions relevant for metastasis.     

Comparison of the in vitro and in vivo effects of retinoids either alone or in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil on tumor development and metastasis of melanoma

Purpose  Retinoids have previously been reported to inhibit proliferation of melanoma cell lines in vitro. However, the relative antimetastatic efficacy of various retinoids on melanoma in vivo is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effects of different retinoids on the invasion and metastasis of murine melanoma B16-F10 cells in vitro and in vivo. Based on the findings, the antitumor effects of a selected retinoid either alone or in combination with cisplatin were also investigated in a preclinical mouse melanoma model. Methods  Cell proliferation and invasion analyses of murine melanoma B16-F10 cells were assessed in the presence of different retinoids, either alone or in combination with cisplatin (CDDP) or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Experimental lung metastasis assay was performed in this study to investigate the antimetastatic efficacy of retinoids. Additionally, a mouse melanoma model was used to assess the antitumor efficacy of a selected retinoid in combination with cisplatin. Results  Retinoids showed significant antiproliferation and anti-invasion effects on murine melanoma B16-F10 cells. Pretreatment with retinoids increased the sensitivity to CDDP but not to 5-FU in in-vitro. Moreover, the number of metastatic colonies formed in the lungs of mice injected intravenously with B16-F10 cells was significantly reduced by injecting the respective retinoid once a day for 10 days. Treatment with a combination of cisplatin and 13-cis-retinoic acid resulted in a significant reduction in primary tumor size and the number of lung metastatic nodules in melanoma-bearing mice. Conclusion  These results suggest that retinoids not only exhibit antimetastatic effect, but also enhance the antitumor activity of cisplatin in vivo.     

Analysis of novel metastasis-associated gene TI-227.

TI-227 is a cancer metastasis-associated gene isolated from the B16-F10 mouse melanoma subline that preferentially metastasizes to the lung following intravenous injection. TI-227 is more highly expressed in the B16-F10 and colon26-nl17 sublines, which preferentially metastasize to the lung following intravenous injection, than in the B16-BL6 and colon26-nl22 sublines, which preferentially metastasize to the lung following subcutaneous injection. Since TI-227 could not be detected in normal tissues, there is a possibility that it is expressed specifically in tumors that preferentially metastasize to the lung following intravenous inoculation. Although the 5' end of TI-227 was analyzed, its total sequence contained no obvious open reading frame. However comparison with the isolated human counterpart, TI-227H gene, revealed a highly homologous region near the 3' end, which was expected to contain a very short open reading frame.