免疫重建荷人高转移肝癌SCID鼠模型的建立及其鉴定

目的：建立具有人免疫学特性的高转移肝癌SCID鼠模型。方法：SCID小鼠腹腔注射人外周血淋巴细胞,皮下接种人高转移肝癌细胞MHCC97-H,免疫重建人高转移肝癌SCID小鼠模型,并鉴定建立的结果。结果：①免疫重建荷人高转移肝癌细胞小鼠的成瘤率为100％,较荷瘤组成瘤潜伏期延长,体积缩小（P〈0．05）;转移率为100％,其从皮下转移到肝脏所需时间较荷瘤组延长（P〈0．05）。②第2、4、6周小鼠血中人IgG含量的测定：同期相比,人化荷瘤组小鼠血中人IgG含量高于人化组（P〈0．05）。③第6周SCID小鼠外周血中人CD3^＋T淋巴细胞和人CD20^＋B淋巴细胞含量的测定：人化荷瘤组小鼠血中人CD3^＋T淋巴细胞和人CD20^＋B淋巴细胞含量高于人化组（P〈0．05）。④免疫组化检测人化荷瘤组小鼠脾脏中存在人CD3^＋T淋巴细胞和CD20^＋B淋巴细胞。结论：成功建立免疫重建荷人高转移肝癌SCID鼠模型,为肝癌转移的研究及治疗提供了理想的动物模型。     

阿片类药物对肝癌小鼠细胞免疫功能及IL-2和TNF-α的影响

目的 探讨不同的阿片类药物对肝癌小鼠细胞免疫功能及IL-2和TNF-α的影响.方法 采用细胞接种的方法建立H22肝癌小鼠动物模型,随机分成5组,每组10只,流式细胞仪技术检测肝癌小鼠T淋巴细胞亚群中CD3+、CD4+、CD8+、CD4+ /CD8+数值,双抗体夹心法(ELISA)检测小鼠血清IL-2和TNF-α数值.结果 与0.9％氯化钠溶液组相比哌替啶组中肝癌小鼠T淋巴细胞亚群中CD3+、CD4+、CD8+、CD4+/CD8+没有明显变化(P＞0.05),吗啡组、芬太尼组和舒芬太尼组均明显降低(P＜0.05);与0.9％氯化钠溶液组比较哌替啶组小鼠血清IL-2含量明显升高(P＜0.05),血清TNF-α含量无明显差别(P＞0.05),与0.9％氯化钠溶液组比较吗啡组、芬太尼组、舒芬太尼组血清IL-2和TNF-α均明显降低(P＜(0.05).结论 吗啡、芬太尼、舒芬太尼对肝癌小鼠T淋巴细胞亚群和IL-2、TNF-α明显抑制.哌替啶对肝癌小鼠T淋巴细胞亚群抑制不明显,能提高血中IL-2含量,对TNF-α水平无明显抑制.     

Schisandra Chinensis extract on immune injury by radiation

目的:研究中药五味子(Schisandra Chinensis,SC)提取物对辐射所致小鼠免疫功能的影响,探讨SC对辐射所致免疫功能损伤的保护作用.方法:将48只BALB/c小鼠随机分为4组,分别为SC预处理组(SC灌胃后照射)、生理盐水组(NS灌胃后照射)、SC对照组(只给SC,不照射)和正常对照组(只给NS,不照射).6 Gy 60Co照射后24 h进行外周血白细胞和淋巴细胞计数;流式细胞仪检测小鼠外周血中CD4+、CD8+T细胞的百分比,用免疫浊度法检测小鼠血清IgG及补体C3的含量.结果:与正常对照组相比,NS组照射24 h后外周血白细胞总数[(3.73±1.05)x 109]和淋巴细胞数量[(2.06±0.57)×10]均明显下降(P＜0.01),而SC预处理组白细胞总数[(6.43±0.76)×10]和淋巴细胞数量[(4.15±0.95)×109]较NS均明显升高(P＜0.01);照射后小鼠外周血中CD3+、CD4+和CD8+T细胞百分比、IgG及补体C3水平较正常对照组明显降低(P＜0.01);SC预处理组较NS组小鼠外周血中CD4+和CD8+T细胞绝对值、IgG及补体C3水平均明显升高(P＜0.01).结论:SC提取物能够预防辐射所致淋巴细胞减少和免疫功能损伤.     

小剂量环磷酰胺通过抑制调节性T细胞提高小鼠肝癌阿霉素化疗效果

目的 探讨小剂量环磷酰胺是否可以提高小鼠肝癌阿霉素化疗效果,并对其机制进行探讨.方法 建立C57BL/6J小鼠皮下肝癌模型,待肿瘤长至100～150mm3体积大小时备用.10只小鼠随机分为2组,对照组不处理,观察组以2 mg/只的剂量腹腔注射环磷酰胺(CTX),4天后以流式细胞仪检测小鼠脾脏CD4+、CD8+T细胞和CD4+CD25high Treg淋巴细胞比例.32只小鼠随机分为4组:①对照组(PBS);②环磷酰胺组(CTX);③阿霉素组(DOX);④环磷酰胺+阿霉素组(CTX+DOX);观察小鼠皮下肿瘤生长情况和小鼠的生存期.结果 应用小剂量CTX后荷瘤小鼠脾脏CD4+和CD8+T淋巴细胞的浸润分别由17.62%、16.03%上升到24.54%和25.41%(P<0.05),而Treg则由用药前的11.92%降低为用药后的5.36%(P<0.05).CTX组肿瘤生长和对照组相比无统计学差异(P>0.05).DOX组、CTX+DOX组肿瘤生长均显著受到抑制,以CTX+DOX组更为显著(P<0.05).DOX组生存期显著改善(P=0.027),联合应用CTX后生存期亦有显著捉高(P=0.018).结论 小剂量CTX可以抑制小鼠脾脏Treg浸润,改善机体免疫微环境,并可以增强肝癌阿霉素化疗的效果.免疫化疗治疗晚期肝癌具有一定的应用前景.     

荷瘤小鼠脾脏过度增大的机制

目的研究H22荷瘤小鼠生长过程中脾脏过度增大的机制。方法通对小鼠脾指数与脾脏细胞总数进行相关性分析、检测脾细胞生长周期以及T、B淋巴细胞比例。结果小鼠脾指数与脾脏细胞总数呈显著正相关性(r=1.000,P<0.01);H22荷瘤小鼠与对照组小鼠脾脏细胞的细胞周期无明显差异;H22荷瘤小鼠与对照组小鼠相比脾脏总T淋巴细胞、CD8+T与CD4+T细胞比例增大(P<0.05),B细胞比例基本不变,CD4+ /CD8+ 减小。结论H22荷瘤小鼠脾脏增大与各类免疫细胞转移至脾脏后滞留有直接的关系,其中CD8+T细胞的积累最显著,脾脏的免疫抑制作用与CD8+T细胞有密切的关系。     

微波消融治疗对肝癌小鼠调节性 T 细胞的影响

目的：研究微波消融治疗荷肿瘤后小鼠的Treg和淋巴细胞亚群的变化,探讨微波消融治疗荷瘤小鼠后的机体免疫功能的变化.方法：建立H22荷瘤小鼠模型,分为荷瘤对照组和微波消融组.微波消融荷瘤小鼠肿瘤.流式细胞术检测脾脏中的CD4＋CD25＋T细胞、CD25＋FOXP3＋T细胞、CD4＋T细胞、CD8＋T细胞.结果：与荷瘤对照组相比,微波消融治疗后21天、28天组小鼠CD25＋FOXP3＋T细胞明显下降,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）,以术后28天下降更为明显（P＜0.01）.微波消融术后各组小鼠CD4＋/CD8＋比值明显增高（P＜0.05）.结论：微波消融治疗减低Tregs比例可能是热消融治疗提高机体抗肿瘤免疫作用的主要机制.微波消融治疗肿瘤后,Treg数量下降及功能降低,且CD4＋/CD8＋比值升高,提示了微波消融治疗肝癌可以改善机体的免疫状态.     

HepA-H和HepA-L肝癌荷瘤小鼠CD8+/CD28+T细胞和肿瘤新生淋巴管的研究

目的研究不同淋巴转移潜能肝癌（HepA-H和HepA-L）荷瘤小鼠体内CD8^＋／CD28^＋T淋巴细胞和肿瘤新生淋巴管，探讨与肿瘤淋巴转移的关系。方法用两种来源相同，而淋巴转移能力不同的小鼠肝癌细胞亚系，HepA-H（高淋巴转移）和HepA-L（低淋巴转移），小鼠皮下接种，制备荷瘤动物模型。采用抗小鼠CD8、CD28荧光标记单克隆抗体，流式细胞术定量检测小鼠外周血和肿瘤组织内CD8^＋／CD28^＋T淋巴细胞数量；应用5＇-核苷酸酶-碱性磷酸酶双重组化染色法，观察肿瘤新生淋巴管。结果肿瘤皮下接种后14天，HepA-H组荷瘤小鼠外周血CD8^＋／CD28^＋T淋巴细胞数量明显低于正常对照组（P〈0．05）HepA-H组肿瘤组织内CD8^＋／CD28^＋T淋巴细胞数量显著低于HepA-L组（P〈0．05）。两种肿瘤细胞亚系均可诱导肿瘤新生淋巴管，但HepA-H肿瘤内和瘤周最高淋巴管密度均明显高于HepA-L组（P〈0．01）。结论肿瘤淋巴转移能力的差异与体内CD8^＋／CD28^＋T淋巴细胞数量及肿瘤新新生淋巴管有关。     

Th17细胞过继免疫治疗对荷弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤小鼠肿瘤生长的影响

目的 探讨Th17细胞过继免疫治疗对荷弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤(DLBCL)小鼠肿瘤生长的影响.方法 采用Mini MACS免疫磁珠分离纯化BALB/c小鼠脾来源的CD4+ CD62L+初始T细胞,采用"转化生长因子(TGF-β)、白细胞介素6(IL-6)、干扰素γ抗体(anti-IFN-γ)、白细胞介素4抗体(anti-IL-4)、白细胞介素23(IL-23)"因子组合体外诱导小鼠Th17细胞分化,采用ELISA法测定Th17细胞产生IL-17水平;采用DLBCL细胞株SUDHL-4接种SCID小鼠建立DLBCL荷瘤小鼠模型;选择0、8、18d(3组,5只小鼠/每组)对荷瘤小鼠进行Th17细胞过继免疫治疗,计算肿瘤体积,观察荷瘤小鼠生存期.结果 小鼠在接种SUDHL-4细胞8d左右均形成瘤结节,成瘤率为100％.与对照组小鼠相比,3个过继免疫治疗组小鼠肿瘤体积均明显缩小(P＜0.05),荷瘤小鼠生存期均显著延长(P＜0.05).结论 Th17细胞过继免疫治疗对DLBCL荷瘤小鼠具有抗肿瘤作用.     

金复康口服液对免疫衰老小鼠肺癌移植瘤的防治作用

目的:探讨金复康口服液对D-半乳糖诱导的免疫衰老模型小鼠肺癌移植瘤的防治作用.方法:采用SPSS 18.0软件包随机取10只C57BL/6J雄性小鼠作空白对照、取83只C57BL/6J雄性小鼠连续42 d颈背部皮下注射D-半乳糖[150mg/(kg·d)]建立免疫衰老模型,分别以生理盐水和金复康口服液进行干预;造模后取10只对照组和20只免疫衰老模型组小鼠,检测小鼠血清超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活力和丙二醛(malondialdehyde,MDA)含量,摘取小鼠胸腺及脾脏,计算器官指数;流式细胞术检测小鼠胸腺及脾脏T细胞免疫衰老相关膜分子表达.其余63只免疫衰老模型小鼠左侧腋下前部接种肺癌细胞LL2-Luc-M38建立肺癌皮下移植瘤模型,并随机分为生理盐水、金复康预防和金复康防治组进行干预,其中30只(每组取10只)小鼠于移植瘤造模14 d后处死,检测瘤体质量;其余33只小鼠观察成瘤时间、计算生存期.结果:(1)与空白对照组相比,生理盐水组小鼠的脾脏指数、胸腺指数明显下降(P ＜0.05或P＜0.01),小鼠胸腺和脾脏的CD3+ CD45RA+、CD3+CD25+、CD3+CD28+表达显著下降(P＜0.01),CD3+ CD196+、CD4+ CD25+表达显著上升(P＜0.01),血清SOD活力明显下降(P＜0.01),MDA含量明显上升(P＜0.01);金复康干预后,与生理盐水组相比,免疫衰老小鼠脾指数明显上升(P＜0.01),脾CD3+ CD45 RA+和CD3+ CD28+表达明显上升(P＜0.01或P＜0.05)、而CD3+ CD196+及CD4+ CD25+表达显著下降(P＜0.01),胸腺CD3+ CD25+表达显著上升(P＜0.01)、CD3+ CD196+表达显著下降(P＜0.05),血清SOD活力明显上升(P＜0.01),而MDA含量明显下降(P＜0.01).(2)免疫衰老小鼠皮下接种肺癌细胞后,金复康预防组小鼠的成瘤时间和生存期明显长于生理盐水组(P＜0.05),金复康防治组的生存时间延长更为明显(P＜0.01);金复康防治组移植瘤体质量明显小于生理盐水组(P＜0.01)和预防组(P＜0.05),后两组间无明显差异(P＞0.05).结论:D-半乳糖可诱导小鼠免疫衰老发生;金复康可时间依赖性地延缓小鼠免疫衰老,从而防治肺癌的发生发展及延长小鼠生存期.     

恶性肿瘤患者外周血CD146+T淋巴细胞的检测及其临床意义

目的 探讨CD146+T淋巴细胞在肿瘤患者外周血中的变化及其临床意义.方法 用流式细胞术检测47例健康对照组和188例肿瘤患者外周血中CD3+ CD146+T淋巴细胞的数量,并观察其在肿瘤痰病中的变化.结果 (1)与健康对照组比较,总肿瘤组、肝癌、肺癌组、食管癌、乳腺癌、胃癌、胰腺癌组的CD146+T/T比例显著升高,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.001).(2)与健康对照组比较,肿瘤组的外周血T细胞绝对数是降低的(P＜0.05),而CD146+T绝对数却是与健康对照相似(P＞0.05);(3)恶性肿瘤患者外周血CD146+T比例与T细胞绝对计数负相关(n=188,r=-0.297,P＜0.001).(4)肿瘤转移组与未转移组的CD146+T/T比例的比较未观察到差异有统计学意义(P＞005).结论 肿瘤患者外周血CD146+T比例增高,可能是机体抗肿瘤免疫调节的一个重要方面.     

EB病毒在SCID小鼠体内诱发人B淋巴细胞肿瘤

目的:通过动物体内试验研究EB病毒(EBV)对人正常细胞的致瘤性,并检测我国正常人群对EBV的易感性,试图建立EBV诱发人淋巴细胞肿瘤模型。方法:在严重联合免疫缺陷动物即SCID小鼠体内移植健康成人外周血淋巴细胞(PBL),每鼠腹腔接种1×108个PBL。对接种VCA/IgA阴性献血员PBL的动物,移植后1周内经腹腔注射B95-8标准株EBV悬液作为实验感染,而接种VCA/IgA阳性献血员PBL的动物不再进行实验感染。结果:在接受12名健康成人PBL移植并感染EBV的19只SCID小鼠中,肿瘤诱发率分别为91.7%(11/12名)和84.2%(16/19只鼠)。诱发瘤常见于小鼠腹腔后壁和纵隔,具有侵袭性和致死性,患瘤小鼠平均存活时间65.5天。EBV诱发瘤是结节状实体瘤,显微镜下观察肿瘤细胞呈大裂—无裂混合细胞。组织病理学和免疫病理学研究表明,肿瘤类型是人源B细胞性恶性淋巴瘤。诱发瘤原位分子杂交显示肿瘤细胞核内存在EB病毒小核酸分子EBER-1和人类基因组Alu序列。电子显微镜观察肿瘤细胞核内存在EB病毒颗粒。肿瘤细胞表达EB病毒BZLF1蛋白阳性。结论:SCID/人淋巴细胞嵌合体是研究EBV感染和致瘤性的敏感动物模型,且获得了EBV引起人类正常细胞在体内发生肿瘤的直接依据。因而证实了EBV对人类细胞的致瘤作用,进一步明确机体免疫缺陷因素在肿瘤发生中起重要作     

肺组织粗提物影响人原发性肝癌细胞侵袭转移机制的初步探讨

背景与目的：转移复发是原发性肝癌治疗失败的主要原因,而肺组织是原发性肝癌远处转移的好发部位。在小鼠不同组织粗提物诱导高转移潜能的人原发性肝癌细胞的体外趋化侵袭实验中,肺组织提取物具有最强的诱导能力。本研究旨在探讨小鼠肺组织粗提物促进人肝癌高转移细胞株移动侵袭的机制。方法：采用F型肌动蛋白聚合实验和流式细胞仪,分析C57BL／6小鼠肺组织粗提物诱导高转移潜能人肝癌细胞株MHCC97-H细胞骨架的变化。肺组织粗提物与MHCC97-H细胞孵育后,利用双重荧光染色分析F型肌动蛋白和基质金属蛋白酶-9(matrix metalloproteinase-9,MMP-9)表达的关系。结果：经无血清培养液或脾组织粗提物孵育后,MHCC97-H细胞呈梭型或多边形。与肺组织粗提物孵育后,随时间的增加,MHCC97-H细胞片层样或丝状伪足明显增多,流式细胞仪分析显示F型肌动蛋白在30s内增加1．9倍,激光扫描共聚焦显微镜观察MHCC97-H细胞F型肌动蛋白从细胞外周浓染到重新分布于细胞的导引侧。无血清培养基孵育MHCC97-H细胞后,MMP-9和F型肌动蛋白主要位于细胞的核周池;经肺组织粗提物孵育后,MHCC97-H细胞MMP-9和F型肌动蛋白则定位于细胞伪足的前端。结论：肺组织粗提物可能通过诱导MHCC97-H细胞形成伪足和改变MMP-9运送方式,从而促进MHCC97-H细胞移动侵袭。肺组织粗提物可能与人肝癌细胞器官特异性转移有关。     

Cyclosporine A effectively inhibits graft-versus-host disease during development of Epstein-Barr virus-infected human B cell lymphoma in SCID mouse

We previously constructed human peripheral blood lymphocyte (hu-PBL)/severe combined immunodeficiency mouse (SCID) chimeras and induced human B-cell lymphomas associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in SCID mice. However, a number of SCID mice died of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) during the early experimental course. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of cyclosporine A (CSA) for prevention of GVHD and to define how CSA inhibits the occurrence of GVHD and the production of soluble interleukin (IL) 2 receptor (sIL-2R) in hu-PBL/SCID mice. No mouse died in the active EBV infection group with CSA administration, while 17 mice in three groups without CSA administration died of GVHD. Mortalities in these three groups were 55.56% (5/9), 30.43% (7/23), and 27.78% (5/18), and the medium life span was 17 days. Over the first 33 days after hu-PBL transplantation, serum level of human sIL-2R in hu-PBL/SCID chimeras was stable in the active EBV infection plus CSA group, while sIL-2R concentration gradually increased in the sera of mice with active EBV infection without CSA administration and peaked at 22 days. Thirty-two mice developed tumors among the 43 surviving SCID mice. There was no significant difference of tumor incidence between the active EBV infection groups with CSA and without CSA administration (P>0.05). From their morphological and immunohistochemical features, as well as detection of human Alu-sequence and EBV in tumor cells, these EBV-induced tumors were identified as human B-cell lymphomas. Thus, CSA can strikingly inhibit GVHD in hu-PBL/SCID chimeras, and should therefore be effective to establish a stable SCID mouse model of human lymphoma associated with EBV. Treatment with CSA had no effect on the tumor incidence in hu-PBL/SCID chimeras after active EBV infection. Accordingly, serum level of sIL-2R is a valuable indicator of GVHD occurrence in hu-PBL/SCID chimeras.     

具有高转移潜能的人肝癌细胞系的建立及其生物学特性

目的利用裸鼠人肝癌高转移模型（ＬＣＩ－Ｄ２０）的皮下移植瘤组织在体外建立一株具有高转移潜能的人肝癌细胞系（ＭＨＣＣ９７）,并对其一般生物学特性进行观察。方法将分离的瘤细胞制成细胞悬液,用１０％人ＡＢ型血清的高糖ＤＭＥＭ培养液建成该细胞系,采用流式细胞术和染色体Ｇ－显带方法,进行细胞遗传学分析;用ＡＢＣ免疫组化法,观察其肺转移灶中癌细胞甲胎蛋白（ＡＦＰ）表达情况。结果ＭＨＣＣ９７细胞为典型的上皮样细胞,符合一般上皮性恶性肿瘤细胞的病理学特征。该细胞经皮下和肝内接种均可使裸鼠致瘤,并发生肺部转移。肝内接种者,肺转移达１００％（１２／１２）。ＭＨＣＣ９７细胞为异倍体细胞,染色体均为超二倍体,ｉ（１）（ｑ）和ｄｅｒ（４）（ｐｔｅｒ→ｑ３５：：？）等为其标志染色体,未显示有完整Ｙ染色体存在。肺转移灶的癌细胞ＡＦＰ阳性。结论ＭＨＣＣ９７细胞具有与原移植瘤相似的生物学特性。染色体的畸变可能与其发生发展有关     

树突状细胞疫苗对人化荷人膀胱癌SCID鼠循环微转移转归的影响

Objective  To study the effect of dendritic cells loaded with whole tumor antigen on hematogenous micrometastasis of bladder cancer model in hu-PBL-SCID mice. Methods  T24-3 cell subset was selected from human bladder transitional cell carcinoma T24 cell line by Boyden chamber system. The SCID mice intraperitoneally injected with 4 × 10⁷ hu-PBL and subcutaneously injected with 3 × 10⁶ T24-3 cells were named hu-PBL-T24-3-SCID model. Human IgG level in the blood plasma of mice was detected by ELISA, and human CD3⁺, CD4⁺, CD8⁺ T cells in blood and spleen cells of mice were detected by FCM analysis for human immune reconstruction study. Human CK20 mRNA expression in mice peripheral blood was detected by RT-PCR to investigate metastasis of tumor cells. The PBMCs were isolated from human peripheral blood, and were induced into DCs by co-culture with rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4 in vitro. The DC vaccines were produced by co-culturing with whole tumor antigen which was purified through freezing and melting T24-3 cell subset. After T24-3 cells injected into SCID mice for 5 weeks, the mice were treated with DC vaccines. Results  All mice were initially treated at 5th week. The expression of CK20 mRNA in peripheral blood of DC vaccines treated mice was the lowest. There was 2 mice showing CK20 mRNA expression and 3 mice with metastasis tumor in PBS group. MMP-7 mRNA expression in tumor tissues of DC vaccines treated mice was statistically lower than that of PBS group (P < 0.01). Conclusion  DC vaccines have a good effect on hu-PBL-SCID mice bladder cancer model by reducing hematogenous micrometastasis.     

Induction of MUC1-specific cellular immunity by a recombinant BCG expressing human MUC1 and secreting IL2

MUC1 mucin is aberrantly expressed in many epithelial malignancies and is a promising tumor antigen for target-directed immunotherapy against human breast cancer. Mycobacterium BCG is an effective immunoadjuvant which is known to induce Th1 immune response. Recombinant BCG expressing tumor antigen and secreting cytokine may therefore potentiate the tumor antigen-specific immune responses. In this study, we constructed a recombinant BCG-MUC1-IL2, which expresses a high level of human MUC1 VNTR core protein and secretes functional interleukin 2 (IL2). The immune responses induced by BCG-MUC1-IL2 were examined using a SCID mouse model reconstituted with immunologically competent human lymphocytes, SCID/hu-PBL. The mucin-specific IFN-gamma was secreted only by the lymphocytes derived from animals immunized with BCG-MUC1-IL2, but not with BCG-vector or purified mucin protein for the vaccination. In contrast, in vitro secretion of IL4 by the immunized lymphocytes was only seen in the group of animals which received native MUC1 protein, but not BCG-MUC1-IL2 and BCG-vector. Minimal MUC1-specific IgG and IgM were detected in SCID/hu-PBL mice vaccinated with BCG-MUC1-IL2. These results suggest that BCG-MUC1-IL2 preferentially induces MUC1-specific cellular immune responses and it may serve as a vaccine for breast cancer prevention and treatment.     

Multilineage outgrowth of both malignant and normal hemopoietic progenitor cells from individual chronic myeloid leukemia patients in immunodeficient mice.

In this study the ability of malignant and normal progenitors in peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) of CML patients in chronic phase to proliferate and produce mature progeny after transplantation into hereditary immunodeficient (SCID and NOD/SCID) mice was examined. Engraftment in NOD/SCID mice preconditioned by total body irradiation (TBI) alone was 10-fold higher than in SCID mice preconditioned by macrophage depletion and TBI, demonstrating that NOD/SCID mice are more suitable for engraftment of chronic phase CML cells. Low-density cells at cell doses of 10-30 x 10(6) and purified CD34+ cells at doses of approximately 0.2 x 10(6) engrafted NOD/SCID mice, with levels of 2 to 20% CD45+ cells with production of monocytes, granulocytes, erythroid cells, B-lymphocytes, CD34+ cells and variable frequencies of erythroid and myeloid colony-forming cells. As demonstrated by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis, purified human myeloid, B-lymphoid, erythroid and CD34+ cells from chimeric mouse BM contained Philadelphia-chromosome (Ph)-positive cells and Ph- cells in similar frequencies as primary cells from the CML patients. These results demonstrate that production of mature normal as well as malignant cells of multiple lineages were supported with similar efficiency. In contrast, all human erythroid and myeloid clonogenic cells detected in the mice were Ph-, which can be attributed to less efficient maintenance or more rapid differentiation of immature Ph+ cells in the mouse microenvironment. CML blast crisis cells also grew well in NOD/SCID mice, with 80-90% of human cells produced containing the Ph- chromosome. The availability of an in vivo assay that supports outgrowth of normal and malignant stem cells from chronic phase and blast crisis CML patients will facilitate examination of differential effects of growth factors, inhibitory cytokines and cytotoxic drugs on survival of normal and malignant stem cells in vivo and on progression of chronic phase CML towards blast crisis.     

BNIPL-2 promotes the invasion and metastasis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Enhanced cell migration and invasion play key roles in cancer metastasis. However, the molecules involved in this process are not fully understood. In this study, a full-length human BNIPL-2 (Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 2 like-2) cDNA was transfected into human hepatocellular carcinoma cells with low metastatic potential (MHCC97-L). The in vitro and in vivo effects of BNIPL-2 on cell invasion and metastasis were examined. In vitro analysis showed that the overexpression of BNIPL-2 increases cell invasion and promotes cell migration. The rates of intrahepatic and pulmonary metastasis in nude mice were also increased. Cdc42 activation assays and immunoblot analysis indicated that the activation of Cdc42 and the upregulation of CD44 were involved in the metastasis of cancer cells. The overexpression of BNIPL-2 promotes the invasion and metastasis of MHCC97-L cells. Thus, BNIPL-2 is a gene related with cancer metastasis.