Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of tripeptide tyroserleutide (YSL) for human hepatocarcinoma by in vivo hollow fiber assay

Summary  Tyroserleutide (YSL), extracted from spleen of pigs, is a tripeptide that has shown therapeutic efficacy in an experimental BEL-7402 human hepatocarcinoma model. The hollow fiber assay (HFA) is a solid tumor model for large-scale screening of potential anticancer compounds that minimizes expenditures of materials, time, and money. Tumor cells are cultivated within biocompatible, semipermeable hollow fibers, which are implanted in immunosuppressed mice. In this study, the HFA was used to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of YSL for human hepatocarcinoma. In vitro effects of YSL on human hepatocarcinoma cell lines BEL-7402, SMMC-7721, Hep3B, HepG2, and SK-HEP-1 were assayed by the MTS method. In vivo effects of YSL on the five human hepatocarcinoma cell lines were assayed by HFA. Mice implanted with tumor cells in hollow fibers were treated with YSL, and the effects of YSL on tumor cell populations were assessed by MTT assay. YSL significantly inhibited the proliferation of the five human hepatocarcinoma, both in vitro and in vivo (P < 0.05). The HFA is a rapid, accurate, and economical method for evaluating the inhibitory effects of drugs on different tumor cells in vivo. These results support the clinical application of YSL for treatment of human hepatocarcinoma. Xiao-lei Li and Jun-yan Liu contributed equally to this paper.