HETEROTRANSPLANTATION OF PRIMARY AND ESTABLISHED HUMAN TUMOR-CELLS INNUDE-MICE

Previous successful transplantations of human tumour cells into athymi c nude mice have been described when cells were injected with a recons tituted basement membrane (matrigel). We have compared the development and the histology of tumours following injection with matrigel or wit h culture medium of a panel of tumour cells exhibiting different degre es of tumorigenicity. Two cell lines (MCF7 and MCF7/6) required matrig el in order to form tumours. When inoculated with matrigel, all the ot her cell lines tested [MCF7 gpt, MCF7ras, MCF7(AZ), MCF7(AZ)TD5, MDA-M B 231, HT1080] showed increased tumour take and reduced latency period . Human primary tumours (melanoma, breast and colon cancers) were tran splanted successfully into nude mice, in the presence of matrigel. Bre ast primary tumours or cell lines gave rise to poorly differentiated c arcinomas. The other tumours presented histopathological patterns typi cal of differentiated human cancers.