Intrahepatic metastasis by orthotopic implantation of a fragment of murinehepatoma and its related molecules

Intrahepatic metastasis is a major modality in the recurrence of hepatoma. Establishment of the intrahepatic metastasis model would be useful for eval uating new anticancer therapies and analyzing the molecular mechanisms of t umor metastasis. Orthotopic implantation of a fragment of CBO140C12 hepatom a into the liver resulted in the formation of a solitary tumor nodule and i ts intrahepatic metastasis. In contrast, implantation of ADras3 cancer cell s did not show any metastasis on day 21. CBO140C12 cells showed enhancement of the invasive, adhesive and migratory capabilities, as compared with ADr as3 cells. Furthermore, mRNA expression and gelatinolytic activity of MMP-9 were detected in CBO140C12 cells, and the expression of mRNA for MT1-MMP i n CBO140C12 cells was greater than that in ADras3 cells. Thus, intrahepatic metastasis of CBO140C12 tumor might be involved in the enhancement of the invasiveness of tumor cells via marked expression of MMP-9 and MT1-MMP. Cop yright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.