Expression of hyaluronate and hyaluronate synthase in human primary tumours and their metastases in scid mice.

Hyaluronate and hyaluronate synthase expression were examined in primary tumours and if present in metastatic deposits of human breast, colon, ovarian and small-cell lung cancer cell lines transplanted into scid mice using biotinylated hyaluronectin and immunohistochemical staining of hyaluronate synthase. Very intensive hyaluronate and hyaluronate synthase expression could be observed in peripheral areas of tumours derived from highly metastatic cell lines (HT29, MCF-7). Even smaller lung metastases of up to 15 cells showed typically a focal binding of hyaluronectin predominantly at the host-tumour interface of the metastases, indicating that increased expression is closely correlated with the degree of invasiveness and metastatic potential of malignant tumours.

Lectin and proteoglycan histochemistry of feline pacinian corpuscles.

We studied carbohydrate residues of glycoproteins and proteoglycans (PGs) in peritoneal Pacinian corpuscles of five adult cats. Terminal monosaccharides of glycoproteins and related polysaccharides were identified by lectin histochemistry and the PGs and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) by specific antibodies. The most intensive lectin staining reactions indicated an abundance of glycoconjugates with terminal mannose (Man) or sialic acid residues, but no complex-type oligosaccharides were detected within the corpuscles.

Quantitative assessment of spontaneous lung metastases of human HT29 colon cancer cells transplanted into SCID mice.

The number of spontaneous lung metastases of the human colon cancer cell line HT29 transplanted into SCID mice was quantified. The lungs were sliced, randomly distributed in agar blocks and the number of lung metastases was counted for each of 39 animals. A nearly exponential increase of metastases with weight of the tumor at the implantation site was observed.

Epithelial glycoprotein-2 expression is subject to regulatory processes in epithelial-mesenchymal transitions during metastases: an investigation of human cancers transplanted into severe combined immunodeficient mice.

The human cell-surface antigen epithelial glycoprotein-2 recognized by the monoclonal antibody MOC-31 is an epithelial tumour-associated glycoprotein expressed in non-squamous carcinomas. MOC-31 immunoreactivity was investigated in human breast, colon, ovarian and lung cancer cell lines, grown either in vitro or in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice as solid tumours and/or metastases. Three of four small-cell lung cancer cell lines (NCI-H69, OH3 and SW2) and three of four ovarian cancer cell lines (SoTu 1, 3 and 4) expressed epithelial glycoprotein-2.

Epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and progesterone promote placental development in rat whole-embryo culture.

The development and survival of rat embryos in whole-embryo culture is limited by the lack of any maternal blood circulation in a purely fetal placenta. If the resulting placental insufficiency could be overcome for some time by an increase of the placental exchange area, a prolonged culture period would result and facilitate the development of embryos. In the present study, several attempts to stimulate proliferation and growth of the fetal placenta were made by the addition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and progesterone to the culture medium.