In vivo induction of neoplastic growth in nude mouse connective tissue adjacent to xenografted human tumors.

Induction of neoplastic growth of murine stroma cells within the human tumor xenograft was observed after serial passage of CEA and beta 2-microglobulin producing human colonic SLu tumor xenografts in nu/nu BALB/c mice. Mouse tumors within the human tumor xenografts were identified using specific immunohistologic staining techniques for mouse histocompatibility marker or human CEA. These mixed tumors could be distinguished from normal human tumor xenografts by a different relationship between development of the tumor marker in the serum and tumor size. We were able to establish transformed murine cells from human xenografts, either induced by SC injection of 1 X 10(6) tumor cells of the SLu cell line or by human SLu or mammary carcinoma tissue serially passaged in athymic animals. The established human and murine cell lines were characterized by cytogenetic methods. Transformed murine cells were then continuously passaged in tissue culture. The transformed mouse fibroblasts proved to possess tumorigenicity in nude mice. In the case of SLu-derived mouse tumor cells, tumors also developed in the immunocompetent BALB/c mice using 1 X 10(6) to 5 X 10(6) tumor cells for SC transplantation.