Heterotransplantation of early B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia using a solubilized attachment matrix (Matrigel).

Maintenance of long term culture and conventional xenografting of early B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells is most difficult. Matrigel, a solubilized attachment matrix shown to aid growth of anchorage dependent solid tumors, was studied in heterotransplantation. Material for xenografting was derived from 5 patient bone marrow aspirates and 5 cell lines previously established and maintained by intraocular inoculation in nude mice. Specimens were injected by 3 methods: intraocular (n = 397); s.c. in medium (n = 78); and s.c. in medium supplemented by Matrigel (n = 69). With intraocular injection, 6 of 10 cell sources grew with respective ingraftment rates of 29-76%. Using the conventional s.c. method, no tumors resulted. The addition of Matrigel produced s.c. ingraftment from 8 of 10 cell sources (ingraftment rate, 50-100%). Immunophenotype, histopathology, and karyotype of the cells derived after Matrigel dependent ingraftment correlated with the cells of origin. It is concluded that Matrigel enables establishment and maintenance of early B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell growth in a s.c. xenograft model.