Muscle wasting has been emerging as one of the principal components of cancer cachexia, leading to progressive impairment of work capacity. Despite early stages melanomas rarely promotes weight loss, the appearance of metastatic and/or solid tumor melanoma can leads to cachexia development. Here, we investigated the B16F10 tumor-induced cachexia and its contribution to muscle strength and locomotor-like activity impairment. C57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously injected with 5 × 104 B16F10 melanoma cells or PBS as a Sham negative control. Tumor growth was monitored during a period of 28 days. Compared to Sham mice, tumor group depicts a loss of skeletal muscle, as well as significantly reduced muscle grip strength and epididymal fat mass. This data are in agreement with mild to severe catabolic host response promoted by elevated serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Tumor implantation has also compromised general locomotor activity and decreased exploratory behavior. Likewise, muscle loss, and elevated inflammatory interleukin were associated to muscle strength loss and locomotor activity impairment. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that subcutaneous B16F10 melanoma tumor-driven catabolic state in response to a pro-inflammatory environment that is associated with impaired skeletal muscle strength and decreased locomotor activity in tumor-bearing mice.
Purpose
Although resistance exercise (RE) is now recognized as an adjuvant in cancer treatment because of its capacity to prevent muscle wasting, weakness, and cachexia, it is unknown whether RE can mitigate tumor development. Two solid adenocarcinoma models (Walker-256 and Ehrlich) were used to investigate the effects of RE on tumor cell proliferation, growth, and aggressiveness parameters in tumor-bearing animals’ life span.
Methods
Walker-256 tumor-bearing rats and Ehrlich tumor-bearing mice were subjected to RE, which consisted of climbing a ladder apparatus with loads tied to their tails. After 4 wk, animals were euthanized, and tumors were excised and assessed for tumor microenvironment evaluation such as cell proliferation and apoptosis determination, collagen deposit, and presence of malignant tumor morphology.
Results
Our data demonstrate that RE mitigated tumor growth and favored tumor end points such as lower Scarff–Bloom–Richardson histological grade tumor, denoting slow cell aberrant form and division, decreased tumor cell proliferation (evaluated by nucleus marked with antigen ki-67), and lower viable tumor area in both types of tumors studied. In addition, RE stimulated tumor microvessel density in Walker-256 tumor-bearing rats, but there was no change in their life span.
Conclusion
RE may mitigate tumor growth and tumor malignancy parameters such as lower histopathological grade, assuming less nuclear pleomorphism and mitotic cells, smaller viable tumor area, and decreased tumor cell proliferation in both adenocarcinomas. In addition, RE induced tumor vascularization.
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