Pulmonary metastases of the A549-derived lung adenocarcinoma tumors growing in nude mice. A multiple case study.

Abstract

Lung adenocarcinoma is a leading human malignancy with fatal prognosis. Ninety percent of the deaths, however, are caused by metastases. The model of subcutaneous tumor xenograft in nude mice was adopted to study the growth of control and photodynamically treated tumors derived from the human A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line. As a side-result of the primary studies, observations on the metastasis of these tumors to the murine lungs were collected, and reported in the present paper. The metastasizing primary tumors were drained by a prominent number of lymphatic vessels. The metastatic tissue revealed the morphology of well-differentiated or trans-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Further histological and histochemical analyses demonstrated the presence of golden-brown granules in the metastatic tissue, similar to these found in the tumor tissue. In contrast to the primary tumors, the electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed no nitric oxide - hemoglobin complexes (a source of intense paramagnetic signals), in the metastases. No metastases were found in other murine organs; however, white infarctions were identified in a single liver. Taken together, the A549-derived tumors growing subcutaneously in nude mice can metastasize and grow on site in the pulmonary tissue. Thus, they can represent an alternative for the model of induced metastatic nodule formation, following intravenous administration of the cancerous cells.

Evaluation of mitochondrial redox status and energy metabolism of X-irradiated HeLa cells by LC/UV, LC/MS/MS and ESR

“…As shown in supplemental Figure 2, two peaks at g = 2.004 and g = 1.941 in heart tissue, liver tissue from mouse, and isolated mitochondria from bovine heart were also observed in our experimental condition. Similar ESR signals have been reported in many tumor cells, such as human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells [36], lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells [37], and several gastric tumor cells (T2-4, N0-2, M0-1, and G1-G4 cells) [29]. Emanuel reported that a narrow ESR signal at g = 2.004 is due to radicals of SQ, which are primarily localized in the mitochondria, and the broader signal at g = 1.94 originates from the non-heme iron of mitochondria containing sulfur compounds in various types of cancer [38].…”

The inhibition of lung cancer cell migration by AhR-regulated autophagy

“…Secondly, some studies have demonstrated that A549 cells with different metastatic potentials in vivo . The metastatic potential of A549 cells to the lungs were found approximately 7% 47 . Moreover, c-MET protein activation or not in A549 cells could contribute to different metastatic pattern among different organs.…”

Melanin presence inhibits melanoma cell spread in mice in a unique mechanical fashion

“…Tissue samples obtained during autopsy were fixed in 5% buffered formalin (pH 7.4), embedded in paraffin and histologically sectioned into 5 µm thick slices using a Shandon Finesse 325 Microtome from Thermo. Standard hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed as described elsewhere 46 . Images of tissue samples were obtained using a Nikon Eclipse Ti-U inverted optical microscope coupled with a colored camera under a Plan 4 × objective.…”