Detection and assessment of human tumours producing granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) by heterotransplantation into nude mice.
Production of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor(s) (GM-CSF) by human tumours was investigated using heterotransplantation of a number of different tumours in nude mice. An increase in granulocyte numbers (> 20,000/mm3) in the peripheral blood of nude mice accompanied the growth of 9 of the 25 transplanted tumours. GM-CSF activity tested against normal human marrow cells was relatively high in 6 of these 9 tumours. Moreover there was either weak activity or none at all in 14 of the 16 tumours that failed to cause a definite granulocytosis. The correlation between granulocytosis and GM-CSF activity was 0.36, which was statistically significant (P < 0.01). These findings indicate that the transplantation of human tumours into nude mice can provide a useful tool for detection and characterization of granulopoietic factors derived from the tumours.
D000818:Animals; D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008264:Macrophages; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous
D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors