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Biology and Karyology of Murine Leukemia L1210 Xenografted to the Hamster¹

Department of Pathology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140

Murine leukemia L1210 has been serially propagated in the cheek pouches of unconditioned, adult golden hamsters for 5 years. This hamster-adapted tumor cell line, called "L1210/Mes.," disseminates and metastasizes from the cheek pouch to other organs of the hamster, as is documented by morphological, transplantation, and karyological data.

Due to this unusual behavior of a tumor in a xenogeneic host, a detailed analysis of L1210/Mes.'s chromosome constitution was undertaken. L1210/Mes. has a tetraploid modal chromosome number, the chromosomes of which resemble, although in increased quantity, those of the original L1210 lymphoma of the mouse. However, a new marker chromosome, a long, biarmed dicentric, appeared in 8.6% of the L1210/Mes. cells examined. L1210/Mes. is capable of back-transfer in BDF₁ mice, where a gradual shift in stemline towards that of the original mouse cell population was observed.

This study supports the view that a xenogeneic tumor can metastasize in a foreign host while retaining its original chromosomes, although in increased number. It appears that the progression of a tumor in an alien host involves changes in the tumor genome probably related to host-tumor interactions.

¹ Supported by USPHS Grant CA 12374-02 from the National Cancer Institute and Grant DRG-1126 from the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund for Cancer Research.

Received 11/ 3/71. Accepted 1/14/72.