LECTIN-HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE PROCESS OF LIVER METASTASIS OF MOUSE COLON CARCINOMA (COLON 26) CELLS

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Employing labeled lectins as a probe, we examined by light and electron microscopy histochemical aspects of the process of experimentally induced metastasis. Mouse colon carcinoma cells (colon 26) were injected into the spleen of Balb/c mice and liver metastasis was induced. Metastasized colon 26 cells firstly attached to the liver endothelial cells, especially to those of sinusoidal capillaries. More than 10 days after injection, colon 26 cells were found in the subendothelial tissue and/or Disse's space where they formed metastatic colonies. Such metastasized cells and small colonies of colon 26 cells revealed positive stainings with GS-1, VVA, HPA, and ECA, which indicate these lectins to be useful for the early screening of the formation of liver metastasis. Among them, ECA stained the metastasized colon 26 cells rather strongly compared with the heterogeneous and faint staining in non-metastasized tumor foci in the spleen or in the subcutaneous tissue. This finding suggests the possibility that the expression of ECA-binding sugar structures on the cell surface may be involved in the interaction between carcinoma cells and liver endothelium.