抄録
The purpose of this report is to clarify whether or not brain tumor cells have a glycoprotein adhesive factor (AF) of the cancer cell surface. Recent clinical observations have indicated that subarachnoid dissemination and metastasis of brain tumors are not infrequent. Therefore, experimental work was undertaken in order to determine the dissociation ability of tumor cells. Brain tumor multicellular spheroids were used as an experimental model for tumor cell dissemination in the cerebrospinal fluid, and it was found that some of the brain tumor cells formed spheroids easily, whereas other did not. An adhesive factor, a glycoprotein isolated from rat ascites hepatoma cell surface, was used to determine the cause of this difference. The indirect immunofluorescence technique utilizing anti-adhesive factor antibody clearly demonstrated the presence of AF on the cell surfaces of glioblastoma, astrocytoma, ependymoma, and teratocarcinoma, indicating that the cells of brain tumors that have a tendency to form spheroids have AF on their cell surface. On the contrary, oligodendroglioma and medulloblastoma cells were devoid of AF. The results coincided fairly well with clinical experience, and it was suggested that agents enhancing production of AF could prevent tumor cell dissociation into the subarachnoid space or the ventricles.
