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We have shown that Tyr and Phe restriction suppresses the malignant phenotype of the highly invasive and metastatic BL6 variant of B16 murine melanoma. Lung-colonizing abilities of Tyr- and Phe-modulated in vivo and in vitro variants of BL6 are inhibited following intravenous inoculation into mice fed normal diet. Although this antimetastatic effect of Tyr and Phe restriction is most likely not due to differences in attachment to endothelium, our data indicate that major impacts of Tyr and Phe restriction are at the level of the tumor, itself. Modulation of host immune responses, which in turn suppresses metastasis, does not appear to contribute significantly to the altered phenotype. Although numbers and function of T cells, mast cells, and NK cells are affected by Tyr and Phe restriction, they are not involved in the Tyr- and Phe-mediated suppression of tumor growth, metastasis, or angiogenesis. Our data do not rule out the importance of other host factors involved in the Tyr and Phe modulation of tumor phenotype. The outcome of this modulation results most likely from complex Tyr/Phe-tumor-host interactions.

Low levels of tyrosine and phenylalanine alter the metastatic phenotype of B16BL6 murine melanoma. In this study, we investigated expression and secretion of fibroblast growth factor-like (FGF-like) and transforming growth factor beta-like (TGF beta-like) molecules as well as the biological effect of basic FGF (bFGF) and TGF beta 1 on high (NDP) and low (LTP) metastatic variants of B16BL6 melanoma. Both NDP and LTP cells expressed bFGF-like and TGF beta-like polypeptides as detected by Western blot analysis. An M(r) 29,000 bFGF-like form eluted from heparin-Sepharose by 0.6 M NaCl was found in extracts of both NDP and LTP cells. Elution at 0.6 M NaCl suggested that this M(r) 29,000 form might be more closely related to FGF-5 than to bFGF. In addition, cell extracts of LTP, but not NDP cells, contained an M(r) 47,000 monomeric bFGF-like form that was not retained on heparin-Sepharose. Three major specific immunoreactive forms of M(r) 44,000, 36,000, and 29,000 were present in conditioned medium from NDP cells. The M(r) 29,000 form present in the conditioned medium of NDP cells was retained on heparin-Sepharose. Only the M(r) 44,000 and 36,000 FGF-like molecules were detected in conditioned medium from LTP cells, and they were also not retained on heparin-Sepharose. Anti-TGF beta antibody that recognized both TGF beta 1 and TGF beta 2 detected 3 different TGF beta-like forms (M(r) 25,000, 23,000 and 22,000) in NDP and LTP cell extracts. Conditioned medium from NDP cells contained an M(r) 38,000 form of TGF beta; however, no immunoreactive forms were found in conditioned medium from LTP cells. Thus, the NDP-LTP differences in this melanoma system were primarily in growth factor secretion, not expression. The effect of exogenous bFGF and TGF beta 1 on proliferation of LTP and NDP cells was determined by [methyl-3H]thymidine uptake. bFGF stimulated proliferation of NDP cells; whereas, LTP cells exhibited no increase in proliferation. Both NDP and LTP cells responded to TGF beta 1. Proliferation of NDP cells was inhibited more by this growth factor than was proliferation of LTP cells. When NDP and LTP cells were incubated with 5 ng/ml TGF beta 1 and various amounts of bFGF, the effect of TGF beta 1 was masked. Antibody depletion of bFGF-like molecules from NDP conditioned medium resulted in the decreased proliferation of NDP cells but not LTP cells. Depletion of TGF beta-like molecules resulted in increased proliferation of LTP cells but did not affect NDP cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

We previously showed that restriction of tyrosine (Tyr) and phenylalanine (Phe) in vivo dramatically suppresses the metastatic phenotype of B16-BL6 (BL6) murine melanoma. Present results indicate a direct effect of Tyr and Phe restriction on the tumor in the absence of host selection pressures. Lung colonizing ability of BL6 is dramatically suppressed after one passage in vitro in media containing low levels of Tyr and Phe. This antimetastatic effect is immediate, stable for at least 5 in vitro passages in Tyr and Phe restricted media, and evident event after levels of Tyr and Phe are restored to normal. Heterogeneity for lung colonizing ability is suppressed, as evidence by fewer tumor colonies formed by clones following i.v. inoculation into mice fed normal diet. This suppression of BL6 metastatic phenotype is not due to differential clearance and retention in the lung or to decreased growth, but is specific for these two amino acids. As the mechanism(s) for the antitumor effects of Tyr and Phe restriction are detailed, the relevance of Tyr and Phe restriction as an early adjuvant to effective cancer treatment can be explored.

A crucial requirement for effective boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) of cancer is the selective localization of high concentrations of boron in tumor tissue relative to adjacent normal tissue, thus minimizing damage to normal tissues caused by the neutron beam. Several promising boron compounds are presently available as boron-delivery agents for neutron capture therapy of malignant melanoma. More are expected to be developed in the near future. Therefore, there is a need to experimentally describe these boron-delivery compounds in vitro and in vivo, to screen these agents by critically comparing their efficacies with known boronated agents, and to effectively optimize their BNCT potential.

Liposomes, of a specific size and composition, have demonstrated unique ability to selectively deliver significant quantities of boron to murine tumors. Aqueous solutions of water soluble compounds with a high boron content have been encapsulated into the liposomes and studied in vivo. Although the liposomes deliver their contents to the interior of the tumor cells, the characteristics of the boron compound determine whether boron will be retained by the tumor cells or simply cleared from the system. Investigation of a series of compounds which vary in characteristics such as size, charge, and reactivity have allowed us to develop a working hypothesis which predicts a priori, with some degree of success, the ability of these boron compounds to be retained by tumor cells.

Di- and tripeptide boro-amino acid analog protease inhibitors with specificity for chymotrypsin and elastase decrease the number of melanotic foci formed in the lungs of mice in the B16BL6 experimental metastatic tumor model. These effects were at significantly lower concentration than leupeptin or other natural chymotrypsin inhibitors previously reported. These results support the involvement of elastase and chymotrypsin in the metastatic process.

Cell-associated boron levels adequate for neutron capture therapy (NCT) have been demonstrated in-vitro using cultured melanoma cells(1) and in-vivo using xenografts in mice.(2-5) Preliminary in-vivo studies performed by researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University (WSU), using a spontaneous canine melanoma model, showed subtherapeutic tumor concentrations of para-boronophenylananine (p-BPA) in a large proportion of dogs. Possible explanations include poor solubility of p-BPA at physiological pH, physiological differences between transplanted and spontaneous tumors, and lack of metabolic incorporation at the cellular level.(2-5)

We previously demonstrated that tyrosine (Tyr) and phenylalanine (Phe) restriction suppresses metastatic heterogeneity of B16-BL6 (BL6) melanoma and selects for tumor variants with decreased metastatic potential. In this study, we investigate stability of this Tyr- and Phe-modulated tumor phenotype by sequentially transplanting BL6 in vivo into mice fed Low Tyr and Phe Diet. Metastatic potential of BL6 is suppressed after one subcutaneous passage. Suppression is unlikely to result from inhibition of tumor growth, since growth in vitro is significantly increased. The metastatic potential of the Tyr- and Phe-modulated tumor is unstable after in vivo passage, and lung colonizing ability is regenerated after ten in vivo passages. Conversely, the antimetastatic effect of Tyr and Phe restriction is stable after prolonged in vitro passage. The metastatic potential of tumors from mice fed Normal Diet is unstable after long-term in vitro culture. Sensitivity to adriamycin of BL6 from mice fed Low Tyr and Phe Diet is increased and is not altered by change in metastatic potential.