Metastatic T-cell hybridoma cells display target preference for invasion ('homing') in tissue culture models

BW-O-Li1 murine T-lymphoma cells display target preference for invasion in two different in vitro models. In the precultured chick heart fragment (PHF) assay, BW-O-Li1 preferentially invaded into aggregates of MCF-7 mammary carcinoma cells rather than into PHFs. In a monolayer invasion assay (MIA), BW-O-Li1 cells preferentially invaded under 10 T1/2 mouse embryo cell monolayers rather than under MCF-7 monolayers. Thus, although BW-O-Li1 cells were perfectly able to invade into any of the targets presented, they migrated and accumulated preferentially in one of the targets when a choice was offered. We suggest that this in vitro 'homing' phenomenon can be exploited to investigate certain aspects of organ-specific metastasis.