New variants of B16 mouse melanoma: differentiation and metastatic properties

A system of tumor transplantation has been developed to select metastatic variants of B16 in mutants of the C57BL/6J black strain of mice. The effects of transplantation into nonagouti a/a and mutant recipients on the production of melanin and on the metastatic potential of tumors were investigated. Transplantation of the pigmented B16 melanoma from a nonagouti black a/a host to a yellow mutant Ay/a recipient resulted in an achromic and metastatic variant melanoma, designated YB16. The amelanotic phenotype occurred consistently after more than ten passages through yellow mice and simultaneously with an increase in the incidence of pulmonary metastases. When YB16 was transplanted back to the nonagouti black a/a host, a second variant, MB16, characterized by its variable pigmentation, was obtained. Pigmented and/or entirely achromic tumors were observed. MB16 was dramatically more metastatic than B16 and YB16 when injected s.c. or i.v. Metastases in the lungs were pigmented and/or achromic. The properties of tumor cells derived from artificially induced metastases were investigated after s.c. and i.v. injections. Whereas the metastatic cells expressed a potent ability to generate metastases when injected s.c., no differences in the incidence of metastases, as compared to the metastatic potential of cells of parental origin, were observed after i.v. injection. In the MB16 variant, there appeared to be an inverse relationship between differentiation (production of melanins) and malignancy. Our results demonstrate that differentiation and metastatic behaviour are dependent on specific mutations in the host environment which generate a pool of tumor cells from which highly metastatic variants can be selected.