Resorbing bone stimulates tumor cell growth. A role for the host microenvironment in bone metastasis

Demineralized extracts of bone matrix and conditioned media from cultured fetal rat calvaria have been reported to contain growth stimulatory activity for bone cells. To investigate the potential role of these local bone growth factors in the development of bone metastases, we chose the Walker 256 carcinosarcoma, a rat mammary tumor which causes osteolytic bone metastases and hypercalcemia. 45Ca-labeled, 19-day fetal Sprague-Dawley rat calvaria were cultured for 96 hours in BGJb medium. Walker cells from ascites tumors or cultures were grown in unconditioned media or in conditioned media harvested from the bone cultures, in the presence of 10% fetal calf serum. Media were changed every 2 days, cells were counted daily for 5 days, and 3H-thymidine uptake into acid insoluble residues was measured. The growth of tumor cells was 5-6-fold greater in conditioned media than in unconditioned media and the effect was dose dependent. Cells cultured in conditioned media demonstrated a approximately 3-fold enhancement of 3H-thymidine incorporation. Generation of growth stimulatory activity correlated with the extent of bone resorption, measured by release of 45Ca from the fetal parietal bones (r = 0.85; P less than 0.001). Conditioned media from bones cultured with 10(-7) M prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) contained greater amounts of growth stimulatory activity than untreated conditioned media, but PGE2 itself did not stimulate tumor cell growth. Addition of 3.5 mM PO4 to bone cultures blocked bone resorption and the generation of growth factors. Growth stimulatory activity was stable to heat (56 C for 30 minutes) and trypsin digestion, with an apparent molecular weight of less than 17,000 daltons by high-performance liquid chromatography. Conditioned medium also stimulated the growth of 13762 rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells, MB-MDA-231 human breast carcinoma cells, TE-85 osteosarcoma cells, a murine fibrosarcoma and rat embryonic fibroblasts, with the most potent effects noted for Walker tumor cells, the TE-85 osteosarcoma, and human breast carcinoma lines. These results suggest a mechanism by which bone resorption could promote the development of skeletal metastasis.