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Updated: Oct 17, 2026
Injection of Syngeneic Murine Melanoma Cells to Determine Their Metastatic Potential in the Lungs
Published on: May 24, 2016
Study of lung structure as a potential pre-metastatic niche in mice with B16 melanoma
Anastasia Shatruk1, Nataliya Bgatova1, Iuliia Taskaeva1
1Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Lymphology - branch of the Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation.
Purpose:
This study investigated early changes in lung tissue potentially associated with pre-metastatic niche (PMN) development in mice with implanted B16 melanoma by analyzing ultrastructural vascular alterations and markers associated with endothelial activation, vascular-barrier organization, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling.
Methods:
Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups: an intact control group and a group with subcutaneously implanted B16 melanoma. To assess early changes in lung tissue in the absence of morphologically detectable metastases, a set of morphological methods was applied, including light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy with analysis of blood capillary ultrastructure, and immunohistochemical assessment of markers associated with vascular and ECM remodeling.
Results:
In the lungs of mice with implanted B16 melanoma, changes in vascular and matrix components potentially associated with PMN development were detected before the appearance of morphologically identifiable metastases, including a decreased thickness of the capillary basement membrane (BM). In parallel, decreased immunoreactivity of Collagen IV, Endoglin, Claudin 1, MCAM (CD146), and MMP2, increased immunoreactivity of VCAM1 and TGF-β, and no significant difference in MMP9 immunoreactivity were observed.
Conclusion:
The obtained data indicate that, during the early stages of B16 melanoma growth, vascular-matrix alterations can be detected in the lungs of mice and may represent early tumor-associated remodeling events potentially associated with PMN development. These changes include signs of endothelial activation, alterations in vascular-barrier organization, changes in BM thickness, and ECM remodeling.
