(American Journal of Pathology. 1999;155:723-729.)
© 1999 American Society for Investigative Pathology
Isolation of Mouse Stromal Cells Associated with a Human Tumor Using Differential Diphtheria Toxin Sensitivity
Jack L. Arbiser*,
Gerhard Raab
,
Richard M. Rohan
,
Subroto Paul
,
Karen Hirschi
,
Evelyn Flynn
,
E. Roydon Price¶,
David E. Fisher¶,
Cynthia Cohen
and
Michael Klagsbrun
§
From the Departments of Dermatology*
and
Pathology,
Emory University School of
Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; the Departments of
Surgery
and
Pathology,§
Children's Hospital, Harvard
Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; and the Department of Pediatric
Hematology/Oncology,¶
Dana Farber Cancer
Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
 |
Abstract
|
|---|
Tumor vascularization is accompanied by the migration of stromal
cells, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle
cells, and fibroblasts, into the tumor. The biological
contributions of stromal cells to tumor vascularization have not been
well-defined, partly due to the difficulty of culturing stromal
cells in the presence of large numbers of fast-growing tumor cells. To
address this problem, a strategy was devised to kill tumor
cells but not stromal cells. Advantage was taken of the observation
that diphtheria toxin (DT) kills human but not rodent cells. Human
melanoma (MMAN) tumor cells were injected subcutaneously into nude
mice. The tumors were excised, homogenized, and treated
with 50 ng/ml DT for 24 hours. Elimination of melanoma cells by DT
treatment was demonstrated by lack of detectable levels of
microphthalmia, a transcription factor that is a marker for
melanoma cells. The murine stromal cells were viable and found to be
mostly smooth muscle cells. These cells constituted about 1.5% of the
MMAN tumor. RNase protection assays using a specific murine vascular
endothelial growth factor probe confirmed the murine origin of
the stromal cells. This method allows rapid isolation of stromal cells
and should facilitate biochemical and genetic analysis of tumor-stromal
interactions.
 |
Introduction
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Stromal cell-epithelial cell
interactions are important for the growth, development, and maintenance
of many tissues. Some of these interactions are mediated by peptide
growth factors and their receptors. For example, keratinocyte growth
factor (KGF), produced by stromal cells in the skin, and
heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF), produced by stromal
smooth muscle cells in the prostate, stimulate epithelial cell growth
and differentiation in skin and prostate, respectively.1,2
Stromal cell-derived KGF also promotes wound healing and stimulation of
hair growth in the nude mouse in vivo.3
Tumors
are invested with stromal elements including endothelial cells,
pericytes/smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages. The
stromal endothelial cells and smooth muscle-derived pericytes form the
tumor microvasculature required for subsequent tumor
growth.4
These host cells migrate into a developing tumor
in response to tumor-derived growth factors such as vascular
endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor
(PDGF).5,6
The general assumption has been that the growth
factors that induce tumor angiogenesis and growth are tumor
cell-derived. However, the possibility that tumor-associated stromal
cells secrete growth factors such as VEGF, fibroblast growth factor
(FGF), and PDGF, and thereby support tumor angiogenesis, growth, and/or
survival has not been explored fully.
The biological contributions of stromal cells to tumor vascularization
and growth have not been addressed adequately, partly because of the
difficulty of obtaining populations of cultured stromal cells free of
tumor cells. To address this problem, a strategy was used to kill tumor
cells but not stromal cells. We took advantage of the observation that
diphtheria toxin (DT) kills human but not rodent cells. DT is a very
potent bacterially derived toxin for mammalian cells.7
It
is a heterodimer consisting of two functional subunits, a receptor
binding subunit that allows for intracellular translocation and a
catalytic subunit that ADP ribosylates the elongation factor, EF-2,
resulting in inhibition of protein synthesis followed by cell
death.8,9
Most animals are highly sensitive to the toxic
effects of DT, which is lethal at 100 ng/kg body
weight.10,11
However, mice and rats are resistant to DT and
survive at 1000 times the dose for the susceptible
species.7
The DT receptor (DTR) has been shown to be the
transmembrane form of heparin-binding epidermal growth factor like
factor (HB-EGF).12,13
The DT binding site on HB-EGF is in
the EGF-like domain.14
Alterations of several amino acids
in the EGF-like domain reduce substantially the ability of murine
HB-EGF/DTR to bind DT when compared to human HB-EGF/DTR.15
In this report, we describe the isolation of murine host stromal cells
from a human melanoma tumor by differential DT killing of the human
tumor cells. These cells were mostly smooth muscle cells
but included endothelial cells as well. Differential DT sensitivity is
a novel and rapid method for the study of cellular host responses to
xenografts including tumors and other pathological processes.
 |
Materials and Methods
|
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Materials
Male nude mice were obtained from Massachusetts
General Hospital (Boston, MA) and treated with DT between 5 and 8 weeks
of age. Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) containing 1000
mg/l glucose and RPMI 1640 were obtained from Sigma Chemical Company
(St. Louis, MO). DT was obtained from Calbiochem (San Diego, CA).
Cell Culture
MMAN melanoma cells16
were cultured in DMEM
supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Hyclone, Logan, UT), 100
units/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin. These cells were
maintained in an atmosphere of 10% CO2. Wild-type 32D
cells and 32D cells expressing human HB-EGF were cultured as
described.17
Growth of MMAN Tumor Xenografts and DT Treatment in Vivo
Nude male mice were injected subcutaneously in the right
flank with 1 x 106
of MMAN melanoma cells. After
approximately 4 weeks, the melanoma tumors reached approximately
1 cm3
in volume. The mice were then treated with 1 µg DT
intraperitoneally. All experiments were repeated in triplicate.
DT Treatment of Melanoma Tumors in Vitro
Melanoma tumors were removed from animals under aseptic
conditions. The tumors were minced with scissors into 1-mm cubes, which
were digested in 15 ml of phosphate buffered saline containing 75 mg of
collagenase type II (Worthington, Lakewood, NJ) at 37°C with
rapid shaking. After digestion, the cells were washed once with 10 ml
of DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum. The cells were
plated into 75-cm2
flasks and allowed to adhere to the
flasks overnight. The next day the cells were treated with 50 ng/ml of
DT for 24 hours, followed by aspiration of media and replacement of
media with DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum. In order to
demonstrate that DT treatment causes elimination of melanoma cells,
cell cultures were analyzed before and after DT treatment by Western
blot, using an antibody to microphthalmia, a transcription factor
expressed specifically in melanocytes and retained in melanoma
cells.19,20
For the Western blot, cells were washed with
PBS and treated with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) extraction buffer
(250 mmol/L Tris, 4% SDS, 20% glycerol) and immediately boiled.
Protein extracts were resolved using an 8.5% SDS PAGE gel and
transferred to nitrocellulose. Prestained standards were used
(Gibco/BRL, Grand Island, NY). The Western blot was analyzed
simultaneously with anti-Microphthalmia (obtained from David Fisher,
Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA)20
and
mouse anti-alpha tubulin antibodies (Sigma) and subsequently with
horseradish peroxidase conjugated goat anti-mouse antibody as the
secondary antibody. Enhanced chemiluminescence signal was visualized on
Amersham Hyperfilm ECL film. B16 melanoma cells were used as a
standard for the microphthalmia protein, which routinely runs as a
doublet between 52 and 56 kd.
DT Toxicity Assay
DT toxicity assays on MMAN cells were performed according to the
method of Raab et al.18
Briefly, 1 x 105
cells/well were plated in 96-well plates. Twenty-four hours after
plating, cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of DT for 90
minutes. The medium was removed and the cells were incubated with
[3H] leucine in RPMI 1640 leucine-free media (Gibco,
0.005 mCi/ml) for 60 minutes. The cells were harvested with trypsin,
transferred to filters, and the extent of [3H]-leucine
incorporated into protein was measured with a liquid scintillation
counter (MicroBeta Plus, Wallac, Hamden, CT). Each point was
performed in triplicate and results normalized to 100%, which
represents the counts per minute of incorporated
[3H]-leucine obtained in the absence of DT.
Immunohistochemistry
After DT treatment of melanoma tumors, cells were fixed with 4%
paraformaldehyde and immunostained for the presence of the smooth
muscle-specific marker calponin. Anti-calponin (mouse monoclonal Ab
provided by Marina Glukhova, Curie Institute, Paris) was used at 1:50.
All antibody-antigen complexes were visualized using the Vectastain
Elite ABC Kit (Vector, Burlingame, CA) and the biotinylated anti-mouse
secondary antibody provided by the manufacturer. Staining of
endothelial cells was performed by addition of diI-Ac-LDL (Biomedical
Technologies, Stoughton, MA) to culture media to a final concentration
of 10 µg/ml and observation with a rhodamine filter according to the
method of Voyta et al.21
Quantitation of stromal cell content in vivo was performed
by smooth muscle actin staining of paraffin sections of MMAN melanoma
tumors in nude mice. Five-micron sections of formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded tissue were immunostained for expression of smooth
muscle actin (prediluted, Ventana, Tucson, AZ). An avidin-biotin
complex enzyme kit (Signet Laboratories, Dedham, MA) with steam
heat-induced epitope antigen retrieval was used in combination with the
Dako Autostainer (Dako, Carpinteria, CA). Hematoxylin was used as a
counterstain.
The percentage of stroma compared to the tumor component was
quantitated in 20 high-power fields (40x magnification lens,
10x magnification eye piece) using a 100-point graduated counting
grid. The number of cross points which covered an immunostained stromal
area was counted. This stromal area accounted for a mean of 1.5% of
the total area of tumor.
RNase Protection Assay
RNA was extracted with RNAzol B (Tel-Test, Friendswood, TX) from
mouse liver, cultured MMAN cells, MMAN tumor xenografts, or cultured
tumor stromal cells resulting from the treatment of dispersed MMAN
tumors with DT. A plasmid containing a 512-bp segment of mouse
VEGF188 (Ng, Rohan, and D'Amore, unpublished data) was
used to generate a 32P-labeled antisense riboprobe per
manufacturer's protocols (Ambion, Austin, TX). This riboprobe can
detect all known VEGF mRNA isoforms.22
Hybridization of the
riboprobe with murine VEGF188 mRNA results in a
512-nucleotide protected fragment. A secondary protected fragment of
400 nucleotides, due to internal cleavage at a poly-A-rich region in
VEGF188, was also observed in mouse liver. Hybridization of
the riboprobe with murine VEGF164 and VEGF120
mRNAs results in protected fragments of 333 and 201 nucleotides,
respectively. Hybridization of the murine probe with human VEGF mRNA
does not result in a protected fragment due to numerous internal
mismatches. The RNase protection assays were performed according to the
method of Hod.23
Protected fragments were separated on gels
of 5% acrylamide, 8 mol/L urea, 1x Tris-borate buffer, and quantified
with a phosphorimager (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA). Simultaneous
hybridization with a 32P labeled riboprobe for mammalian
18S ribosomal RNA (Ambion) was done in order to normalize for
variations in loading and recovery of RNA. The amount of radioactivity
in each protected fragment was further normalized to the length of the
protected fragment.
 |
Results
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DT Is Toxic for Mouse Cells If They Express Human HB-EGF/DTR
Parental mouse 32D myeloid cells and 32D cells expressing the
human HB-EGF were incubated with increasing concentrations of DT
(Figure 1)
. The mouse 32D cells were
unaffected by DT treatment even at 100 ng/ml. On the other hand, the
human HB-EGF mouse cell transfectants were killed by DT at a
half-maximal dosage of 5 ng/ml. Thus, expression of human HB-EGF
confers DT sensitivity on murine cells.

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Figure 1. Parental mouse 32D myeloid cells grown in suspension
(open circles ), and 32D cells
transfected with human HB-EGF cDNA (closed circles
) were treated with increasing concentrations of
DT and incorporation of [3H]-leucine into protein was
measured. Each point was performed in triplicate and the results were
normalized to the cpm of incorporated [3H]-leucine
obtained in the absence of DT.
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DT Is Toxic to MMAN Human Melanoma Cells in Vitro andin Vivo
MMAN human melanoma cells express HB-EGF/DTR (not shown). These
cells were cultured with increasing concentrations of DT (Figure 2)
. DT killed MMAN cells in a
dose-dependent manner, as measured by inhibition of protein synthesis
with an ED50 of 40 ng/ml.

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Figure 2. DT killing of human melanoma cells in culture. MMAN melanoma cells were
incubated with increasing amounts of DT. Protein synthesis was
determined as in Figure 1
.
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Because murine cells are resistant to DT and human cells expressing
HB-EGF/DTR are sensitive to DT, it should be possible to kill human
tumors grown in mice without adversely affecting the animals. MMAN
cells form invasive tumors in nude mice. Accordingly, these cells were
injected subcutaneously into mice. When MMAN cells were injected into
groups of 4 mice per experimental condition nude mice, large melanoma
tumors over 1 cm3
in size were detected within 4 weeks.
Treatment of these animals containing large established tumors with a
single intraperitoneal injection of 1 µg DT per animal led to rapid
and total regression of tumors within 7 days (data not shown). Thus,
the sensitivity of MMAN melanoma cells to DT in vivo is
consistent with the effects of DT on these cells in vitro.
After tumor regression, the mice survived for at least 3 months with no
weight loss or other detectable toxic effects.
DT Treatment Eliminates Tumor Cells from Mixed Tumor/Stromal
Cultures
In order to show that DT was highly effective in killing human
tumor cells, Western blot analysis was carried out with an antibody
directed against microphthalmia, a transcription factor found primarily
in melanocytes and melanoma cells and therefore a useful melanoma
marker (Figure 3)
.19,20
MMAN
tumors were excised and treated with DT. After DT treatment, the levels
of microphthalmia protein were undetectable, suggesting that the human
tumor cells had been eliminated.

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Figure 3. DT treatment of a human melanoma ablates microphthalmia protein levels.
Melanoma tumors were cultured in the absence
(lane 1) or presence
(lane 2) of DT. A mouse B16
melanoma cell lysate was used as a positive control
(lane 3). Western blot analysis of
the lysates was carried out with anti-microphthalmia and anti-tubulin
antibodies. The upper doublet represents microphthalmia protein
(bracket), whereas the lowest band represents tubulin, which was used
as a control for loading.
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Murine stromal cells surviving DT treatment were analyzed for
expression of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cell markers
(Figure 4)
. Figure 4A
shows a culture of
cells derived from an MMAN tumor and Figure 4B
shows the murine cells
that survived DT treatment. Surviving murine stromal cells contained
smooth muscle cells as determined by positive immunostaining for
calponin, a smooth muscle marker (Figure 4C)
, and a mixture of
endothelial cells and macrophages as determined by immunofluorescence
with diI-Ac-LDL,21
a marker for both of these cell
types (Figure 4D)
.

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Figure 4. Morphology and immunohistochemistry of tumor stromal cells. A:
An MMAN xenograft was treated with collagenase and cells were plated in
tissue culture flasks. B: The same culture in A
observed 2 days after treatment with 100 µg/ml DT. C:
Immunohistochemical staining of calponin, a smooth muscle marker.
D: Immunofluorescent staining with diI-Ac-LDL, a marker of
endothelial cells. The stromal cells were confluent at the time of
photography, and the LDL-positive cells comprise 1 to 4% of the total
cells.
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The distribution of stromal cell types within the MMAN tumor was
estimated in several ways. By immunostaining, approximately 90% of the
cells that remained in culture after DT treatment were found to be
calponin-positive, indicating that the vast majority of tumor stromal
cells are of smooth muscle origin. The remaining 10% of the stromal
cells were LDL-positive, and likely constitute a mixed population of
endothelial cells and macrophages. The content of stromal cells was
also analyzed by flow cytometry of trypsinized stromal cells.
Approximately 4% of the stromal cells were LDL-positive and stained
with von Willebrand factor, a specific marker of endothelium (data not
shown). The lower estimate of non-smooth muscle stromal cell content in
this analysis was most likely due to a lack of macrophages in the cell
sort because these cells are resistant to trypsinization. In estimating
the stromal cell content of the MMAN tumor, smooth muscle actin
staining of tumor sections indicated that smooth muscle cells, which
constitute the vast majority of stromal cells, made up approximately
1.5% of the cells in the tumor.
Tumor Stromal Cells Express VEGF mRNA in Vitro
VEGF is a potent angiogenesis factor that has been shown to induce
tumor neovascularization.24-29
MMAN tumors consist mostly
of tumor cells as compared to the infiltrating murine stromal cells.
Because human MMAN cells express VEGF (not shown), a species-specific
RNase protection assay was developed (Figure 5)
. This RNase protection assay detects
the three murine VEGF mRNA isoforms (VEGF188,
VEGF164, and VEGF120) but not human VEGF mRNA.
The relative distributions of VEGF isoforms were quantitated after
normalization to the length of the protected fragment.
VEGF188 and VEGF164 are the predominant mRNA
isoforms detected in the adult mouse liver (Figure 5
, lane 3)
comprising 41% and 43%, respectively, of the total VEGF mRNA. In the
stromal cell cultures, VEGF164 and VEGF120
mRNAs comprise 50% and 43%, respectively, of the total VEGF mRNA
(Figure 5
, lane 6). As expected, murine VEGF mRNA was not detected in
the cultured MMAN tumor cells (Figure 5
, lane 5). Murine VEGF also was
not detected in the MMAN tumor xenografts which have a mixed cell
population of human tumor cells and murine stromal/endothelial cells
(Figure 5
, lane 4). The inability to detect murine VEGF mRNA in the
whole MMAN tumor is attributable to the low percentage of stromal cells
in the tumor. Only when the stromal cells are concentrated was murine
VEGF mRNA detected.

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Figure 5. RNase protection assay using a murine-specific probe for the three VEGF
mRNA isoforms. RNA from the indicated sources was hybridized to
32P-labeled riboprobes for murine VEGF and mammalian 18S.
Samples were either untreated
(-)
(lane 1) or treated with RNases
(+)
(lanes 26) and electrophoresed in
a denaturing acrylamide gel. The full-length 32P VEGF and
18S probes are indicated by arrows at left. The protected
fragments (VEGF188,
VEGF164, and VEGF120)
resulting from hybridization to each of the VEGF mRNA isoforms are
indicated by arrows at right. Lanes 12: incubation of
32P-labeled VEGF with control tRNA in the absence or
presence of RNase. Lanes 36: The protected fragments from
mouse liver, an MMAN tumor, cultured MMAN cells, and stromal cells
derived after DT treatment of an MMAN tumor, respectively. The
protected fragment in mouse liver (lane 3
) between VEGF188 and
VEGF164 is an artifact that results from internal cleavage
of the VEGF188 hybrid at a Poly-A-rich region.
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 |
Discussion
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The ability to study tumor cell-stromal cell interactions has been
greatly hindered by the inability to separate host stromal cells from
tumors. There is a report that endothelial cells have been isolated
from the Rif V fibrosarcoma, by flow cytometry for acetylated
LDL.30
However, this technique does not result in isolation
of non-endothelial stromal cells, which may play a major role in
facilitating tumor growth. To circumvent this problem, we have used
differential DT toxicity to facilitate the isolation of tumor stromal
cells in a single, rapid step. DT has the unusual ability to kill cells
of nearly all species other than mice or rats. This selectivity has
been shown to be due to lack of binding of DT to the mouse homologue of
the DT receptor, HB-EGF.14,15
This method of stromal cell
isolation should be applicable to all human tumors expressing
HB-EGF/DTR or to other types of xenografts, such as human skin involved
in pathogenic processes.31,32
We have been able to isolate stromal cells from a human melanoma (MMAN)
tumor by selectively killing the human tumor cells with DT, leaving
viable murine stromal cells that can be cultured. In the case of a
melanoma tumor, about 90% of the stromal cells are smooth muscle
cells, while the rest are mostly endothelial cells and macrophages. The
stromal smooth muscle cells constitute between 1.5 and 2% of the total
tumor cell population, as determined by smooth muscle actin staining.
To confirm the murine origin of the viable stromal cells remaining
after DT treatment, we analyzed VEGF mRNA expression, because there
have been previous reports (for example using green fluorescent protein
methods) that tumor stromal cells express elevated levels of
VEGF.33
An RNase protection assay with a murine-specific
VEGF probe detected expression of both the murine VEGF120
and VEGF164 isoforms by stromal cells.
The ability to readily isolate and culture primary stromal cells will
facilitate analysis of factors involved in recruitment of stromal
cells, for example PDGF BB,34
angiopoietin-135
and VEGF. Presently, these growth factors are typically analyzed for
their effects on cell lines. In addition, the analysis of stromal
cell-derived growth factors and the regulation of their expression will
be facilitated. Furthermore, if stromal cells and their growth factors
are important contributors to tumor growth, then inhibition of stromal
cell recruitment may be an effective target for drug therapy of solid
tumors.
 |
Footnotes
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Address reprint requests to Jack L. Arbiser, Department of Dermatology, Emory University School of Medicine, WMB 5309, Atlanta, GA 30322. E-mail: jarbise{at}emory.edu
Supported in part by the CAP CURE Foundation (to M. K.), National Institutes of Health Grant GM 47397 (to M. K.), a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellowship (to J. L. A.), National Institutes of Health grants KO8AR02096 and RO3 AR44947, an American Skin Association Research Development Grant (to J. L. A.), a Thomas B. Fitzpatrick award from the KAO Corporation (to J. L. A.), and the Karen Grunebaum Foundation (to S. P.).
Accepted for publication May 14, 1999.
 |
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