Studies of the Tumor Microenvironment in Pathogenesis of Neuroblastoma.

摘要

The NBL-Tag neuroblastoma mice were crossed with B-cell deficient mice in order to determine the effect of B-cell activity on tumor growth characteristics. Homozygous deficient B-Cell mice and heterozygous NBL-Tag mice were established. The NBL-Tag/B-cell deficient mice lacked B-cells as expected using flow cytometry analyses and immunohistochemistry. However, the lack of B- cells did not alter the growth patterns of NBL-Tag tumor formation as imaged by MRI. Studies using anti-B cell therapy were also conducted. The efficacy of the anti-mouse B-cell antibody was tested in wildtype C57B6 mice tissues (blood, spleen, and peritoneal cavity lymphocytes) and demonstrated superiority of the antibody to eliminate B-cells when given in the peritoneum. NBL-Tag mice given this antibody starting at 4 weeks of age did not show any difference in their growth characteristics. The anti-B cell antibody combination with chemotherapy in established tumors showed superiority compared with anti-Ragweed antibody control. Further studies are underway to elucidate the effect of macrophages on tumor formation and growth.