Laminin Expression by Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells in the Nude Mouse and in Culture

The abilities of 4 established human pancreatic tumor cell lines (PANC-1, CAPAN-1, AsPc-1, and BxPc-3) to synthesize and to maintain laminin-containing basement membranes when grown in the nude mouse have been examined and compared with synthesis of the glycoprotein laminin by these tumor cells when grown in culture. Immunohistochemical visualization of basement membrane integrity within the transplanted tumors employed a monoclonal antibody specific for human laminin to clearly distinguish between human tumor-produced laminin and murine basement membranes. This technique demonstrated strikingly different degrees of basement membrane formation and laminin distribution for the 4 biologically diverse pancreatic tumors. Basement membranes were present within the differentiated, less invasive tumors, whereas structure basement membranes were absent in the poorly differentiated, invasive tumors. Regardless of their propensity to produce basement membranes in vivo, all 4 pancreatic tumor cell lines continued to synthesize laminin in culture, as was determined by immunologic assays. The most invasive cell line, AsPc-1, released large quantities of soluble laminin into conditioned culture medium. The less invasive, well-differentiated tumor cells did not release laminin into the medium, but they retained the laminin produced by them within the cell layer. The combination of in vivo and in vitro studies indicates that the extent of basement membrane loss by these human pancreatic tumors is not due to an inherent inability of the tumor cells to synthesize the structural component laminin.