Heterotransplantation of retinoblastoma into the athymic 'nude' mouse

Fresh surgical specimens of retinoblastoma were successfully transplanted into the anterior chamber of the 'nude' mouse (a homozygous mutant, nu/nu, with a severe defect in cellular immunity), filling the eyes but failing to grow subcutaneously. Retinoblastoma cells from an established cell line, Y-79 (Albert, D.M. et al. Ophthalmol. 1970, 9, 64), spread from the intraocular injection site to invade the orbit, optic nerve, and brain and formed large tumors when implanted subcutaneously. Tumor cells injected into the anterior chamber of immunologically normal litter-mates (heterozygotes, nu/+) survived for varying periods in the anterior chamber but showed little growth. Hence, 2 patterns of growth were observed. The basis for the difference in growth pattern between fresh and cultured tumor is not well understood but may reflect the observation that tumor cells in cell cuture become less differentiated and more anaplastic than the cells of the original tumor.