Partial characterization of a soluble mitogenic factor from medulloblastoma.

To determine how medulloblastoma cells might influence the proliferation and phenotype of normal stromal cells, normal human leptomeningeal cells were treated in culture with medulloblastoma-conditioned medium; their ability to incorporate tritiated thymidine and synthesize collagen was measured. The treated leptomeningeal cells had a significantly greater uptake of tritiated thymidine and grew faster than control leptomeningeal cells. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated a greater intensity of staining for procollagen type III in the cell layer of the treated cultures than in control cultures; diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose chromatography of the medium showed that the treated cells synthesized predominantly type III collagen, whereas control cells synthesized type I collagen. Analysis of the medulloblastoma-conditioned medium revealed that the soluble factor responsible for these effects in an acid- and heat-stable protein. The increased proliferation and altered collagen synthesis induced in leptomeningeal cell cultures by a soluble factor from a medulloblastoma are examples of how tumor and stromal elements interact, and may be related to the process of desmoplasia often observed in medulloblastomas in vivo.