carbocyanines and 3-3--diheptyloxycarbocyanine

Recent results in the literature have demonstrated that the antiangiogenic agent endostatin can enhance antitumor effects when administered before or during radiotherapy. To better understand the underlying pathophysiologic basis for this radiosensitization, the current study investigated whether short-term endostatin administration is linked to alterations in tumor vascular perfusion and oxygen delivery.. Three daily doses of recombinant endostatin (20 mg/kg) were administered to two murine mammary carcinomas, the highly vascularized MCa-35 and the less vascularized MCa-4. Image analysis techniques were used to quantify (1) total and perfused vascular spacing, and (2) changes in tumor hypoxia as a function of distance from the nearest blood vessel.. In MCa-35 tumors, endostatin had no effect on vessel spacing, tumor hypoxia, or tumor growth. In MCa-4 tumors, total and perfused vessel spacings were also unchanged, but tumor growth was inhibited, and tumor hypoxia significantly decreased. These tumors demonstrated an increased vascular functionality suggestive of an increase in the number of intermittently perfused vessels, without corresponding alterations in tumor oxygen consumption rate.. Poorly vascularized, hypoxic mammary carcinomas were much more responsive to short-term endostatin treatment than well-vascularized, more homogeneously oxygenated tumors. Oxygen levels in the responsive tumors were transiently improved after treatment, which could have substantial implications with respect to the therapeutic effectiveness of combining antiangiogenic agents with conventional therapies.

Topics: Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Apoptosis; Carbocyanines; Cell Division; Cell Hypoxia; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Endostatins; Female; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Neovascularization, Pathologic

To examine the effects of hydralazine on vascular perfusion and hypoxia in spontaneous vs. first generation and long-term transplanted murine tumor models.. Total anatomic blood vessels were quantified using image analysis of CD31 stained frozen sections, perfused vessels by i.v. injection of fluorescent DiOC(7), and tumor hypoxia was measured using the EF5 hypoxia marker. KHT sarcomas, spontaneous mammary carcinomas, and first generation transplants of the spontaneous tumors were evaluated before and after i.p. administration of 5 mg/kg hydralazine.. Although anatomic and perfused vessel spacings were similar among untreated tumors, response to hydralazine varied widely among the three tumor models. In KHT tumors, perfused vessel numbers decreased significantly at 30 min post-hydralazine, then recovered somewhat by 60 min. First-generation transplants showed a less substantial decrease in perfused vessels following hydralazine, which tapered off slightly by 60 min. Finally, spontaneous tumors had only a modest decrease in perfused vessel numbers, with complete recovery at 60 min. Although response of individual tumors varied widely, overall hypoxic marker uptake was significantly increased in both KHT and first generation tumors, and slightly reduced in the spontaneous tumors.. Response to hydralazine varies substantially between transplanted and spontaneous tumor models. Results suggest that increased tumor pressure may be a critical factor in tumor response to hydralazine, possibly explaining tumor volume dependent variations.

Topics: Animals; Carbocyanines; Cell Hypoxia; Etanidazole; Female; Fibrosarcoma; Fluorescent Dyes; Hydralazine; Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated; Indicators and Reagents; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neoplasms; Oxygen; Radiobiology; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Vasodilator Agents

Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Blood Vessels; Carbocyanines; Cell Hypoxia; Female; Fluorescent Dyes; Freezing; Image Enhancement; Immunohistochemistry; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Oxyhemoglobins; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; Sarcoma, Experimental; Spectrophotometry

Studies of transplantable rodent tumours have suggested that malignant tissue might experience transient perfusion at the microvascular level. The purpose of the work reported here was to investigate whether transient perfusion can be demonstrated in xenografted human tumours. Tumours of four melanoma lines (A-07, D-12, R-18, U-25), grown orthotopically in Balb/c nu/nu mice, were included in the study. Transient perfusion was studied by using the double-fluorescent staining technique. Hoechst 33342 and DiOC7(3) were either administered simultaneously or Hoechst 33342 was administered 20 min before DiOC7(3). Detection of transient perfusion by this method requires that vessels are non-functional for at least 5 min owing to the distribution half-lives of the dyes in the blood. Usable combinations of dye concentrations were found by varying the concentrations of Hoechst 33342 and DiOC7(3) systematically. The level of perfusion mismatch following simultaneous administration of the dyes ranged from approximately 1.5% for U-25 tumours to approximately 3.0% for R-18 tumours at these combinations. Moreover, the fraction of vessels stained only with Hoechst 33342 and the fraction of vessels stained only with DiOC7(3) were not significantly different whether the dyes were administered simultaneously or sequentially. Transient perfusion could not be demonstrated in any of the tumour lines. Thus, the fraction of vessels stained only with Hoechst 33342 and the fraction of vessels stained only with DiOC7(3) were not significantly higher after sequential than after simultaneous administration of the dyes. Moreover, the vessels stained only with Hoechst 33342 and the vessels stained only with DiOC7(3) were randomly distributed within the tumours whether the dyes were administered simultaneously or sequentially. Consequently, acute hypoxia caused by transient perfusion is probably a less pronounced phenomenon in malignant tissue than previous studies of rodent tumours have suggested.

Topics: Animals; Benzimidazoles; Carbocyanines; Cell Line; Fluorescent Dyes; Humans; Melanoma; Mice; Mice, Nude; Microcirculation; Perfusion; Staining and Labeling; Transplantation, Heterologous; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Topics: Animals; Benzimidazoles; Blood Flow Velocity; Carbocyanines; Fluorescent Dyes; Hypoxia; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Oxygen Consumption; Oxyhemoglobins; Perfusion; Sarcoma, Experimental; Tumor Stem Cell Assay

Topics: Animals; Benzimidazoles; Carbocyanines; Cell Separation; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescent Dyes; Mice; Neoplasms, Experimental; Perfusion; Staining and Labeling; Tumor Cells, Cultured

An intravenously administered fluorescent carbocyanine dye, DiOC7(3), has been evaluated for use in conjunction with Hoechst 33342 as a marker of murine tumour vasculature. DiOC7(3) stains cells immediately adjacent to blood vessels and thus, like Hoechst 33342, outlines perfused tumour vasculature. The different fluorescence excitation and emission properties of DiOC7(3) and Hoechst 33342 permit discrimination of the stains in the same tissue section. Mice tolerate a DiOC7(3) dose of 1 mg kg-1 i.v. with no ill effects. The dye has a distribution half-life in blood of 180s and staining of perivascular tumour cells is sufficiently stable to allow visualisation of vasculature for up to 30 min after DiOC7(3) injection. However, DiOC7(3) causes a 75% reduction in tumour blood flow as measured by laser Doppler techniques. Consequently, the compound appears to be most suitable as a second vascular marker, administered at some time after Hoechst 33342, to detect temporal and spatial fluctuations in tumour perfusion.

Topics: Animals; Benzimidazoles; Carbocyanines; Fluorescent Dyes; Mice; Neoplasms, Experimental; Quinolines; Staining and Labeling

The fluorescent carbocyanine dye 3,3-diheptyloxycarbocyanine [DiOC7(3)], originally described as a membrane potential probe, penetrates poorly into multicell spheroids. Since the dye is retained in the cells following spheroid disaggregation, cells can be selected from different depths within the spheroid using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Characterization of the binding kinetics, stability, and toxicity of this probe were undertaken, and intercompared with Hoechst 33342. The optimum drug dose for achieving good separation of internal and external cells of spheroids is about tenfold lower than for Hoechst 33342, and like Hoechst, DiOC7(3) is toxic at concentrations at least tenfold higher than those required to produce a good gradient for cell separation. When cells are removed from the stain, cellular fluorescence decreases to half the initial intensity within 2 hours; however, unlike Hoechst, the carbocyanine dye does not transfer between cells.

Topics: Animals; Benzimidazoles; Carbocyanines; Cell Line; Cell Separation; Cell Survival; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescent Dyes; Quinolines; Staining and Labeling

Cellular proliferative activity has previously been determined by measuring the incorporation of radiolabelled nucleotides or by visual inspection of cellular morphology. Although two flow cytometric methods have recently been developed which can distinguish cycling from non-cycling cells, both have serious disadvantages. One method requires uptake of a substantial amount of BUdR, limiting its usefulness for in vitro systems. The other method utilizes RNA/DNA content differences but its successful application has proved cell-type dependent. We have now used the findings that the cell membrane is more highly polarized in resting than in proliferating cells and that cyanine dyes carrying a delocalized positive charge enter live cells to an extent that depends on the cell membrane potential, to develop a method of distinguishing between cycling and non-cycling cells. The greater the membrane polarization, the greater is the concentration of dye within the cell. At high concentrations, the dye molecules aggregate and their fluorescence is quenched. Thus, for a given external dye concentration, cells of different membrane potential would accumulate different amounts of fluorescent (non-aggregated) dye. Using fibroblasts in culture conditions chosen to provide various models of cycling and non-cycling cells, we found that fluorescence intensity with the dye, 3,3'-diheptyloxycarbocyanine (Di-O-C,(3)) was consistently greater in the former than the latter.

Topics: Carbocyanines; Cell Division; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Cytoplasm; Fibroblasts; Fluorescent Dyes; Humans; Membrane Potentials; Quinolines