Nature 227, 503 - 504 (01 August 1970); doi:10.1038/227503a0

Extrauterine Growth of Mouse Egg-cylinders results in Malignant Teratoma

DAVOR SOLTER^*, NIKOLA KREB^* & IVAN DAMJANOV^†

^*Department of Biology
^†Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

WHEN Stevens transplanted mouse ova at the one and two cell stage into the testis of a 129/Sv mouse, teratomas consisting of several types of differentiated and undifferentiated tissues resulted¹. Tumours developed only when transplantation was into the 129/Sv-Sl^JCP strain, known for developing frequent spontaneous testicular teratomas. In other strains of mice, Stevens¹ obtained no growth of tubal ova after transplantation into the testis. Kirby² obtained only trophoblast and extraembryonic derivates after grafting tubal eggs under the kidney capsule and in the testis, but when he grafted blastocysts the egg-cylinder developed. Similar results were reported³⁻⁶, but the experimental period was too short (up to 15 days) for histogenesis. Nicholas⁷ reported histogenesis after the transfer of tubal eggs under the kidney capsule, but his experiments have never been repeated successfully. Histogenesis and full differentiation are probably stopped by trophoblastic overgrowth^5,6. Grobstein⁸ and Levak-vajger and N. S.⁹ found fully differentiated adult tissues in rat egg-cylinder grafts maintained for 30 days in the anterior chamber of the eye. They found no evidence of atypical or malignant cells.

References

1.	Stevens, L. C., J. Embryol. Exp. Morphol., 20, 329 (1968).
2.	Kirby, D. R. S., in Preimplantation Stages of Pregnancy, Ciba Foundation Symp. (edit. by Wolstenholme, G. E. W., and O'Connor, M.). 325 (Churchill, London, 1965).
3.	Billington, W. D., J. Reprod. Fertil., 10, 343 (1965).
4.	Billington, W. D., Graham, C. F., and McLaren, A., J. Embryol. Exp. Morphol., 20, 391 (1968).
5.	Porter, D. G., Amer. J. Anat., 121, 73 (1967).
6.	Fawcett, D. W., , Anat. Rec., 108, 71 (1950).
7.	Nicholas, J. S., J. Exp. Zool., 90, 41 (1942).
8.	Grobstein, C., J. Exp. Zool., 116, 501 (1951).
9.	Levak-vajger, B., and kreb, N., J. Embryol. Exp. Morphol., 13, 243 (1965).