학술논문

Evaluation of the immunomodulatory activity of thalidomide on tumor-associated macrophages in the 4T1 murine metastatic breast cancer model
Document Type
article
Source
Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia. December 2021 73(6)
Subject
breast cancer
immunomodulation
thalidomide
inflammation
tumor-associated macrophages
Language
English
ISSN
0102-0935
Abstract
The present work evaluated the immunomodulatory effect of thalidomide (Thal) at different doses on tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) using a mouse model of human breast cancer. Mice were inoculated with 4T1 cells in the left flank and treated with Thal once a day at concentrations of 50, 100, and 150mg/kg body weight from the 5th day until the 28th day of tumor inoculation. The tumors were sized, proliferation index and TAMs count were evaluated in primary tumors and metastatic lungs. In addition, the metastasis rate was evaluated in the lungs. Thal at 150mg/kg significantly decreased tumor growth, proliferation index, and TAMs infiltration in primary tumors. Conversely, a higher number of TAMs and lower proliferation index were observed in metastatic lungs in mice treated with 150mg/kg of Thal. Furthermore, Thal at 150mg/kg significantly decreased the metastatic nodules in the lungs. Our findings demonstrated that Thal treatment considerably decreased the primary tumor and lung metastasis in mice associated with different TAM infiltration effects in these sites.