# EMBRYONIC CONTROL OF MELANOMA

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 1989 · $152,335

## Abstract

Five types of cancer have been shown to respond to their appropriate
embryonic fields.  This proposal focuses on the regulation of murine
melanoma by the embryonic skin.  The mechanism appears to be operative at
the time of arrival of normally migrating melanoblasts into the skin.  This
pattern is suggested by a clear cut difference in tumor incidence following
in utero transplantation into specific sites in embryonic skin.  In
parallel with these in vivo findings, conditioned media from the specific
sites in embryonic skin inhibit the growth of melanoma cells in vitro; this
can be measured by inhibition of colony size, decreased uptake of tritiated
thymidine or other bioassays.  In optimal conditions growth of melanoma
cells ceases, and the cells have altered morphology and fail to grow again
in fresh growth media.  The crude activity is stable to boiling and
lyophilization and has been localized to two peaks by gel filtration.
Proceeding on the hypothesis that our assays with melanoma have detected a
developmentally regulated process (i.e. site specific in the skin) we plan
to define the tissue specificities of the peaks from gel filtration, select
the appropriate peak, purify it and define its biochemical properties by
high pressure liquid chromatography, and prepare monoclonal antibodies to
it.  Virally transformed embryonic cells are a potentially rich source of
the activity, and when sufficient amounts are available it will be tested
in tumor bearing mice.  Antibodies would be used to localize the activity
in the embryo.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3172951
- **Project number:** 5R01CA035367-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MW8JHK6ZYEX8
- **Principal Investigator:** G. BARRY PIERCE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $152,335
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1983-08-01 → 1990-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3172951

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3172951, EMBRYONIC CONTROL OF MELANOMA (5R01CA035367-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3172951. Licensed CC0.

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