Mechanisms of Paraneoplastic Syndromes in Mice Bearing a Spontaneous Lung Adenocarcinoma

Paraneoplastic syndromes are rarely described in animal models. It may be useful to have a suitable experimental model to study the mechanisms by which they are produced. In this study, we describe a murine lung adenocarcinoma, P07, which presents hypercalcemia, leukocytosis and cachexia. We determined the presence of PTHrP in plasma as well as GM-CSF produced by P07 cells. TNF-α, which is responsible for cachexia, could neither be detected in serum nor in P07 cell supernatants. We conclude that this model, which shows paraneoplastic syndromes similar to those of lung tumor patients, should be useful to study the pathways and significance of these signs.