Characterization of a dermal derived malignant mesenchymal tumor arising in ultraviolet irradiated mice

Skh/hr-1 hairless albino mice were irradiated with photocarcinogenic dosages of ultraviolet light for periods of 30 weeks or longer. A high proportion of mice developed pleomorphic spindle cell tumors and epidermal neoplasms of various types. These spindle cell tumors were studied by immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques and by electron microscopy. Freshly isolated tumor cells were grown in tissue culture. Immunocytochemical analysis showed varying expression of markers of mesenchymal differentiation: vimentin, procollagens I and III, type I collagen, and lysozyme. Electron microscopy showed spindled and cuboidal cells with abundant endoplasmic reticulum, filopodia, and lysosomes, but no intercellular connections. The cells grown in vitro were cuboidal and stellate and also showed mesenchymal differentiation by electron microscopy. These results are perhaps similar to those described for a human actinically produced fibrohistiocytic neoplasm, atypical fibroxanthoma, and this system may provide a useful model of ultraviolet-induced dermal neoplasia.