John O. Albright

Studies on the conformational mobility of arachidonic acid. Facile macrolactonization of 20-hydroxyarachidonic acid.

Abstract 20-Hydroxyarachidonic acid is converted to the corresponding 21-membered lactone via the 2-thiolpyridine ester in > 90% yield and at a rate which is approximately 100 times that for the saturated analog, evidence that only a modest increase in free energy is required to bring the ends of the chain into proximity.

A transplantable anaplastic oral cancer model

A stable model has been developed for oral mucosal anaplastic epidermoid carcinoma. This model more closely resembles the biologic characteristics of human oral carcinoma than previous models, such as primary epidermoid carcinomas induced in hamster buccal pouches or tongue by chemical carcinogens. This anaplastic oral cancer model was developed by serial abdominal transplantation in neonatal hamsters of original DMBA-induced primary epidermoid carcinomas of hamster buccal pouch. After the second generation, the tumors became stable, maintained an anaplastic appearance histologically, and were biologically aggressive, with rapid growth and metastatic potential. The original DMBA-induced buccal pouch tumors from 42 adult hamsters were transplanted abdominally through five generations in 151 neonatal hamsters. Immunosuppression was crucial in the initial transplantation but became unnecessary in the later serial transplantations. This model can serve as the basis for a variety of future immunologic and biologic studies dealing with oral cancer.

Transplantation of hamster buccal pouch carcinoma to neonatal hamsters

Epidermoid carcinomas of oral mucosa were induced with DMBA in the buccal pouches of hamsters. The well-differentiated primary tumors were allografted into the peritoneal cavities of neonatal hamsters that had been treated with antilymphocyte serum. Solid tumors grew rapidly in the peritoneum and were harvested 6 to 31 days postimplantation. Gross and histopathologic specimens revealed infiltrative masses of tumor that had become more anaplastic than the original tumor. This in vivo model has considerable potential as a means of studying the immunology of oral cancers during tumor progression.