Name: an ex vivo model to study hormone action in the human breast
Uploaded: 2015-01-08T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about An Ex vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast at JoVE.com

The authors thank M. Fiche of University Hospital of Lausanne for providing the mammoplasty photograph, M. Wirth and A. Ayyanan of Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, National Center of Competence in Research Molecular Oncology, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique F&#233;d&#233;rale de Lausanne for technical assistance and R. Clarke of University of Manchester for critical comments. The research leading to these results has received support from SNF3100A0-112090, Oncosuisse 531817, and the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement no. 115188, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union&#39;s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations companies&#39; in kind contribution. The Web address of Innovative Medicines Initiative is <a href="http://www.imi.europa.eu/" target="_blank">http://www.imi.europa.eu/</a>.

General considerations: Ahead of time, set up an ethics protocol, prepare questionnaires for patients, and see to training the clinical personnel. Before using material from reduction mammoplasty surgery, procure authorizations, and ensure patient consent. Tissue may be infectious and needs to be handled accordingly. This protocol was approved by the ethical committee of ISREC - Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research.
1. Tissue Recovery, Processing and Bio-banking
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<ol>
	<li>Beral, V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Breast+cancer+and+hormone-replacement+therapy+in+the+Million+Women+Study.">Breast cancer and hormone-replacement therapy in the Million Women Study.</a> Lancet. 362 (9382), 419-427 (2003).</li><li>MacMahon, B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Age+at+first+birth+and+breast+cancer+risk.">Age at first birth and breast cancer risk.</a> Bull World Health Organ. 43 (2), 209-221 (1970).</li><li>Pike, M. C., Krailo, M. D., Henderson, B. E., Casagrande, J. T., Hoel, D. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term='Hormonal'+risk+factors,+'breast+tissue+age'+and+the+age-incidence+of+breast+cancer.">'Hormonal' risk factors, 'breast tissue age' and the age-incidence of breast cancer.</a> Nature. 303 (5920), 767-770 (1983).</li><li>Brisken, C., O'Malley, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hormone+action+in+the+mammary+gland.">Hormone action in the mammary gland.</a> Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2 (12), a003178 (2011).</li><li>Levenson, A. S., Jordan, V. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=MCF-7:+the+first+hormone-responsive+breast+cancer+cell+line.">MCF-7: the first hormone-responsive breast cancer cell line.</a> Cancer Res. 57 (15), 3071-3078 (1997).</li><li>Tanos, T., Rojo, L. J., Echeverria, P., Brisken, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ER+and+PR+signaling+nodes+during+mammary+gland+development.">ER and PR signaling nodes during mammary gland development.</a> Breast Cancer Res. 14 (4), 210 (2012).</li><li>Roskelley, C., Desprez, P., Bissell, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Extracellular+matrix-dependent+tissue-specific+gene+expression+in+mammary+epithelial+cells+requires+both+physical+and+biochemical+signal+transduction.">Extracellular matrix-dependent tissue-specific gene expression in mammary epithelial cells requires both physical and biochemical signal transduction.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 91 (26), 12378-12382 (1994).</li><li>Kass, L., Erler, J. T., Dembo, M., Weaver, V. 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The ex vivo culture described here provides breast tissue microstructures containing intact ducts and lobules, along with other cell types normally found in the human female breast. In the processing of the human breast tissue usually obtained from reduction mammoplasties, removal of adipose tissue, mechanical and enzymatic digestion of the stromal matrix, and lysis of red blood cells enriches for milk duct fragments and terminal ductal lobular units. Gentle enzymatic digestion at the right concentration, for th...

A correction was made to <a href="/video/52436">An Ex Vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast</a>. There was an error with the author, Marie Shamsheddin&#39;s, name. The author&#39;s name has been corrected to:
Marie Shamseddin
instead of:
Marie Shamsheddin

A correction to the author list has been made for the article <a href="/video/52436">An Ex Vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast</a>.

Erratum: An Ex Vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast

Information about the mutational landscape in breast cancer is increasing at rapid pace. Less attention has been paid to systemic factors that influence breast cancer development. Exposure to reproductive hormones has a major impact on disease progression1-3. Yet, the mechanisms by which reproductive hormones impinge on the human breast are poorly understood. Work with genetically engineered mouse models has revealed that they involve cell intrinsic and paracrine signaling through several downstream effectors4.
The limited knowledge about hormone action in the human breast is largely attributable to a lack of adequate models. Most work on the mechanisms of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) signaling has been performed with hormone receptor positive breast cancer cell lines, such as MCF-7 and T47D. These were derived from pleural effusions from patients with advanced breast cancer who had already received multiple treatments5. The biological relevance of findings in such simple in vitro models of the human breast is questionable and target genes identified in these in vitro models are differ from target genes that are identified in animal models6. When primary human breast epithelial cells are cultured in vitro they tend to lose hormone receptor expression and hence hormone response7,8.&#160; This problem can be circumventd by sophisticated 3D approaches using matrigel. In this way, C. Clarke and colleagues succeeded in establishing breast epithelial cells that maintained hormone receptor expression and showed a proliferative response to progesterone stimulation9. Yet, two important in vivo progesterone receptor target genes, Wnt-4 and RANKL, were not induced upon progesterone stimulation in this system9. This approach was recently taken on further with in vitro hormone pretreatment and RANKL induction was achieved10. A caveat remains that matrigel has activities that are batch-dependent, is expensive, and demands an experimental design that is apt for small cell numbers only.
Based on the finding that in vivo ER and PR signaling are largely mediated by paracrine interactions11, we argued that intercellular interactions need to be maintained. Another important factor that is lost as tissues are dissociated to single cells for in vitro culture are the interactions of the epithelial cells with the extracellular matrix; yet these are critical for epithelial differentiation and their disruption is important in tumorigenesis12.&#160; With this in mind, we established a method to isolate breast tissue microstructures from fresh surgical discard material13. The breast parenchyma, consisting of a two-layered epithelium with inner luminal and outer myoepithelial cells, is dissected away from adipose tissue and subjected to mechanical and enzymatic dissociation. After washing and centrifugation, fragments of milk ducts are obtained that retain close interactions with many stromal cells. These tissue microstructures remain hormone responsive. The model was validated in clinical specimens13. As such, the present procedure can help to study hormone action in the breast in a biologically and clinically relevant context.

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an ex vivo model to study hormone action in the human breast

The study of hormone action in the human breast has been hampered by lack of adequate model systems. Upon in vitro culture, primary mammary epithelial cells tend to lose hormone receptor expression. Widely used hormone receptor positive breast cancer cell lines are of limited relevance to the in vivo situation. Here, we describe an ex vivo model to study hormone action in the human breast. Fresh human breast tissue specimens from surgical discard material such as reduction mammoplasties or mammectomies are mechanically and enzymatically digested to obtain tissue fragments containing ducts and lobules and multiple stromal cell types. These tissue microstructures kept in basal medium without growth factors preserve their intercellular contacts, the tissue architecture, and remain hormone responsive for several days. They are readily processed for RNA and protein extraction, histological analysis or stored in freezing medium. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) can be used to enrich for specific cell populations. This protocol provides a straightforward, standard approach for translational studies with highly complex, varied human specimens.

To study the role of estrogens and progesterone and to better understand their molecular functions in the human breast, we collect fresh human breast tissue specimens from patients undergoing reduction mammoplasties (Figure 1) after obtaining their informed consent. We also obtain the patients&#8217; medical and reproductive history, as well as a blood sample to determine serum progesterone levels at the time of surgery. Tissue from fresh reduction mammoplasties is mechanically and enzymatically dissocia...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about An Ex vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast at JoVE.com

An Ex vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast

We have developed a novel ex vivo model to study hormone action in the human breast. It is based on tissue microstructures isolated from surgical breast tissue specimens which preserve tissue architecture, intercellular interactions, and paracrine signaling.

An Ex vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast

The study of hormone action in the human breast has been hampered by lack of adequate model systems. Upon in vitro culture, primary mammary epithelial ...

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Medicine

Biomarkers in an Animal Model for Revealing Neural, Hematologic, and Behavioral Correlates of PTSD

Identification of biomarkers representing the evolution of the pathophysiology of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is vitally important, not only for objective diagnosis but also for the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy and resilience to trauma. Ongoing research is directed at identifying molecular biomarkers for PTSD, including traumatic stress induced proteins, transcriptomes, genomic variances and genetic modulators, using biologic samples from subjects' blood, saliva, urine, and postmortem brain tissues. However, the correlation of these biomarker molecules in peripheral or postmortem samples to altered brain functions associated with psychiatric symptoms in PTSD remains unresolved. Here, we present an animal model of PTSD in which both peripheral blood and central brain biomarkers, as well as behavioral phenotype, can be collected and measured, thus providing the needed correlation of the central biomarkers of PTSD, which are mechanistic and pathognomonic but cannot be collected from people, with the peripheral biomarkers and behavioral phenotypes, which can.
Our animal model of PTSD employs restraint and tail shocks repeated for three continuous days - the inescapable tail-shock model (ITS) in rats. This ITS model mimics the pathophysiology of PTSD 17, 7, 4, 10. We and others have verified that the ITS model induces behavioral and neurobiological alterations similar to those found in PTSD subjects 17, 7, 10, 9. Specifically, these stressed rats exhibit (1) a delayed and exaggerated startle response appearing several days after stressor cessation, which given the compressed time scale of the rat's life compared to a humans, corresponds to the one to three months delay of symptoms in PTSD patients (DSM-IV-TR PTSD Criterian D/E 13), (2) enhanced plasma corticosterone (CORT) for several days, indicating compromise of the hypothalamopituitary axis (HPA), and (3) retarded body weight gain after stressor cessation, indicating dysfunction of metabolic regulation.
The experimental paradigms employed for this model are: (1) a learned helplessness paradigm in the rat assayed by measurement of acoustic startle response (ASR) and a charting of body mass; (2) microdissection of the rat brain into regions and nuclei; (3) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for blood levels of CORT; (4) a gene expression microarray plus related bioinformatics tools 18. This microarray, dubbed rMNChip, focuses on mitochondrial and mitochondria-related nuclear genes in the rat so as to specifically address the neuronal bioenergetics hypothesized to be involved in PTSD.

We describe a rat model of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that reveals the persistent alterations in neuroendocrine function and the delayed long-term, exaggerated fear response, characteristic of PTSD patients. The animal model and methods described here are useful for correlating biomarkers in brain nuclei, which are mechanistic but cannot be measured in patients, with biomarkers in peripheral white blood cells, which can.

Identification of biomarkers representing the evolution of the pathophysiology of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is vitally important, not only for ...

Human Neuroendocrine Tumor Cell Lines as a Three-Dimensional Model for the Study of Human Neuroendocrine Tumor Therapy

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare tumors, with an incidence of two per 100,&#x200A;000 individuals per year, and they account for 0.5% of all human malignancies.1 Other than surgery for the minority of patients who present with localized disease, there is little or no survival benefit of systemic therapy. Therefore, there is a great need to better understand the biology of NETs, and in particular define new therapeutic targets for patients with nonresectable or metastatic neuroendocrine tumors. 3D cell culture is becoming a popular method for drug screening due to its relevance in modeling the in vivo tumor tissue organization and microenvironment.2,3 The 3D multicellular spheroids could provide valuable information in a more timely and less expensive manner than directly proceeding from 2D cell culture experiments to animal (murine) models.
To facilitate the discovery of new therapeutics for NET patients, we have developed an in vitro 3D multicellular spheroids model using the human NET cell lines. The NET cells are plated in a non-adhesive agarose-coated 24-well plate and incubated under physiological conditions (5% CO2, 37 &deg;C) with a very slow agitation for 16-24 hr after plating. The cells form multicellular spheroids starting on the 3rd or 4th day. The spheroids become more spherical by the 6th day, at which point the drug treatments are initiated. The efficacy of the drug treatments on the NET spheroids is monitored based on the morphology, shape and size of the spheroids with a phase-contrast light microscope. The size of the spheroids is estimated automatically using a custom-developed MATLAB program based on an active contour algorithm. Further, we demonstrate a simple method to process the HistoGel embedding on these 3D spheroids, allowing the use of standard histological and immunohistochemical techniques. 
This is the first report on generating 3D spheroids using NET cell lines to examine the effect of therapeutic drugs. We have also performed histology on these 3D spheroids, and displayed an example of a single drug's effect on growth and proliferation of the NET spheroids. Our results support that the NET spheroids are valuable for further studies of NET biology and drug development.

We present a simple agarose overlay platform to grow 3D multicellular spheroids using neuroendocrine cancer cell lines. This method provides a very convenient way to examine the effect of therapeutic drugs on the neuroendocrine tumor cells. It could also help us establish human neuroendocrine tumor spheroids for cancer therapy.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare tumors, with an incidence of two per 100,&#x200A;000 individuals per year, and they account for 0.5% of all human ...

A Human Ex Vivo Atherosclerotic Plaque Model to Study Lesion Biology

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the vasculature. There are various methods to study the inflammatory compound in atherosclerotic lesions. Mouse models are an important tool to investigate inflammatory processes in atherogenesis, but these models suffer from the phenotypic and functional differences between the murine and human immune system. In vitro cell experiments are used to specifically evaluate cell type-dependent changes caused by a substance of interest, but culture-dependent variations and the inability to analyze the influence of specific molecules in the context of the inflammatory compound in atherosclerotic lesions limit the impact of the results. In addition, measuring levels of a molecule of interest in human blood helps to further investigate its clinical relevance, but this represents systemic and not local inflammation. Therefore, we here describe a plaque culture model to study human atherosclerotic lesion biology ex vivo. In short, fresh plaques are obtained from patients undergoing endarterectomy or coronary artery bypass grafting and stored in RPMI medium on ice until usage. The specimens are cut into small pieces followed by random distribution into a 48-well plate, containing RPMI medium in addition to a substance of interest such as cytokines or chemokines alone or in combination for defined periods of time. After incubation, the plaque pieces can be shock frozen for mRNA isolation, embedded in Paraffin or OCT for immunohistochemistry staining or smashed and lysed for western blotting. Furthermore, cells may be isolated from the plaque for flow cytometry analysis. In addition, supernatants can be collected for protein measurement by ELISA. In conclusion, the presented ex vivo model opens the possibility to further study inflammatory lesional biology, which may result in identification of novel disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

A Human Ex Vivo Atherosclerotic Plaque Model to Study Lesion Biology

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process. This manuscript illustrates an easy to use ex vivo model to investigate fresh carotid or coronary artery plaques. The ex vivo model allows for the investigation of potential substances on the inflammatory milieu in human atherosclerotic lesions and results can be analyzed by various methods.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the vasculature. There are various methods to study the inflammatory compound in atherosclerotic ...

Excitotoxic Stimulation of Brain Microslices as an In vitro Model of Stroke

Examining molecular mechanisms involved in neuropathological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, can be difficult when using whole animal systems. As such, primary or &#39;neuronal-like&#39; cell culture systems are commonly utilized. While&#160;these systems are relatively easy to work with, and are useful model systems in which various functional outcomes (such as cell death) can be readily quantified, the examined outcomes and pathways in cultured immature neurons (such as excitotoxicity-mediated cell death pathways) are not necessarily the same as those observed in mature brain, or in intact tissue. Therefore, there is the need to develop models in which cellular mechanisms in mature neural tissue can be examined. We have developed an in vitro technique that can be used to investigate a variety of molecular pathways in intact nervous tissue. The technique described herein utilizes rat cortical tissue, but this technique can be adapted to use tissue from a variety of species (such as mouse, rabbit, guinea pig, and chicken) or brain regions (for example, hippocampus, striatum, etc.). Additionally, a variety of stimulations/treatments can be used (for example, excitotoxic, administration of inhibitors, etc.). In conclusion, the brain slice model described herein can be used to examine a variety of molecular mechanisms involved in excitotoxicity-mediated brain injury.

Excitotoxic Stimulation of Brain Microslices as an In vitro Model of Stroke

We have developed a brain slice model which can be used to examine molecular mechanisms involved in excitotoxicity-mediated brain injury.&#160;This technique generates viable mature brain tissue and reduces animal numbers required for experimentation, whilst keeping the neuronal circuitry, cellular interactions, and postsynaptic compartments partly intact.

Examining molecular mechanisms involved in neuropathological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, can be difficult when using whole animal systems. As ...

Human Dupuytren's Ex Vivo Culture for the Study of Myofibroblasts and Extracellular Matrix Interactions

Organ fibrosis or &#8220;scarring&#8221; is known to account for a high death toll due to the extensive amount of disorders and organs affected (from cirrhosis to cardiovascular diseases). There is no effective treatment and the in vitro tools available do not mimic the in vivo situation rendering the progress of the out of control wound healing process still enigmatic.
To date, 2D and 3D cultures of fibroblasts derived from DD patients are the main experimental models available. Primary cell cultures have many limitations; the fibroblasts derived from DD are altered by the culture conditions, lack cellular context and interactions, which are crucial for the development of fibrosis and weakly represent the derived tissue. Real-time PCR analysis of fibroblasts derived from control and DD samples show that little difference is detectable. 3D cultures of fibroblasts include addition of extracellular matrix that alters the native conditions of these cells. 
As a way to characterize the fibrotic, proliferative properties of these resection specimens we have developed a 3D culture system, using intact human resections of the nodule part of the cord. The system is based on transwell plates with an attached nitrocellulose membrane that allows contact of the tissue with the medium but not with the plastic, thus, preventing the alteration of the tissue. No collagen gel or other extracellular matrix protein substrate is required. The tissue resection specimens maintain their viability and proliferative properties for 7 days. This is the first &#8220;organ&#8221; culture system that allows human resection specimens from DD patients to be grown ex vivo and functionally tested, recapitulating the in vivo situation.

Human Dupuytren&#039;s Ex Vivo Culture for the Study of Myofibroblasts and Extracellular Matrix Interactions

Dupuytren&#8217;s disease (DD) is a fibroproliferative disease of the palm of the hand. Here, we present a protocol to culture resection specimens from DD in a three-dimensional (3D) culture system. Such short-term culture system allows preservation of the 3D structure and molecular properties of the fibrotic tissue.

Organ fibrosis or &#8220;scarring&#8221; is known to account for a high death toll due to the extensive amount of disorders and organs affected (from ...

Methods for Culturing Human Femur Tissue Explants to Study Breast Cancer Cell Colonization of the Metastatic Niche

Bone is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis. Although it is widely accepted that the microenvironment influences cancer cell behavior, little is known about breast cancer cell properties and behaviors within the native microenvironment of human bone tissue.We have developed approaches to track, quantify and modulate human breast cancer cells within the microenvironment of cultured human bone tissue fragments isolated from discarded femoral heads following total hip replacement surgeries. Using breast cancer cells engineered for luciferase and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression, we are able to reproducibly quantitate migration and proliferation patterns using bioluminescence imaging (BLI), track cell interactions within the bone fragments using fluorescence microscopy, and evaluate breast cells after colonization with flow cytometry. The key advantages of this model include: 1) a native, architecturally intact tissue microenvironment that includes relevant human cell types, and 2) direct access to the microenvironment, which facilitates rapid quantitative and qualitative monitoring and perturbation of breast and bone cell properties, behaviors and interactions. A primary limitation, at present, is the finite viability of the tissue fragments, which confines the window of study to short-term culture. Applications of the model system include studying the basic biology of&#160;breast cancer and other bone-seeking malignancies within the metastatic niche, and developing therapeutic strategies to effectively target breast cancer cells in bone tissues.

Protocols are described for studying breast cancer cell migration, proliferation and colonization in a human bone tissue explant model system.

Bone is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis. Although it is widely accepted that the microenvironment influences cancer cell behavior, little ...

In Vivo and Ex Vivo Approaches to Study Ovarian Cancer Metastatic Colonization of Milky Spot Structures in Peritoneal Adipose

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC), the cause of widespread peritoneal metastases, continues to have an extremely poor prognosis; fewer than 30% of women are alive 5 years after diagnosis. The omentum is a preferred site of HGSC metastasis formation. Despite the clinical importance of this microenvironment, the contribution of omental adipose tissue to ovarian cancer progression remains understudied. Omental adipose is unusual in that it contains structures known as milky spots, which are comprised of B, T, and NK cells, macrophages, and progenitor cells surrounding dense nests of vasculature. Milky spots play a key role in the physiologic functions of the omentum, which are required for peritoneal homeostasis. We have shown that milky spots also promote ovarian cancer metastatic colonization of peritoneal adipose, a key step in the development of peritoneal metastases. Here we describe the approaches we developed to evaluate and quantify milky spots in peritoneal adipose and study their functional contribution to ovarian cancer cell metastatic colonization of omental tissues both in vivo and ex vivo. These approaches are generalizable to additional mouse models and cell lines, thus enabling the study of ovarian cancer metastasis formation from initial localization of cells to milky spot structures to the development of widespread peritoneal metastases.

In Vivo and Ex Vivo Approaches to Study Ovarian Cancer Metastatic Colonization of Milky Spot Structures in Peritoneal Adipose

We outline a protocol that implements both in vivo and ex vivo approaches to study ovarian cancer colonization of peritoneal adipose tissues, particularly the omentum. Furthermore, we present a protocol to quantitate and analyze immune cell-structures in the omentum known as milky spots, which promote metastases of peritoneal adipose.

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC), the cause of widespread peritoneal metastases, continues to have an extremely poor prognosis; fewer than 30% of ...

An Orthotopic Mouse Model of Spontaneous Breast Cancer Metastasis

Metastasis is the primary cause of mortality of breast cancer patients. The mechanism underlying cancer cell metastasis, including breast cancer metastasis, is largely unknown and is a focus in cancer research. Various breast cancer spontaneous metastasis mouse models have been established. Here, we report a simplified procedure to establish orthotopic transplanted breast cancer primary tumor and resultant spontaneous metastasis that mimic human breast cancer metastasis. Combined with the bioluminescence live tumor imaging, this mouse model allows tumor growth and progression kinetics to be monitored and quantified. In this model, a low dose (1 x 104 cells) of 4T1-Luc breast cancer cells was injected into BALB/c mouse mammary fat pad using a tuberculin syringe. Mice were injected with luciferin and imaged at various time points using a bioluminescent imaging system. When the primary tumors grew to the size limit as in the IACUC-approved protocol (approximately 30 days), mice were anesthetized under constant flow of 2% isoflurane and oxygen. The tumor area was sterilized with 70% ethanol. The mouse skin around the tumor was excised to expose the tumor which was removed with a pair of sterile scissors. Removal of the primary tumor extends the survival of the 4T-1 tumor-bearing mice for one month. The mice were then repeatedly imaged for metastatic tumor spreading to distant organs. Therapeutic agents can be administered to suppress tumor metastasis at this point. This model is simple and yet sensitive in quantifying breast cancer cell growth in the primary site and progression kinetics to distant organs, and thus is an excellent model for studying breast cancer growth and progression, and for testing anti-metastasis therapeutic and immunotherapeutic agents in vivo.

An orthotopic breast cancer primary tumor model and surgical removal of primary tumor to extend mouse life to generate spontaneous metastasis are described. The tumor growth and progression are monitored and quantified by luciferase fluorescence imaging.

Metastasis is the primary cause of mortality of breast cancer patients. The mechanism underlying cancer cell metastasis, including breast cancer ...

Depletion of Mouse Cells from Human Tumor Xenografts Significantly Improves Downstream Analysis of Target Cells

The use of in vitro cell line models for cancer research has been a useful tool. However, it has been shown that these models fail to reliably mimic patient tumors in different assays1. Human tumor xenografts represent the gold standard with respect to tumor biology, drug discovery, and metastasis research 2-4. Tumor xenografts can be derived from different types of material like tumor cell lines, tumor tissue from primary patient tumors4 or serially transplanted tumors. When propagated in vivo, xenografted tissue is infiltrated and vascularized by cells of mouse origin. Multiple factors such as the tumor entity, the origin of xenografted material, growth rate and region of transplantation influence the composition and the amount of mouse cells present in tumor xenografts. However, even when these factors are kept constant, the degree of mouse cell contamination is highly variable.
Contaminating mouse cells significantly impair downstream analyses of human tumor xenografts. As mouse fibroblasts show high plating efficacies and proliferation rates, they tend to overgrow cultures of human tumor cells, especially slowly proliferating subpopulations. Mouse cell derived DNA, mRNA, and protein components can bias downstream gene expression analysis, next-generation sequencing, as well as proteome analysis 5. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a fast and easy method to isolate untouched human tumor cells from xenografted tumor tissue. This procedure is based on the comprehensive depletion of cells of mouse origin by combining automated tissue dissociation with the benchtop tissue dissociator and magnetic cell sorting. Here, we demonstrate that human target cells can be can be obtained with purities higher than 96% within less than 20 min independent of the tumor type.

Human tumor xenografts are vascularized and infiltrated by cells of mouse origin during the growth phase in vivo. To circumvent the bias caused by these contaminating cells during downstream analysis, we developed a method allowing for comprehensive depletion of all mouse cells by magnetic cell sorting.

The use of in vitro cell line models for cancer research has been a useful tool. However, it has been shown that these models fail to reliably mimic ...

Breast Milk Enhances Growth of Enteroids: An Ex Vivo Model of Cell Proliferation

Human small intestinal enteroids are derived from the crypts and when grown in a stem cell niche contain all of the epithelial cell types. The ability to establish human enteroid ex vivo culture systems are important to model intestinal pathophysiology and to study the particular cellular responses involved. In recent years, enteroids from mice and humans are being cultured, passaged, and banked away for future use in several laboratories across the world. This enteroid platform can be used to test the effects of various treatments and drugs and what effects are exerted on different cell types in the intestine. Here, a protocol for establishing primary stem cell-derived small intestinal enteroids derived from neonatal mice and premature human intestine is provided. Moreover, this enteroid culture system was utilized to test the effects of species-specific breast milk. Mouse breast milk can be obtained efficiently using a modified human breast pump and expressed mouse milk can then be used for further research experiments. We now demonstrate the effects of expressed mouse, human, and donor breast milk on the growth and proliferation of enteroids derived from neonatal mice or premature human small intestine.

Breast Milk Enhances Growth of Enteroids: An Ex Vivo Model of Cell Proliferation

This protocol describes how to establish an enteroid culture system from neonatal mouse or premature human intestine as well as an efficient method to collect milk from mice.

Human small intestinal enteroids are derived from the crypts and when grown in a stem cell niche contain all of the epithelial cell types. The ability to ...