We are thankful to M. Ohara, K. Saito, and M. Terai, for reviewing the manuscript. The authors acknowledge critical review for editorial and English assistance of this manuscript by Dr. R. Sato at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The work described herein was supported by the Bonnie Kroll Research Fund, the Mark Weinzierl Research Fund, the Eye Melanoma Research Fund at Thomas Jefferson University, The Osaka Community Foundation, and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 18K15596 at Osaka City University. Studies in Dr. A. Aplin&#39;s laboratory were supported by NIH grant R01 GM067893. This project was also funded by a Dean&#39;s Transformative Science Award, a Thomas Jefferson University Programmatic Initiative Award.

Patients enrolled in the study should provide written consent allowing the use of discarded surgical samples for research purposes and genetic studies, according to an Institutional Review Board-approved protocol. This protocol was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
1. Collection of Fresh Patient-derived Tumor Tissue
<ol>
	<li>Obtain patient-derived tumor tissue from surgery or a needle biopsy in a hospital operating room.</li>
	<li>Put the tumor tissue in a 100 mL container containing Hanks&#39; balanced salt solution (HBSS) solution on ice.</li>
	<li>Transfer the tissue into a sterile hood (Biosafety level 2) in a laboratory.</li>
	<li>Proceed to step 2 as soon as possible. 
	NOTE: For safety reasons, exclude patients with known HIV or Hepatitis B or C infections.</li>
</ol>
2. Processing of Fresh Patient-derived Tumor Tissue
<ol>
	<li>Put the tissue in a 50 mL tube containing phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) on ice. For washing the tissue, add PBS in the tube and discard PBS from the tube twice.</li>
	<li>Transfer the tissue into a Petri dish containing PBS on ice.</li>
	<li>Using sterile forceps and scissors, remove the necrotic parts of the tissue. Keep the tissue moist and cold during steps 2.3 to 2.5. For needle biopsy samples, skip step 2.3 and 2.5, and do not cut the samples. 
	NOTE: The necrotic tissue often breaks apart easily when touched.</li>
	<li>Cut the tissue into 1 mm3 cubes for surgical liver implantation.</li>
	<li>Cut the rest of the tissue into 2 mm cubes in the Petri dish.</li>
	<li>Transfer them to a 1.7 mm microtube with 4% formalin for histological analysis and to another tube for genomic and proteomic analysis.</li>
	<li>Put the microtubes in a liquid nitrogen jar with liquid nitrogen. Transfer the tubes to a -80 &#176;C freezer for permanent storage. 
	NOTE: The time between sample removal from the patient and tissue processing should not exceed 30 min.</li>
</ol>
3. Surgical Liver Implantation with Patient-derived Tumor Tissue
<ol>
	<li>Spray all objects coming into the hood for surgery with 70 % ethyl alcohol. 
	NOTE: This includes surgical instruments, heating pads, and anesthesia machines.</li>
	<li>Measure the weight of a cotton swab and fabric sheet.</li>
	<li>Anesthetize a mouse with a 3&#8211;5% isoflurane vaporizer by placing it in the induction chamber.</li>
	<li>Once the mouse is fully anesthetized, place it in supine position on a heating pad. Place the isoflurane cone on the mouse's snout to inhale 1.5&#8211;3% isoflurane for maintenance of anesthesia. 
	NOTE: The mouse needs to be on the heating pad during the entire procedure. Lack of heating may cause hypothermia.</li>
	<li>Confirm proper anesthesia by no reaction when the foot of the mouse is pricked with ultrafine forceps.</li>
	<li>Inject buprenorphine (0.6 mg/kg) subcutaneously on the flank using a 27 G needle on a micro syringe before surgery.</li>
	<li>Apply 70% ethyl alcohol to the abdomen and spread the fur upwards and downwards. After spreading the fur, confirm easier visualization of the skin below the left subcostal area for an easier cut. Do not shave off the fur from the abdomen. 
	NOTE: The fur will hide the incision site after surgery and prevent the mouse from scratching the incision post operation. However, you can shave the fur to prevent infection of the incision site according to institutional standards.</li>
	<li>Apply iodine and let it be absorbed into the skin.</li>
	<li>Place a sterile surgical drape with a 2 cm hole on the mouse.</li>
	<li>Lift abdominal skin with curved ultrafine forceps and make a 1 cm transverse left subcostal skin incision with curved scissors.</li>
	<li>Insert the tip of the curved scissors beneath the skin of the incision and slightly open them to separate peritoneum from skin. Retract the scissors from the incision with closed blades. 
	NOTE: Opening and closing scissors inside the mouse can cause damage and bleeding.</li>
	<li>Locate the liver under the peritoneum. Confirm a dark reddish color through the peritoneum.</li>
	<li>With curved scissors, make a 1 cm transverse incision in the peritoneum. If a peritoneal artery bleeds from the cutting edge, immediately stop the bleeding with cautery.</li>
	<li>Grab fat tissue using curved ultrafine forceps with one hand, insert the edge of a cotton swab beneath the left liver lobe and roll the swab downward with the other hand to bring out the liver. 
	NOTE: Grabbing fat tissue is important to keep the fat tissue from sticking to the cotton swab.</li>
	<li>Exteriorize the liver on the cotton swab and place the liver on a non-woven absorbent fabric sheet. 
	NOTE: The fabric sheet plays two essential roles in stabilizing the liver and absorbing hemorrhage.</li>
	<li>Make an incision 5 mm in width and depth using a sterile No. 11 scalpel blade to form a pocket in the parenchyma while softly pressing the incision site with the cotton swab.
	<ol>
		<li>Insert the blade in parallel with the surface of the liver and cut horizontally.</li>
		<li>Press the incision site with the cotton swab to stop any hemorrhage. 
		NOTE: Do not keep the blade vertical, otherwise you will break through the liver and injure large vessels in the middle of the liver.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Roll the cotton swab upward to open the incision site and implant a 1 mm3 cube of tumor tissue into the pocket with curved ultrafine forceps. Retract the forceps while rolling the cotton swab in reverse rotation and pressing down. 
	NOTE: Pressing down on the incision site with the cotton swab while retracting the forceps helps to prevent displacement of the tumor inside the pocket.</li>
	<li>Gently take the cotton swab off the incision site after implantation. Proceed to step 3.19 as soon as possible.</li>
	<li>Put an absorbable hemostat on the incision site.</li>
	<li>Confirm hemostasis. If bleeding continues, add more hemostat on the incision site.</li>
	<li>Peel the liver off the fabric sheet with forceps (preferably blunt-ended) and put the liver back into the abdominal cavity.</li>
	<li>Suture peritoneum with double ligature using 5-0 absorbable suture.</li>
	<li>Suture skin with triple ligature using 5-0 absorbable suture. 
	NOTE: Triple ligature helps to prevent surgical incision dehiscence.</li>
	<li>Observe the mouse until fully awake and put it back in the cage.</li>
	<li>Measure the weight of the cotton swab and the fabric sheet with blood for bleeding volume during the surgery. Compare them with their original weights before surgery. Reduce bleeding during the surgery to less than 10% of circulating blood volume in mouse.</li>
</ol>
4. Collecting and Processing of Cultured Human Liver Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Cell Line
<ol>
	<li>Prepare cultured cells.</li>
	<li>Collect cells and calculate the cell number using a cell counter.</li>
	<li>Prepare an appropriate amount of cell suspension for 10.0 x 106 cells in a 15 mL tube.</li>
	<li>Spin the tube at 300 x g for 5 min in a centrifuge at room temperature.</li>
	<li>Remove the supernatant in the 15 mL tube. Leave the cell pellet at the bottom of the tube.</li>
	<li>Add 50 &#956;L of RPMI 1640 medium into a 1.7 mL tube.</li>
	<li>Cut the tip of a 200 &#956;L tip with scissors to enlarge the tip opening.</li>
	<li>Add 60 &#956;L of basement membrane matrix using a pipette with the cut tip into the 1.7 mL tube that has RPMI.</li>
	<li>Mix RPMI and matrix in the 1.7 mL tube. Vortex it.</li>
	<li>Add 110 &#956;L of the mixture into the cell pellet in the 15 mL tube. Transfer the cell suspension into a new 1.7 mL tube.</li>
	<li>Keep the tube on ice before needle injection.</li>
</ol>
5. Surgical Needle Implantation of Cultured Human Liver Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Cell Line into Liver
<ol>
	<li>Follow the above protocol from steps 3.1 to 3.15.</li>
	<li>Collect the cell suspension with a microsyringe with a 27 G needle.</li>
	<li>Insert the needle along the surface of the liver and advance the tip of the needle 5 mm deeper.</li>
	<li>Inject 20 &#956;L of cell suspension into the liver.</li>
	<li>Cauterize the insertion point of the liver to prevent the injected cells from leaking out. Confirm hemostasis.</li>
	<li>Follow the above protocol from steps 3.21 to 3.24.</li>
</ol>
6. CT Scan
<ol>
	<li>Place the mouse into a restrainer in the awake state.</li>
	<li>Wipe the tail with a sterile alcohol pad for disinfection and vasodilation.</li>
	<li>Inject 100 &#181;L of CT contrast agent through the tail vein with a 27 G needle on a 1 mL syringe.</li>
	<li>Wait for 4 h after injection before taking the CT scan. 
	NOTE: It takes 4 h until the agent is taken up by liver Kupffer cells.</li>
	<li>Four hours after injection, anesthetize the tumor-bearing mouse with 3&#8211;5% vaporized isoflurane by placing it in the induction chamber.</li>
	<li>Once the mouse is fully anesthetized, place it in the prone position on a CT. Place the isoflurane cone on the mouse's snout to inhale 1.5&#8211;3% isoflurane for maintenance of anesthesia.</li>
	<li>Confirm proper anesthesia by no reaction when the foot of the mouse is pricked with ultrafine forceps.</li>
	<li>Take a CT scan for 15 min.</li>
	<li>Ensure that the mouse until it is fully awakened after the CT scan and put it back into the cage.</li>
	<li>Evaluate for the existence of tumor and measure the tumor size on the CT images. 
	NOTE: The contrast agent enhances normal liver parenchyma so that it is easy to recognize unenhanced tumor. Do not misinterpret the gallbladder and stomach as tumor.</li>
</ol>
7. Harvesting and Processing Tissue
<ol>
	<li>Euthanize mice using CO2 followed by cervical dislocation by placing the index finger and thumb behind the skull and pulling the body by the base of the tail. Proceed to step 7.2 as soon as possible.</li>
	<li>Place the mouse in a supine position and spray the abdomen with 70% ethyl alcohol.</li>
	<li>Use sterile forceps and sterile scissors to make a 3-cm transverse incision below the xiphoid process to expose the abdominal organs.</li>
	<li>Excise the tumor tissue and perform steps 2.1 to 2.2.</li>
	<li>Cut the rest of the tumor into 2 mm cubes in the Petri dish.</li>
	<li>Transfer them to a cryogenic tube with cryomedium for re-implantation after cryopreservation.</li>
	<li>Put the tubes in a cryogenic freezing container filled with isopropanol.</li>
	<li>Transfer the container to a -80 &#176;C freezer for temporary storage. Do not put the cryotubes with cryomedium directly into a liquid nitrogen tank. Freeze them slowly at a cooling rate of -1 &#176;C/min to preserve tumor tissue.</li>
	<li>On the next day, transfer the tubes into a liquid nitrogen tank for permanent storage.</li>
</ol>
8. Re-implantation
<ol>
	<li>Keep tubes frozen in a liquid nitrogen jar with liquid nitrogen until ready to implant tissue. Minimize exposure of the tissue to room temperature to maintain viability and enhance chances of engraftment.</li>
	<li>Thaw cryopreserved tube in a 37 &#176;C water bath.</li>
	<li>Perform steps 2.2&#8211;2.4.</li>
	<li>Implant the thawed tumor into mice as described in steps 3.1&#8211;3.24.</li>
</ol>

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The authors have nothing to disclose.

The current orthotopic xenograft models are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive to create. Orthotopic tumor xenograft mouse models for liver cancer were established more than two decades ago19,20,21. However, this technique is complicated and requires use of special equipment, such as a micro-needle holder and 6-0 to 8-0 fine sutures under a microscope. Tumor and normal liver tissue must be sewn up carefully so that t...

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignant tumor among adults in the western world. During the past 50 years, the incidence of uveal melanoma (5.1 cases per million) has remained stable in the United States1,2. Uveal melanoma arises from melanocytes in the iris, ciliary body, or choroid, and it is an extremely lethal disease when it develops metastasis. The death rate of patients with uveal melanoma metastasis was 80% at 1 year and 92% at 2 years after initial diagnosis of the metastases. The time between diagnosis of metastases and death is typically short, less than 6 months, without regards to therapy3,4. The cancer spreads through the blood and tends to dominantly metastasize to the liver (89-93%)4,5. An effective mouse model is urgently needed for further investigation of liver-metastatic uveal melanoma. For translational research, there is a clear demand to generate a liver-localized metastatic uveal melanoma mouse model.
Patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) mouse models are expected to provide individualized medicine strategies. These models might be predictive of clinical outcomes, be useful for preclinical drug evaluation, and be used for biological studies of tumors6. Representative PDX models are ectopically tumor-implanted xenograft mice, which have tumor at subcutaneous sites. Most researchers can do surgery for subcutaneous implantation without special practice7,8. They can also monitor subcutaneous tumors easily. Although subcutaneous PDX models became popular in the research phase, they have some hurdles in moving to practical use. Subcutaneous implantation forces patient-derived tumors to engraft at a different microenvironment from the tumor origin, so that it leads to engraftment failure and slow tumor growth 9,10,11,12,13,14. Orthotopic engraftment may be a more ideal and rational approach for a PDX model because it uses the same organ as the original tumor15,16.
Recently, we developed protocols for surgical orthotopic implantation techniques of patient-derived liver-metastatic uveal melanoma tumors and needle injection techniques with a cultured human liver-metastatic uveal melanoma cell line in NOD.Cg-PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ (NSG) mice17,18. The protocols result in consistently high technical success rates. We also established CT scanning techniques that are useful to detect interior liver tumors, and we developed re-implantation of cryopreserved tumors in the PDX platform. We found that uveal melanoma tumor xenograft models maintain the characteristics of the original patient liver tumor, including their histopathological and molecular features. Together, these techniques provide a better platform for liver orthotopic tumor models for uveal melanoma in translational research.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Materials, tissues and animals</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Buprenorphine</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CO2 tank</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cryomedium</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Exitron nano 12000 (Alkaline earth metal-based nanoparticle contrast agent)</td>
			<td>Miltenyl Biotec</td>
			<td>130-095-700</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HBSS 1X, with calcium &#38; magnesium</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>21-020-CM</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human liver metastatic uveal melanoma cell line</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human uveal melanoma tissue in the liver</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>All tissue handling should be done in a Biosafety Level 2 hood. Be careful when working with human tissue; always use gloves and avoid direct skin contact. Assume patients may have been infected with HIV or other highly transmissible organisms. Do not process samples known to carry infections.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Iodine</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isoflurane</td>
			<td>Purdue Products</td>
			<td>67618-150-17</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isopropanol</td>
			<td>Fisher scientific</td>
			<td>A416-1</td>
			<td>Avoid direct contact to skin and eye and inhalation of anesthetic agent.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Liquid nitrogen</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Matrigel HC</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>354248</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NOD.Cg-PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ (NSG) mice</td>
			<td>Jackson Lab</td>
			<td>5557</td>
			<td>4 to 8 weeks old</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS 1X, without calcium and magnesium</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>21-031-CM</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RPMI 1640</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>10-013-CV</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile alcohol prep pad (70% isopropyl alcohol)</td>
			<td>Nice-Pak products</td>
			<td>B603</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>4% paraformaldehyde phosphate buffer solution</td>
			<td>Wako</td>
			<td>163-20145</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>70% Ethyl alcohol solution</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>04-355-122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Name</td>
			<td>Company</td>
			<td>Catalog Number</td>
			<td>Comments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Equipments</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Absorbable hemostat</td>
			<td>Johnson and Johnson</td>
			<td>63713-0019-61</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Autoclave</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Body weight measure</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cautery</td>
			<td>Bovie Medical</td>
			<td>MC-23009</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell counter</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuzer</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cotton swab</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cryo freezing container</td>
			<td>NALGENE</td>
			<td>5100-0001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cryotube</td>
			<td>SARSTEDT</td>
			<td>72.379</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Curved scissors</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>503247</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Curved ultrafine forceps</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>501302</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fabric sheet</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Freezer</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>F/AIR Filter Canister</td>
			<td>Harvard Apparatus</td>
			<td>600979</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Heating pad</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isoflurane vaporizer</td>
			<td>Artisan Scientific</td>
			<td>66317-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Liquid nitrogen</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Liquid nitrogen jar</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>2123</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro-CT scan</td>
			<td>Siemens</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Needle holder</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>501246</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Petri dishes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>FB0875713</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipette</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Spray bottle</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile hood</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Biosafety level 2 cabinet</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile No.11 scalpel</td>
			<td>AD Surgical</td>
			<td>A300-11-0</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Straight forceps</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>14226</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Surgical drape</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tail vein restrainer</td>
			<td>Braintree Scientific</td>
			<td>TV-150-STD</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Water bath</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 ml TB syringe with 27-gauge needle</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>309623</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1.7 ml tube</td>
			<td>Bioexpress</td>
			<td>C-3260-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5-0 PDO Suture</td>
			<td>AD Surgical</td>
			<td>S-D518R13</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15 mL conical tubes</td>
			<td>AZER SCIENTIFIC</td>
			<td>ES-9152N</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>27-gauge needle</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>780301</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>27-gauge needle</td>
			<td>Hamilton</td>
			<td>7803-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 mL conical tubes</td>
			<td>AZER SCIENTIFIC</td>
			<td>ES-9502N</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 &#181;l micro syringe</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>80630</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 &#181;l micro syringe</td>
			<td>Hamilton</td>
			<td>7655-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>100 mL container</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12594997</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>200&#956;l tip</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

generation of a liver orthotopic human uveal melanoma xenograft platform in immunodeficient mice

In recent decades, subcutaneously implanted patient-derived xenograft tumors or cultured human cell lines have been increasingly recognized as more representative models to study human cancers in immunodeficient mice than traditional established human cell lines in vitro. Recently, orthotopically implanted patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) models in mice have been developed to better replicate features of patient tumors. A liver orthotopic xenograft mouse model is expected to be a useful cancer research platform, providing insights into tumor biology and drug therapy. However, liver orthotopic tumor implantation is generally complicated. Here we describe our protocols for the orthotopic implantation of patient-derived liver-metastatic uveal melanoma tumors. We cultured human liver metastatic uveal melanoma cell lines into immunodeficient mice. The protocols can result in consistently high technical success rates using either a surgical orthotopic implantation technique with chunks of patient-derived uveal melanoma tumor or a needle injection technique with cultured human cell line. We also describe protocols for CT scanning to detect interior liver tumors and for re-implantation techniques using cryopreserved tumors to achieve re-engraftment. Together, these protocols provide a better platform for liver orthotopic tumor mouse models of liver metastatic uveal melanoma in translational research.

Surgical orthotopic implantation using the liver pocket method can transplant human liver metastatic uveal melanoma tumor into the mouse liver with a high success rate of 80% within six months. The xenograft tumor engrafts in the liver as a solitary tumor without daughter nodules (Figure 1 and Figure 3A). The surgical orthotopic injection technique into the liver using microneedles successfully engrafted cultured human liver-meta...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Generation of a Liver Orthotopic Human Uveal Melanoma Xenograft Platform in Immunodeficient Mice at JoVE.com

Generation of a Liver Orthotopic Human Uveal Melanoma Xenograft Platform in Immunodeficient Mice

Orthotopic human liver metastatic uveal melanoma xenograft mouse models were created using surgical orthotopic implantation techniques with patient-derived tumor chunk and needle injection techniques with cultured human uveal melanoma cell lines.

In recent decades, subcutaneously implanted patient-derived xenograft tumors or cultured human cell lines have been increasingly recognized as more ...

generation-liver-orthotopic-human-uveal-melanoma-xenograft-platform

Research

JoVE Journal

Cancer Research

8.5K Views.  Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine. Orthotopic human liver metastatic uveal melanoma xenograft mouse models were created using surgical orthotopic implantation techniques with patient-derived tumor chunk and needle injection techniques with cultured human uveal melanoma cell lines.

Video: Generation of a Liver Orthotopic Human Uveal Melanoma Xenograft Platform in Immunodeficient Mice

Tumor Engraftment in a Xenograft Mouse Model of Human Mantle Cell Lymphoma

B lymphocytes are key players in immune cell circulation and they mainly home to and reside in lymphoid organs. While normal B cells only proliferate when stimulated by T lymphocytes, oncogenic B cells survive and expand autonomously in undefined organ niches. Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is one such B cell disorder, where the median survival rate of patients is 4 - 5 years. This calls for the need of effective mechanisms by which the homing and engraftment of these cells are blocked in order to increase the survival and longevity of patients. Therefore, the effort to develop a xenograft mouse model to study the efficacy of MCL therapeutics by blocking the homing mechanism in vivo is of utmost importance. Development of animal recipients for human cell xenotransplantation to test early stage drugs have long been pursued, as relevant preclinical mouse models are crucial to screen new therapeutic agents. This animal model is developed to avoid human graft rejection and to establish a model for human diseases, and it may be an extremely useful tool to study disease progression of different lymphoma types and to perform preclinical testing of candidate drugs for hematologic malignancies, like MCL. We established a xenograft mouse model that will serve as an excellent resource to study and develop novel therapeutic approaches for MCL.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a difficult to treat B cell disorder and it is equally difficult to establish a xenograft mouse model of primary MCL to study and develop therapeutics. Here, we describe the successful establishment of MCL xenografts in mice to help understand its underlying biology.

B lymphocytes are key players in immune cell circulation and they mainly home to and reside in lymphoid organs. While normal B cells only proliferate when ...

A 3D Organotypic Melanoma Spheroid Skin Model

Malignant transformation of melanocytes, the pigment cells of human skin, causes formation of melanoma, a highly aggressive cancer with increased metastatic potential. Recently, mono-chemotherapies continue to improve by melanoma specific combination therapies with targeted kinase inhibitors. Still, metastatic melanoma remains a life-threatening disease because tumors exhibit primary resistance or develop resistance to novel therapies, thereby regaining tumorigenic capacity. In order to improve the therapeutic success of malignant melanoma, the determination of molecular mechanisms conferring resistance against conventional treatment approaches is necessary; however, it requires innovative cellular in vitro models. Here, we introduce an in vitro three-dimensional (3D) organotypic melanoma spheroid model that can portray the in vivo architecture of malignant melanoma and may warrant new insights into intra-tumoral as well as tumor-host interactions. The model incorporates defined numbers of mature and differentiated melanoma spheroids in a 3D human full skin reconstruction model consisting of primary skin cells. The cellular composition and differentiation status of the embedded melanoma spheroids is similar to the one of cutaneous melanoma metastasis in vivo. Using this organotypic melanoma spheroid model as a drug screening platform may support the identification of responders to selected combination therapies, while sparing the unnecessary treatment burden for non-responders, thereby increasing the benefit of therapeutic interventions.

Here, we present a protocol to generate a 3D organotypic melanoma spheroid skin model that recapitulates both the architecture and multicellular complexity of an organ/tumor in vivo but at the same time accommodates systematic experimental intervention.

Malignant transformation of melanocytes, the pigment cells of human skin, causes formation of melanoma, a highly aggressive cancer with increased ...

Patient-derived Orthotopic Xenograft Models for Human Urothelial Cell Carcinoma and Colorectal Cancer Tumor Growth and Spontaneous Metastasis

Cancer patients have poor prognoses when lymph node (LN) involvement is present in both high-grade urothelial cell carcinoma (HG-UCC) of the bladder and colorectal cancer (CRC). More than 50% of patients with muscle-invasive UCC, despite curative therapy for clinically-localized disease, will develop metastases and die within 5 years, and metastatic CRC is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US. Xenograft models that consistently mimic UCC and CRC metastasis seen in patients are needed. This study aims to generate patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) models of UCC and CRC for primary tumor growth and spontaneous metastases under the influence of LN stromal cells mimicking the progression of human metastatic diseases for drug screening. Fresh UCC and CRC tumors were obtained from consented patients undergoing resection for HG-UCC and colorectal adenocarcinoma, respectively. Co-inoculated with LN stromal cell (LNSC) analog HK cells, luciferase-tagged UCC cells were intra-vesically (IB) instilled into female non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice, and CRC cells were intra-rectally (IR) injected into male NOD/SCID mice. Tumor growth and metastasis were monitored weekly using bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Upon sacrifice, primary tumors and mouse organs were harvested, weighed, and formalin-fixed for Hematoxylin and Eosin and immunohistochemistry staining. In our unique PDOX models, xenograft tumors resemble patient pre-implantation tumors. In the presence of HK cells, both models have high tumor implantation rates measured by BLI and tumor weights, 83.3% for UCC and 96.9% for CRC, and high distant organ metastasis rates (33.3% detected liver or lung metastasis for UCC and 53.1% for CRC). In addition, both models have zero mortality from the procedure. We have established unique, reproducible PDOX models for human HG-UCC and CRC, which allow for tumor formation, growth, and metastasis studies. With these models, testing of novel therapeutic drugs can be performed efficiently and in a clinically-mimetic manner.

This protocol describes the generation of patient-derived orthotopic xenograft models by intra-vesically instilling high-grade urothelial cell carcinoma cells or intra-rectally injecting colorectal cancer cells into non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice for primary tumor growth and spontaneous metastases under the influence of lymph node stromal cells, which mimics the progression of human metastatic diseases.

Cancer patients have poor prognoses when lymph node (LN) involvement is present in both high-grade urothelial cell carcinoma (HG-UCC) of the bladder and ...

Patient-derived Heterogeneous Xenograft Model of Pancreatic Cancer Using Zebrafish Larvae as Hosts for Comparative Drug Assessment

Patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) and cell-derived tumor xenograft (CDX) are important techniques for preclinical assessment, medication guidance and basic cancer researches. Generations of PDX models in traditional host mice are time-consuming and only working for a small proportion of samples. Recently, zebrafish PDX (zPDX) has emerged as a unique host system, with the characteristics of small-scale and high efficiency. Here, we describe an optimized methodology for generating a dual fluorescence-labeled tumor xenograft model for comparative chemotherapy assessment in zPDX models. Tumor cells and fibroblasts were enriched from freshly-harvested or frozen pancreatic cancer tissue at different culture conditions. Both cell groups were labeled by lentivirus expressing green or red fluorescent proteins, as well as an anti-apoptosis gene BCL2L1. The transfected cells were pre-mixed and co-injected into the 2 dpf larval zebrafish that were then bred in modified E3 medium at 32 &#176;C. The xenograft models were treated by chemotherapy drugs and/or BCL2L1 inhibitor, and the viabilities of both tumor cells and fibroblasts were investigated simultaneously. In summary, this protocol allows researchers to quickly generate a large amount of zPDX models with a heterogeneous tumor microenvironment and provides a longer observation window and a more precise quantitation in assessing the efficiency of drug candidates.

This protocol describes optimization procedures in a virus-based dual fluorescence-labeled tumor xenograft model using larval zebrafish as hosts. This heterogeneous xenograft model mimics the tissue composition of pancreatic cancer microenvironment in vivo and serves as a more precise tool for assessing drug responses in personalized zPDX (zebrafish patient-derived xenograft) models.

Patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) and cell-derived tumor xenograft (CDX) are important techniques for preclinical assessment, medication guidance and ...

A Melanoma Patient-Derived Xenograft Model

Accumulating evidence suggests that molecular and biological properties differ in melanoma cells grown in traditional two-dimensional tissue culture vessels versus in vivo in human patients. This is due to the bottleneck selection of clonal populations of melanoma cells that can robustly grow in vitro in the absence of physiological conditions. Further, responses to therapy in two-dimensional tissue cultures overall do not faithfully reflect responses to therapy in melanoma patients, with the majority of clinical trials failing to show the efficacy of therapeutic combinations shown to be effective in vitro. Although xenografting of melanoma cells into mice provides the physiological in vivo context absent from two-dimensional tissue culture assays, the melanoma cells used for engraftment have already undergone bottleneck selection for cells that could grow under two-dimensional conditions when the cell line was established. The irreversible alterations that occur as a consequence of the bottleneck include changes in growth and invasion properties, as well as the loss of specific subpopulations. Therefore, models that better recapitulate the human condition in vivo may better predict therapeutic strategies that effectively increase the overall survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. The patient-derived xenograft (PDX) technique involves the direct implantation of tumor cells from the human patient to a mouse recipient. In this manner, tumor cells are consistently grown under physiological stresses in vivo and never undergo the two-dimensional bottleneck, which preserves the molecular and biological properties present when the tumor was in the human patient. Notable, PDX models derived from organ sites of metastases (i.e., brain) display similar metastatic capacity, while PDX models derived from therapy naive patients and patients with acquired resistance to therapy (i.e., BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy) display similar sensitivity to therapy.

Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models more robustly recapitulate melanoma molecular and biological features and are more predictive of therapy response compared to traditional plastic tissue culture-based assays. Here we describe our standard operating protocol for the establishment of new PDX models and the characterization/experimentation of existing PDX models.

Accumulating evidence suggests that molecular and biological properties differ in melanoma cells grown in traditional two-dimensional tissue culture ...

Establishment of Gastric Cancer Patient-derived Xenograft Models and Primary Cell Lines

The use of preclinical models to advance our understanding of tumor biology and investigate the efficacy of therapeutic agents is key to cancer research. Although there are many established gastric cancer cell lines and many conventional transgenic mouse models for preclinical research, the disadvantages of these in vitro and in vivo models limit their applications. Because the characteristics of these models have changed in culture, they no longer model tumor heterogeneity, and their responses have not been able to predict responses in humans. Thus, alternative models that better represent tumor heterogeneity are being developed. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models preserve the histologic appearance of cancer cells, retain intratumoral heterogeneity, and better reflect the relevant human components of the tumor microenvironment. However, it usually takes 4-8 months to develop a PDX model, which is longer than the expected survival of many gastric patients. For this reason, establishing primary cancer cell lines may be an effective complementary method for drug response studies. The current protocol describes methods to establish PDX models and primary cancer cell lines from surgical gastric cancer samples. These methods provide a useful tool for drug development and cancer biology research.

The current protocol describes methods to establish patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and primary cancer cell lines from surgical gastric cancer samples. The methods provide a useful tool for drug development and cancer biology research.

The use of preclinical models to advance our understanding of tumor biology and investigate the efficacy of therapeutic agents is key to cancer research. ...

Generation of Orthotopic Pancreatic Tumors and Ex vivo Characterization of Tumor-Infiltrating T Cell Cytotoxicity

In vivo models of pancreatic cancer provide invaluable tools for studying disease dynamics, immune infiltration and new therapeutic strategies. The orthotopic murine model can be performed on large cohorts of immunocompetent mice simultaneously, is relatively inexpensive and preserves the cognate tissue microenvironment. The quantification of T cell infiltration and cytotoxic activity within orthotopic tumors provides a useful indicator of an antitumoral response.
This protocol describes the methodology for surgical generation of orthotopic pancreatic tumors by injection of a low number of syngeneic tumor cells resuspended in 5 &#181;L basement membrane directly into the pancreas. Mice bearing orthotopic tumors take approximately 30 days to reach endpoint, at which point tumors can be harvested and processed for characterization of tumor-infiltrating T cell activity. Rapid enzymatic digestion using collagenase and DNase allows a single-cell suspension to be extracted from tumors. The viability and cell surface markers of immune cells extracted from the tumor are preserved; therefore, it is appropriate for multiple downstream applications, including flow-assisted cell sorting of immune cells for culture or RNA extraction, flow cytometry analysis of immune cell populations. Here, we describe the ex vivo stimulation of T cell populations for intracellular cytokine quantification (IFN&#947; and TNF&#945;) and degranulation activity (CD107a) as a measure of overall cytotoxicity. Whole-tumor digests were stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate and ionomycin for 5 h, in the presence of anti-CD107a antibody in order to upregulate cytokine production and degranulation. The addition of brefeldin A and monensin for the final 4 h was performed to block extracellular transport and maximize cytokine detection. Extra- and intra-cellular staining of cells was then performed for flow cytometry analysis, where the proportion of IFN&#947;+, TNF&#945;+ and CD107a+ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was quantified.
This method provides a starting base to perform comprehensive analysis of the tumor microenvironment.

Generation of Orthotopic Pancreatic Tumors and Ex vivo Characterization of Tumor-Infiltrating T Cell Cytotoxicity

This protocol describes the surgical generation of orthotopic pancreatic tumors and the rapid digestion of freshly isolated murine pancreatic tumors. Following digestion, viable immune cell populations can be used for further downstream analysis, including ex vivo stimulation of T cells for intracellular cytokine detection by flow cytometry.

In vivo models of pancreatic cancer provide invaluable tools for studying disease dynamics, immune infiltration and new therapeutic strategies. The ...

Spatial Profiling of Protein and RNA Expression in Tissue: An Approach to Fine-Tune Virtual Microdissection

Multiplexing enables the assessment of several markers on the same tissue while providing spatial context. Spatial Omics technologies allow both protein and RNA multiplexing by leveraging photo-cleavable oligo-tagged antibodies and probes, respectively. Oligos are cleaved and quantified from specific regions across the tissue to elucidate the underlying biology. Here, the study demonstrates that automated custom antibody visualization protocols can be utilized to guide ROI selection in conjunction with spatial proteomics assays. This specific method did not show acceptable performance with spatial transcriptomics assays. The protocol describes the development of a 3-plex immunofluorescent (IF) assay for marker visualization on an automated platform, using tyramide signal amplification (TSA) to amplify the fluorescent signal from a given protein target and increase the antibody pool to choose from. The visualization protocol was automated using a thoroughly validated 3-plex assay to ensure quality and reproducibility. In addition, the exchange of DAPI for SYTO dyes was evaluated to allow imaging of TSA-based IF assays on the spatial profiling platform. Additionally, we tested the ability of selecting small ROIs using the spatial transcriptomics assay to allow the investigation of highly-specific areas of interest (e.g., areas enriched for a given cell type). ROIs of 50 &#181;m and 300 &#181;m diameter were collected, which corresponds to approximately 15 cells and 100 cells, respectively. Samples were made into libraries and sequenced to investigate the capability to detect signals from small ROIs and profile-specific regions of the tissue. We determined that spatial proteomics technologies highly benefit from automated, standardized protocols to guide ROI selection. While this automated visualization protocol was not compatible with spatial transcriptomics assays, we were able to test and confirm that specific cell populations can successfully be detected even in small ROIs with the standard manual visualization protocol.

Here, we describe a protocol for fine-tuning regions of interest (ROIs) for Spatial Omics technologies to better characterize the tumor microenvironment and identify specific cell populations. For proteomics assays, automated customized protocols can guide ROI selection, while transcriptomics assays can be fine-tuned utilizing ROIs as small as 50 &#181;m.

Multiplexing enables the assessment of several markers on the same tissue while providing spatial context. Spatial Omics technologies allow both protein ...

A Three-Dimensional Spheroid Model to Investigate the Tumor-Stromal Interaction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The aggressiveness and lack of well-tolerated and widely effective treatments for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant form of liver cancer, rationalize its rank as the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Preclinical models need to be adapted to recapitulate the human conditions to select the best therapeutic candidates for clinical development and aid the delivery of personalized medicine. Three-dimensional (3D) cellular spheroid models show promise as an emerging in vitro alternative to two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures. Here, we describe a 3D tumor spheroid&#160;model which exploits the ability of individual cells to aggregate when maintained in hanging droplets, and is more representative of an in vivo environment than standard monolayers. Furthermore, 3D spheroids can be produced by combining homotypic or heterotypic cells, more reflective of the cellular heterogeneity in vivo, potentially enabling the study of environmental interactions that can influence progression and treatment responses. The current research optimized the cell density to form 3D homotypic and heterotypic tumor spheroids by immobilizing cell suspensions on the lids of standard 10 cm3 Petri dishes. Longitudinal analysis was performed to generate growth curves for homotypic versus heterotypic tumor/fibroblasts spheroids. Finally, the proliferative impact of fibroblasts (COS7 cells) and liver myofibroblasts (LX2) on homotypic tumor (Hep3B) spheroids was investigated. A seeding density of 3,000 cells (in 20 &#181;L media) successfully yielded Huh7/COS7 heterotypic spheroids, which displayed a steady increase in size up to culture day 8, followed by growth retardation. This finding was corroborated using Hep3B homotypic spheroids cultured in LX2 (human hepatic stellate cell line) conditioned medium (CM). LX2 CM triggered the proliferation of Hep3B spheroids compared to control tumor spheroids. In conclusion, this protocol has shown that 3D tumor spheroids can be used as a simple, economical, and prescreen in vitro tool to study tumor-stromal interactions more comprehensively.

Comprehensive in vitro models that faithfully recapitulate the relevant human disease are lacking. The current study presents three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroid creation and culture, a reliable in vitro tool to study the tumor-stromal interaction in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

The aggressiveness and lack of well-tolerated and widely effective treatments for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant form of liver ...

Generation of an Orthotopic Xenograft of Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Ultrasound-Guided Injection

Pancreatic cancer (PCa) represents one of the deadliest cancer types worldwide. The reasons for PCa malignancy mainly rely on its intrinsic malignant behavior and high resistance to therapeutic treatments. Indeed, despite many efforts, both standard chemotherapy and innovative target therapies have substantially failed when moved from preclinical evaluation to the clinical setting. In this scenario, the development of preclinical mouse models better mimicking in vivo characteristics of PCa is urgently needed to test newly developed drugs. The present protocol describes a method to generate a mouse model of PCa, represented by an orthotopic xenograft obtained by ultrasound-guided injection of human pancreatic tumor cells. Using such a reliable and minimally invasive protocol, we also provide evidence of in vivo engraftment and development of tumor masses, which can be monitored by ultrasound (US) imaging. A noteworthy aspect of the PCa model described here is the slow development of the tumor masses over time, which allows precise identification of the starting point for pharmacological treatments and better monitoring of the effects of therapeutic interventions. Moreover, the technique described here is an example of implementation of the 3Rs principles since it minimizes pain and suffering and directly improves the welfare of animals in research.

We present a protocol to generate a minimally invasive orthotopic pancreatic cancer model by ultrasound-guided injection of human pancreatic cancer cells and the subsequent monitoring of tumor growth in vivo by ultrasound imaging.

Pancreatic cancer (PCa) represents one of the deadliest cancer types worldwide. The reasons for PCa malignancy mainly rely on its intrinsic malignant ...

Generation of a Liver Orthotopic Human Uveal Melanoma Xenograft Platform in Immunodeficient Mice

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Tumor Engraftment in a Xenograft Mouse Model of Human Mantle Cell Lymphoma

A 3D Organotypic Melanoma Spheroid Skin Model

Patient-derived Orthotopic Xenograft Models for Human Urothelial Cell Carcinoma and Colorectal Cancer Tumor Growth and Spontaneous Metastasis

Patient-derived Heterogeneous Xenograft Model of Pancreatic Cancer Using Zebrafish Larvae as Hosts for Comparative Drug Assessment

A Melanoma Patient-Derived Xenograft Model

Establishment of Gastric Cancer Patient-derived Xenograft Models and Primary Cell Lines

Generation of Orthotopic Pancreatic Tumors and Ex vivo Characterization of Tumor-Infiltrating T Cell Cytotoxicity

Spatial Profiling of Protein and RNA Expression in Tissue: An Approach to Fine-Tune Virtual Microdissection

A Three-Dimensional Spheroid Model to Investigate the Tumor-Stromal Interaction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Generation of an Orthotopic Xenograft of Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Ultrasound-Guided Injection