Quail Chorioallantoic Membrane - A Tool for Photodynamic Diagnosis and Therapy

The chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of an avian embryo is a thin, extraembryonic membrane that functions as a primary respiratory organ. Its properties make it an excellent in vivo experimental model to study angiogenesis, tumor growth, drug delivery systems, or photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). At the same time, this model addresses the requirement for the replacement of experimental animals with a suitable alternative. Ex ovo cultivated embryo allows easy substance application, access, monitoring, and documentation. The most frequently used is chick CAM; however, this article describes the advantages of the Japanese quail CAM as a low-cost and high-throughput model. Another advantage is the shorter embryonic development, which allows higher experimental turnover. The suitability of quail CAM for PDD and PDT of cancer and microbial infections is explored here. As an example, the use of the photosensitizer hypericin in combination with lipoproteins or nanoparticles as a delivery system is described. The damage score from images in white light and changes in fluorescence intensity of the CAM tissue under violet light (405 nm) was determined, together with analysis of histological sections. The quail CAM clearly showed the effect of PDT on the vasculature and tissue. Moreover, changes like capillary hemorrhage, thrombosis, lysis of small vessels, and bleeding of larger vessels could be observed. Japanese quail CAM is a promising in vivo model for photodynamic diagnosis and therapy research, with applications in studies of tumor angiogenesis, as well as antivascular and antimicrobial therapy.