This work was supported by NIH R21 CA143505 to Christina Voelkel-Johnson.

All procedures involving animals have been reviewed and were approved by the Institutional Animal&#160;Care and Use Committee at the Medical University of South Carolina. &#160;The protocol was approved under USDA category D for pain.&#160;
1. Cell Implantation
<ol>
	<li>Two days before performing the procedure, plate 1 x 106 MB49 cells into T-25 flasks. Use high glucose DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS (and antibiotics, if desired). One flask is sufficient for each group of up to five mice that will be anesthetized and implanted in parallel.</li>
	<li>On the day of the procedure, prepare trypsin for instillation by diluting sterile 0.25% tissue culture grade trypsin to 0.125% with sterile DMEM base medium (1:2 dilution). 1.2 ml is sufficient for 10 mice. Place in a 37 &#176;C waterbath to equilibrate.</li>
	<li>Prewarm a heating pad and position it under the nosecones of the anesthesia system that will be used to deliver isoflurane. Place a clean absorbent pad over the heating pad.</li>
	<li>Place mice into the induction chamber of the anesthesia system and induce anesthesia with 3% isoflurane. When mice have lost consciousness, which is verified by loss of the toe-pinch reflex, transfer them to the nosecones. Make sure each animal is in a supine position and properly placed on the heating pad to maintain body temperature.</li>
	<li>Reduce the isoflurane concentration to 2% to maintain anesthesia.</li>
	<li>Apply ophthalmic ointment to both eyes to prevent drying.</li>
	<li>Optional step: Remove abdominal hair. Hair on the lower abdomen must be removed if in vivo bioluminescent imaging will be performed.
	<ol>
		<li>Apply a generous layer of depilatory cream, such as Veet, to the lowest 1 in&#160;square of fur on the abdomen, taking care not to contact the external genitalia. Wait 3 min.</li>
		<li>Remove hair by rubbing the area with a dry sponge, and then use a damp sponge to cleanse the skin. Repeat once, if needed.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Catheterize the bladder
	<ol>
		<li>Lubricate a new, sterile 24 G pediatric venous catheter with a nonirritating lubricating gel such as K-Y. Remove and discard the needle. If leaking of fluid around the catheter is a common problem, i.e. it occurs more frequently than in one of ten mice, larger bore catheters (20 G) can be used. This may be an important consideration in mice older than 8 weeks.</li>
		<li>Holding the hub of the catheter, use the thumb and index finger of your opposite hand to spread the hind legs of the mouse and expose the urethral meatus. Gently insert the catheter into the urethra at a 45&#176; angle, changing the angle to one parallel with the bench to insert it fully.</li>
		<li>After full insertion, lift the catheter gently, keeping it parallel to the bench, and visually confirm that it is placed in the urethra and not the vagina, which is below it. If correctly placed, the catheter will be able to be inserted fully since the vagina is shorter than the urethra.</li>
		<li>Reduce the isoflurane concentration to 1%.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Attach a tip to a P200 pipettor and remove urine from the bladder by applying suction to the external end of the catheter. Remove any remaining urine from the hub of the catheter. Discard urine and leave catheter in place.</li>
	<li>Carefully pipette 80 &#956;l&#160;0.125% trypsin solution into the hub of the catheter, avoiding air bubbles. Attach a 1 ml air-filled syringe to the catheter hub and slowly depress the plunger 0.1-0.2 ml&#160;to deliver the trypsin into the bladder.</li>
	<li>Leave the syringe and catheter assembly in place for 15 min. Repeat steps 1.8-1.11 for any of the remaining anesthetized mice (up to 4). Proceed to the next step during the waiting period. HINT: Initially it may be helpful to have someone else prepare the cells (step 1.12).</li>
	<li>Prepare MB49 cells for implantation. Cells were plated at 1 x 106 per T-25 flask 48 hr before implantation (step 1.1).
	<ol>
		<li>Remove media and add 500 &#181;l of 0.25% trypsin to the flask. When cells detach add 5 ml of complete DMEM to resuspend cells. Remove a 50 &#956;l&#160;aliquot to count, and centrifuge the remainder at 1,000 rpm for 5 min. During the centrifugation step continue to steps 1.12.2 and 1.12.3.</li>
		<li>Count the cells using a hemocytometer. Calculate the cells/ml. Then calculate the volume needed to bring the cell pellet to 4 x 106 cells/ml (2 x 105 cells per 50 &#956;l).</li>
		<li>Pour off supernatant from centrifuged cells and resuspend the pellet in DMEM base medium using the volume required to suspend cells to 4 x 106 cells/ml (as calculated in step 1.12.2). Keep cells at room temperature.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>When the 15 min&#160;time point for trypsin treatment of bladders is reached, detach the air-filled syringe from the catheter leaving the catheter in place. Spent trypsin will normally flow back out through the catheter. Remove any remaining trypsin from the bladder by suction with the P200 pipettor as in step 1.9 above and discard.</li>
	<li>Immediately pipette 50 &#956;l&#160;of MB49 cell suspension into the hub of the catheter. Attach the 1 ml air-filled syringe to the hub of the catheter and deliver the cells to the bladder by slowly depressing the plunger 0.1-0.2 ml. Repeat this step up to four additional times to implant all five mice. Discard any unused cells.</li>
	<li>Leaving the catheter-syringe assembly in place, allow the cells to dwell in the bladder for 50 min.</li>
	<li>Gently withdraw the catheter-syringe assembly from the urethra. Turn the isoflurane concentration to zero and move each mouse an inch or two away from the nosecone to recover on the heating pad.</li>
	<li>When a mouse has regained its righting reflex, return it to its cage.</li>
</ol>
2. Intravesical Delivery of Adenovirus (8 Days after Implantation of Cells)
CAUTION: This part of the protocol uses adenovirus, which is an infectious agent and should be handled under strict BSL2 guidelines (http://oma.od.nih.gov/manualchapters/intramural/3035/).
All procedures performed with infectious agents were approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee of the Medical University of South Carolina.
<ol>
	<li>Eight days after implanting mice with MB49 cells, check for hematuria. Pick up individual animals over a white piece of absorbent paper and gently press on the abdomen to blot drops of urine onto the paper. Urine that is pink to red indicates hematuria and is a sign that tumors have established. Tumor take rate is at least 80% and with excellent technique can be as high as 100%.</li>
	<li>Thaw adenoviral stock on ice and dilute to 109 PFU/50 &#956;l&#160;(2 x 1010 PFU/ml) in sterile, room temperature PBS.</li>
	<li>Anesthetize mice as described in steps 1.3-1.6 above.</li>
	<li>Catheterize mice as described in steps 1.8 and remove urine as in step 1.9</li>
	<li>After urine is removed, immediately pipette 50 &#956;l&#160;of virus suspension into the hub of the catheter. Attach the 1 ml air-filled syringe to the hub of the catheter and deliver the virus to the bladder by slowly depressing the plunger 0.1-0.2 ml.</li>
	<li>Leaving the catheter-syringe assembly in place, allow the virus to dwell in the bladder for 40 min.</li>
	<li>Gently withdraw the catheter-syringe assembly from the urethra, and discard into 10% bleach solution to inactivate any remaining virus.</li>
	<li>Turn the isoflurane concentration to zero and move each mouse an inch or two away from the nosecone to recover on the heating pad.</li>
	<li>When a mouse has regained its righting reflex, return it to its cage.</li>
	<li>Mark cages to indicate that mice have been instilled with adenovirus. Virus will be shed into the cage bedding for several days and all cages and bedding must be handled and disinfected appropriately.</li>
</ol>

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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

The primary methodology described in this protocol is catheterization of mouse bladders, which has broad applications for instillation of cells or any agent intended for local delivery to the bladder epithelium. The specific protocol outlined above has been optimized for short-term studies (~10 days). Implanting the accurate number of cells is critical, since a higher cell number will result in more rapid tumor growth and possibly loss of animals due to large tumor burden. Using 200,000 MB49 cells for instillation may re...

Bladder cancer is the second most common cancer of the urogenital tract with nearly 75,000 new cases and 15,000 deaths expected in 20121. High rates of recurrence require lifelong follow-up, which makes bladder cancer one of the costliest cancers to treat. Bladder cancer that has invaded the muscle layer may metastasize to liver, lung or bone via the lymphatic system. Multimodal therapy of advanced tumors results in only 20-40% survival after 5 years. Therefore, effective treatment strategies aimed at reducing the recurrence and progression of superficial bladder cancer as well as improving therapeutic outcome in patients with advanced disease are urgently needed.
Development of novel therapeutics requires preclinical models to evaluate efficacy following initial in vitro assessment. The tumor microenvironment can significantly influence cancer development and responsiveness, which highlights the need for preclinical models in which tumors arise or can be established in the organ of origin. One approach is the development of transgenic models in which tumors arise spontaneously or can be induced in an organ-specific manner. An excellent protocol of a transgenic bladder cancer model has recently been published2. The drawback of transgenic models is that tumors tend to develop slowly and with less uniformity than desired. In addition, the cost of maintaining a breeding colony has to be considered. An alternative to transgenic models is orthotopic implantation of tumor cells, which has the benefit of short time frames for tumor establishment in commercially available mice. While some human bladder cancer cell lines can be grown orthotopically (we have successfully used UM-UC-3), it may be desirable to establish tumors in immunocompetent mice. Two murine bladder cancer cell lines, which grow orthotopically are MBT-2 and MB493. Since MBT-2 cells are contaminated with replicating type C retrovirus4, we have chosen MB49 cells for our studies. It is important to note that MB49 cells were isolated from a male mouse and orthotopic implantations are for anatomical reasons performed in female mice. This has the benefit of easy identification of the implanted cells by markers of the Y chromosome, but the gender mismatch can be a drawback for immunological studies.
The bladder epithelium is lined by a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer, which functions as a barrier for infection by microorganisms. This barrier can also interfere with implantation of tumor cells and several methods have been developed to overcome this difficulty (Table 1). Electrocautery has been used extensively as a physical means to disrupt the GAG layer 5-13 and a protocol demonstrating electrocautery has recently been published in JoVE14. However, should an electrocautery unit not be available, chemical means to destroy the GAG layer such as silver nitrate or poly-L-lysine can also be used15-24. Tumors are established effectively by a brief exposure of the bladder to a small volume of silver nitrate (5-10 &#956;l, 0.15-1.0 M, ~10 sec) or longer contact with poly-L-lysine (100 &#956;l of 0.1 mg/ml for 20 min) (Table 1). Here we describe a method that uses trypsin to facilitate implantation of MB49 cells.
In an attempt to improve therapeutic approaches for bladder cancer, gene therapy has garnered significant attention. From a clinical point of view, bladder cancer is an ideal target for gene therapy due to easy accessibility of the organ and the ability to locally deliver the payload. Viral vectors that have been explored for bladder cancer gene therapy include an oncolytic herpes simplex virus25, retrovirus26, canarypox virus27, vaccinia virus, AAV, and adenovirus28. In the second part of our protocol, we describe a method for viral delivery that is virtually identical to instillation of the tumor cells. Of interest in our lab is the development of novel approaches to gene delivery, which we assess via bioluminescence using an adenoviral vector that expresses a luciferase transgene. However, the methodology of bladder catheterization can be used for delivery of various agents and therefore has broad applicability.

<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
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			<td style="height:25px;">
			Name of reagent
			</td>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			Company
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:25px;">
			Catalog number
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:25px;">
			Comments
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:40px;">
			6-8 week old female mice
			</td>
			<td style="height:40px;">
			Jackson Laboratories
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:40px;">
			Strain Name: C57BL/6J
			Stock Number: 000664
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:40px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			Trypsin*
			</td>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			MediaTech
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:25px;">
			MT25-053-CI
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:25px;">
			Obtained through Fisher
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			DMEM*
			</td>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			MediaTech
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:25px;">
			MT10-017-CV
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:25px;">
			Obtained through Fisher
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			FBS
			</td>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			Hyclone
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:25px;">
			SH30071.03
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:25px;">
			Heat-inactivated
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			T25 flasks*
			</td>
			<td style="height:25px;">
			Corning Costar
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:25px;">
			Corning No.:3056
			Fisher: 07-200-63
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:25px;">
			Obtained through Fisher
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:42px;">
			MB49 cells
			</td>
			<td style="height:42px;">
			N/A
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:42px;">
			N/A
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:42px;">
			Obtained from Dr. Boehle (see reference11)
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:46px;">
			Puralube Vet Ointment*
			</td>
			<td style="height:46px;">
			Pharmaderm
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:46px;">
			Henry Schein Company
			No.:036090-6050059
			Fisher: NC9676869
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:46px;">
			Obtained through Fisher
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:53px;">
			Depilatory cream: Veet
			</td>
			<td style="height:53px;">
			local pharmacy
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:53px;">
			
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:53px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:53px;">
			Lubricant:
			K-Y Jelly
			</td>
			<td style="height:53px;">
			local pharmacy
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:53px;">
			
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:53px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:72px;">
			Catheters*
			</td>
			<td style="height:72px;">
			Exel International
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:72px;">
			Exel International
			No.:26751;
			Fisher: 14-841-21
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:72px;">
			Obtained through Fisher
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:45px;">
			Isoflurane
			</td>
			<td style="height:45px;">
			Terrell
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:45px;">
			NDC 66794-011-25
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:45px;">
			Obtained though hospital pharmacy
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:52px;">
			1 ml slip tip TB syringes
			</td>
			<td style="height:52px;">
			Becton Dickinson
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:52px;">
			BD309659
			Fisher:14-823-434
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:52px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:27px;">
			D-Luciferin
			</td>
			<td style="height:27px;">
			Gold Biotechnologies
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:27px;">
			L-123-1
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:27px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:76px;">
			Ad-CMV-Luc
			</td>
			<td style="height:76px;">
			VectorBiolabs
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:76px;">
			1000; Request large scale amplification and CsCl purification for in vivo use
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:76px;">
			Infectious agent that requires BSL2 containment
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="height:76px;">
			Steady-Glo&#160;Luciferase Assay System
			</td>
			<td style="height:76px;">
			Promega
			</td>
			<td style="width:188px;height:76px;">
			E2510 (10 ml), E2520 (100 ml), or E2550 (10 x 100 ml)
			</td>
			<td style="width:193px;height:76px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
*available through multiple vendors



EQUIPMENT
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			Material name
			</td>
			<td style="width:114px;">
			Company
			</td>
			<td style="width:330px;">
			Catalog number
			</td>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			Comments
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			Anesthesia system
			</td>
			<td style="width:114px;">
			E-Z Systems, Euthanex Corporation
			</td>
			<td style="width:330px;">
			Anesthesia system: EZ7000
			5-port mouse rebreathing device: EZ109
			</td>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			Obtained through Fisher
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			Xenogen IVIS 200
			</td>
			<td style="width:114px;">
			Caliper Life Sciences
			</td>
			<td style="width:330px;">
			http://www.caliperls.com/products/preclinical-imaging/ivis-imaging-system-200-series.htm
			</td>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			FLUOstar Optima
			</td>
			<td style="width:114px;">
			BMG Labtech
			</td>
			<td style="width:330px;">
			http://www.bmglabtech.com/products/microplate-reader/instruments.cfm?product_id=2
			</td>
			<td style="width:97px;">
			
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

an orthotopic bladder cancer model for gene delivery studies

Bladder cancer is the second most common cancer of the urogenital tract and novel therapeutic approaches that can reduce recurrence and progression are needed. The tumor microenvironment can significantly influence tumor development and therapy response. It is therefore often desirable to grow tumor cells in the organ from which they originated. This protocol describes an orthotopic model of bladder cancer, in which MB49 murine bladder carcinoma cells are instilled into the bladder via catheterization. Successful tumor cell implantation in this model requires disruption of the protective glycosaminoglycan layer, which can be accomplished by physical or chemical means. In our protocol the bladder is treated with trypsin prior to cell instillation. Catheterization of the bladder can also be used to deliver therapeutics once the tumors are established. This protocol describes the delivery of an adenoviral construct that expresses a luciferase reporter gene. While our protocol has been optimized for short-term studies and focuses on gene delivery, the methodology of mouse bladder catheterization has broad applications.

Hematuria is observed in nearly all mice within 8 days after implantation of 200,000 MB49 cells. As shown in Figure 1, bladder weight more than doubles from 34.7&#177;3.3 mg (range 31-37 mg, n=4) in nontumor bearing mice to 87.5&#177;19.2 mg (range 77-120 mg, n=10) in mice that have been implanted with MB49 cells. In terms of gene delivery, we found that imaging mice 24 hr after viral instillation yields a stronger signal than after 48 hr (Figure&#160;2). Adenoviral delivery is highly va...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about An Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Model for Gene Delivery Studies at JoVE.com

An Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Model for Gene Delivery Studies

Implantation of cancer cells into the organ of origin can serve as a useful preclinical model to evaluate novel therapies. MB49 bladder carcinoma cells can be grown within the bladder following intravesical instillation. This protocol demonstrates catheterization of the mouse bladder for the purpose of tumor implantation and adenoviral delivery.

Bladder cancer is the second most common cancer of the urogenital tract and novel therapeutic approaches that can reduce recurrence and progression are ...

an-orthotopic-bladder-cancer-model-for-gene-delivery-studies

Research

JoVE Journal

Medicine

12.4K Views.  Medical University of South Carolina. Implantation of cancer cells into the organ of origin can serve as a useful preclinical model to evaluate novel therapies. MB49 bladder carcinoma cells can be grown within the bladder following intravesical instillation. This protocol demonstrates catheterization of the mouse bladder for the purpose of tumor implantation and adenoviral delivery.

Video: An Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Model for Gene Delivery Studies

Ex Vivo Culture of Patient Tissue &amp; Examination of Gene Delivery

This video describes the use of patient tissue as an ex vivo model for the study of gene delivery. Fresh patient tissue obtained at the time of surgery is sliced and maintained in culture. The ex vivo model system allows for the physical delivery of genes into intact patient tissue and gene expression is analysed by bioluminescence imaging using the IVIS detection system. The bioluminescent detection system demonstrates rapid and accurate quantification of gene expression within individual slices without the need for tissue sacrifice. This slice tissue culture system may be used in a variety of tissue types including normal and malignant tissue and allows us to study the effects of the heterogeneous nature of intact tissue and the high degree of variability between individual patients. This model system could be used in certain situations as an alternative to animal models and as a complementary preclinical mode prior to entering clinical trial.

Ex Vivo Culture of Patient Tissue & Examination of Gene Delivery

This article describes the culture of patient tissue slices for gene delivery studies and subsequent analysis of gene expression using IVIS bioluminescence imaging.

This video describes the use of patient tissue as an ex vivo model for the study of gene delivery.  Fresh patient tissue obtained at the time of surgery ...

An Orthotopic Model of Murine Bladder Cancer

In this straightforward procedure, bladder tumors are established in female C57 mice through the use of catheterization, local cauterization, and subsequent cell adhesion. After their bladders are transurethrally catheterized and drained, animals are again catheterized to permit insertion of a platinum wire into bladders without damaging the urethra or bladder. The catheters are made of Teflon to serve as an insulator for the wire, which will conduct electrical current into the bladder to create a burn injury. An electrocautery unit is used to deliver 2.5W to the exposed end of the wire, burning away extracellular layers and providing attachment sites for carcinoma cells that are delivered in suspension to the bladder through a subsequent catheterization. Cells remain in the bladder for 90 minutes, after which the catheters are removed and the bladders allowed to drain naturally. The development of tumor is monitored via ultrasound. Specific attention is paid to the catheterization technique in the accompanying video.

Bladder tumors are established in female mice in a minimally invasive fashion through catheterization, local cauterization, and subsequent adhesion of carcinoma cells to the burn sites.

In this straightforward procedure, bladder tumors are established in female C57 mice through the use of catheterization, local cauterization, and ...

Multi-photon Imaging of Tumor Cell Invasion in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Loco-regional invasion of head and neck cancer is linked to metastatic risk and presents a difficult challenge in designing and implementing patient management strategies. Orthotopic mouse models of oral cancer have been developed to facilitate the study of factors that impact invasion and serve as model system for evaluating anti-tumor therapeutics. In these systems, visualization of disseminated tumor cells within oral cavity tissues has typically been conducted by either conventional histology or with in vivo bioluminescent methods. A primary drawback of these techniques is the inherent inability to accurately visualize and quantify early tumor cell invasion arising from the primary site in three dimensions. Here we describe a protocol that combines an established model for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (SCOT) with two-photon imaging to allow multi-vectorial visualization of lingual tumor spread. The OSC-19 head and neck tumor cell line was stably engineered to express the F-actin binding peptide LifeAct fused to the mCherry fluorescent protein (LifeAct-mCherry). Fox1nu/nu mice injected with these cells reliably form tumors that allow the tongue to be visualized by ex-vivo application of two-photon microscopy. This technique allows for the orthotopic visualization of the tumor mass and locally invading cells in excised tongues without disruption of the regional tumor microenvironment. In addition, this system allows for the quantification of tumor cell invasion by calculating distances that invaded cells move from the primary tumor site. Overall this procedure provides an enhanced model system for analyzing factors that contribute to SCOT invasion and therapeutic treatments tailored to prevent local invasion and distant metastatic spread. This method also has the potential to be ultimately combined with other imaging modalities in an in vivo setting.

A comprehensive overview of the techniques involved in generating a mouse model of oral cancer and quantitative monitoring of tumor invasion within the tongue through multi-photon microscopy of labeled cells is presented. This system can serve as a useful platform for the molecular assessment and drug efficacy of anti-invasive compounds.

Loco-regional invasion of head and neck cancer is linked to metastatic risk and presents a difficult challenge in designing and implementing patient ...

Combination Radiotherapy in an Orthotopic Mouse Brain Tumor Model

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are the most common and aggressive adult primary brain tumors1. In recent years there has been substantial progress in the understanding of the mechanics of tumor invasion, and direct intracerebral inoculation of tumor provides the opportunity of observing the invasive process in a physiologically appropriate environment2. As far as human brain tumors are concerned, the orthotopic models currently available are established either by stereotaxic injection of cell suspensions or implantation of a solid piece of tumor through a complicated craniotomy procedure3. In our technique we harvest cells from tissue culture to create a cell suspension used to implant directly into the brain. The duration of the surgery is approximately 30 minutes, and as the mouse needs to be in a constant surgical plane, an injectable anesthetic is used. The mouse is placed in a stereotaxic jig made by Stoetling (figure 1). After the surgical area is cleaned and prepared, an incision is made; and the bregma is located to determine the location of the craniotomy. The location of the craniotomy is 2 mm to the right and 1 mm rostral to the bregma. The depth is 3 mm from the surface of the skull, and cells are injected at a rate of 2 &mu;l every 2 minutes. The skin is sutured with 5-0 PDS, and the mouse is allowed to wake up on a heating pad. From our experience, depending on the cell line, treatment can take place from 7-10 days after surgery. Drug delivery is dependent on the drug composition. For radiation treatment the mice are anesthetized, and put into a custom made jig. Lead covers the mouse's body and exposes only the brain of the mouse. The study of tumorigenesis and the evaluation of new therapies for GBM require accurate and reproducible brain tumor animal models. Thus we use this orthotopic brain model to study the interaction of the microenvironment of the brain and the tumor, to test the effectiveness of different therapeutic agents with and without radiation.

The purpose of this article is to describe the use of an orthotopic glioblastoma model for chemoradiation studies. This article will go though cell processing, implanting, and radiotherapy of the mouse using an intracranial model.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are the most common and aggressive adult primary brain tumors1. In recent years there has been substantial progress in the ...

An Orthotopic Bladder Tumor Model and the Evaluation of Intravesical saRNA Treatment

We present a novel method for treating bladder cancer with intravesically delivered small activating RNA (saRNA) in an orthotopic xenograft mouse bladder tumor model. The mouse model is established by urethral catheterization under inhaled general anesthetic. Chemical burn is then introduced to the bladder mucosa using intravesical silver nitrate solution to disrupt the bladder glycosaminoglycan layer and allows cells to attach. Following several washes with sterile water, human bladder cancer KU-7-luc2-GFP cells are instilled through the catheter into the bladder to dwell for 2 hours. Subsequent growth of bladder tumors is confirmed and monitored by in vivo bladder ultrasound and bioluminescent imaging. The tumors are then treated intravesically with saRNA formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Tumor growth is monitored with ultrasound and bioluminescence. All steps of this procedure are demonstrated in the accompanying video.

Establishing an orthotopic bladder tumor model to evaluate antitumor effects of intravesically delivered saRNA and monitoring tumor growth by ultrasound and bioluminescent imaging.

We present a novel method for treating bladder cancer with intravesically delivered small activating RNA (saRNA) in an orthotopic xenograft mouse bladder ...

An Orthotopic Mouse Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma

Several types of animal models of human thyroid carcinomas have been established, including subcutaneous xenograft and orthotopic implantation of cancer cells into immunodeficient mice. Subcutaneous xenograft models have been valuable for preclinical screening and evaluation of new therapeutic treatments. There are a number of advantages to using a subcutaneous model; 1) rapid, 2) reproducible, and 3) tumor establishment, growth, and response to therapeutic agents may be monitored by visual inspection. However, substantial evidence has shed light on the short-comings of subcutaneous xenograft models1-3. For instance, medicinal treatments demonstrating curative properties in subcutaneous xenograft models often have no notable impact on the human disease. The microenvironment of the site of xenographic transplantation or injection lies at the heart of this dissimilarity.
Orthotopic tumor xenograft models provide a more biologically relevant context in which to study the disease. The advantages of implanting diseased cells or tissue into their anatomical origin equivalent within a host animal includes a suitable site for tumor-host interactions, development of disease-related metastases and the ability to examine site-specific influence on investigational therapeutic remedies. Therefore, orthotopic xenograft models harbor far more clinical value because they closely reproduce human disease. For these reasons, a number of groups have taken advantage of an orthotopic thyroid cancer model as a research tool4-7.
Here, we describe an approach that establishes an orthotopic model for the study of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC), which is highly invasive, resists treatment, and is virtually fatal in all diagnosed patients. Cultured ATC cells are prepared as a dissociated cellular suspension in a solution containing a basement membrane matrix. A small volume is slowly injected into the right thyroid gland. Overall appearance and health of the mice are monitored to ensure minimal post-operative complications and to gauge pathological penetrance of the cancer. Mice are sacrificed at 4 weeks, and tissue is collected for histological analysis. Animals may be taken at later time-points to examine more advance progression of the disease. Production of this orthotopic mouse model establishes a platform that accomplishes two objectives: 1) further our understanding of ATC pathology, and 2) screen current and future therapeutic agents for efficacy in combating ATC.

Generation of an orthotopic mouse model of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is described here. This technique employs surgical placement of human anaplastic thyroid cancer cells into the thyroid of immunodeficient mice, thus creating a more clinically relevant setting to study disease progression as well as screen innovative therapeutic interventions.

Several types of animal models of human thyroid carcinomas have been established, including subcutaneous xenograft and orthotopic implantation of cancer ...

Bioluminescent Orthotopic Model of Pancreatic Cancer Progression

Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor five-year survival rate of 4-6%. New therapeutic options are critically needed and depend on improved understanding of pancreatic cancer biology. To better understand the interaction of cancer cells with the pancreatic microenvironment, we demonstrate an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer that permits non-invasive monitoring of cancer progression. Luciferase-tagged pancreatic cancer cells are resuspended in Matrigel and delivered into the pancreatic tail during laparotomy. Matrigel solidifies at body temperature to prevent leakage of cancer cells during injection. Primary tumor growth and metastasis to distant organs are monitored following injection of the luciferase substrate luciferin, using in vivo imaging of bioluminescence emission from the cancer cells. In vivo imaging also may be used to track primary tumor recurrence after resection. This orthotopic model is suited to both syngeneic and xenograft models and may be used in pre-clinical trials to investigate the impact of novel anti-cancer therapeutics on the growth of the primary pancreatic tumor and metastasis.

Improved understanding of pancreatic cancer biology is critically needed to enable the development of better therapeutic options to treat pancreatic cancer. To address this need, we demonstrate an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer that permits non-invasive monitoring of cancer progression using in vivo bioluminescence imaging.

Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor five-year survival rate of 4-6%.  New therapeutic options are critically needed and depend on improved ...

An Orthotopic Murine Model of Human Prostate Cancer Metastasis

Our laboratory has developed a novel orthotopic implantation model of human prostate cancer (PCa). As PCa death is not due to the primary tumor, but rather the formation of distinct metastasis, the ability to effectively model this progression pre-clinically is of high value. In this model, cells are directly implanted into the ventral lobe of the prostate in Balb/c athymic mice, and allowed to progress for 4-6 weeks. At experiment termination, several distinct endpoints can be measured, such as size and molecular characterization of the primary tumor, the presence and quantification of circulating tumor cells in the blood and bone marrow, and formation of metastasis to the lung. In addition to a variety of endpoints, this model provides a picture of a cells ability to invade and escape the primary organ, enter and survive in the circulatory system, and implant and grow in a secondary site. This model has been used effectively to measure metastatic response to both changes in protein expression as well as to response to small molecule therapeutics, in a short turnaround time.

This orthotopic model of human prostate cancer allows for quantification of tumor size, circulating tumor cells, and formation of distinct metastasis to the lung. As cells must escape the primary organ, enter the blood stream, and implant into a secondary site, this model effectively recapitulates the scenario in humans.

Our laboratory has developed a novel orthotopic implantation model of  human prostate cancer (PCa). As PCa death is not due to the primary tumor, but  ...

Minimally Invasive Establishment of Murine Orthotopic Bladder Xenografts

Orthotopic bladder cancer xenografts are the gold standard to study molecular cellular manipulations and new therapeutic agents&#160;in vivo. Suitable cell lines are inoculated either by intravesical instillation (model of nonmuscle invasive growth) or intramural injection into the bladder wall (model of invasive growth). Both procedures are complex and highly time-consuming. Additionally, the superficial model has its shortcomings due to the lack of cell lines that are tumorigenic following instillation. Intramural injection, on the other hand, is marred by the invasiveness of the procedure and the associated morbidity for the host mouse.
With these shortcomings in mind, we modified previous methods to develop a minimally invasive approach for creating orthotopic bladder cancer xenografts. Using ultrasound guidance we have successfully performed percutaneous inoculation of the bladder cancer cell lines UM-UC1, UM-UC3 and UM-UC13 into 50 athymic nude. We have been able to demonstrate that this approach is time efficient, precise and safe. With this technique, initially a space is created under the bladder mucosa with PBS, and tumor cells are then injected into this space in a second step. Tumor growth is monitored at regular intervals with bioluminescence imaging and ultrasound. The average tumor volumes increased steadily in in all but one of our 50 mice over the study period.
In our institution, this novel approach, which allows bladder cancer xenograft inoculation in a minimally-invasive, rapid and highly precise way, has replaced the traditional model.

The established technique to inoculate primary invasive orthotopic bladder cancer xenografts requires laparotomy and mobilization of the bladder. This procedure inflicts significant morbidity on the mice, is technically challenging and time-consuming. We therefore developed a high-precision, percutaneous approach utilizing ultrasound guidance.

Orthotopic bladder cancer xenografts are the gold standard to study molecular cellular manipulations and new therapeutic agents&#160;in vivo. Suitable ...

Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of an Orthotopic Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Model

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has been limitedly used for orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts due to severe respiratory motion artifact in the abdominal area. Orthotopic tumor models offer advantages over subcutaneous ones, because those can reflect the primary tumor microenvironment affecting blood supply, neovascularization, and tumor cell invasion. We have recently established a protocol of DCE-MRI of orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts in mouse models by securing tumors with an orthogonally bent plastic board to prevent motion transfer from the chest region during imaging. The pressure by this board was localized on the abdominal area, and has not resulted in respiratory difficulty of the animals. This article demonstrates the detailed procedure of orthotopic pancreatic tumor modeling using small animals and DCE-MRI of the tumor xenografts. Quantification method of pharmacokinetic parameters in DCE-MRI is also introduced. The procedure described in this article will assist investigators to apply DCE-MRI for orthotopic gastrointestinal cancer mouse models.

The goal of this protocol is to apply dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) for orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts in mice. DCE-MRI is a non-invasive method to analyze microvasculature in a target tissue, and useful to assess vascular response in a tumor following a novel therapy.