Authors thank Jeffrey Sellers to assist orthotopic pancreatic cancer mouse modeling. This work was supported by Research Initiative Pilot Awards from the Department of Radiology at UAB and NIH grants 2P30CA013148 and P50CA101955.

All procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
1. Orthotopic Pancreatic Tumor Mouse Modeling
<ol>
	<li>Culture standard human pancreatic-cancer cell lines in Dulbecco&#8217;s modified Eagle&#8217;s medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Maintain all cultures at 37 &#176;C in humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2.</li>
	<li>Use 8-10 week-old female severe combined immunodeficient&#160;mice. Pl...

<ol>
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Authors do not have any conflicts of interest to declare.

We have introduced the detailed methods of orthotopic pancreatic tumor modeling using immunodeficient mice, DCE-MRI of abdominal tumors in mice, and quantification of its kinetic parameters. In orthotopic pancreatic tumor modeling, care must be taken when inserting a needle into the tail of pancreas. If successful, cells will be transferred to the head of pancreas creating a small bleb. When applying an orthogonally bent plastic board, it is critical to confirm that the tumor is located below the upper end of the board. ...

The overall goal of this method 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 assess microvasculature in a target tissue by monitoring the change of MR contrast over a certain period of time after injection. DCE-MRI has been utilized to diagnose malignant tumors and to assess tumor response to various therapies1-4. Quantitative DCE-MRI has presented high reproducibility5. To quantitate pharmacokinetic parameters of an MR contrast agent in a target tissue, all DCE-MR images acquired at different time points and T1 map obtained before contrast injection must be coregistered6. However, due to respiratory and peristaltic motions in the abdominal area, quantitative DCE-MRI has had limited application for gastrointestinal tumors.
Orthotopic pancreatic tumor models have been utilized to assess pancreatic-tumor response following biological therapies and chemotherapies7,8. Orthotopic tumor models are considered superior to conventional subcutaneous models, since the microenvironment in the original tumor site is reflected and thereby human tumor response to therapy can be more accurately predicted. However, the mouse pancreas is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen, so quantitative DCE-MRI of orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts in mice has not been readily implemented.
We have established a protocol of DCE-MRI of abdominal tumors in mice by fixing the tumors using an orthogonally bent plastic board to prevent motion transfer from the chest region9. The pressure applied by this board was localized on the abdominal area, and has not resulted in respiratory difficulty. An automated image coregistration technique has been validated for DCE-MRI of abdominal organs in a free-breathing mode, but it performs effectively only when the target regions move slowly and regularly10. Respiratory rate of animals is variable during imaging, so physical restraint in the abdominal area will be necessary to retrieve reliable pharmacokinetic parameters in orthotopic pancreatic tumor mouse models. We have successfully quantitated the pharmacokinetic parameters of an MR contrast agent in orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts using the orthogonally bent plastic board in DCE-MRI11-13. Here we present the detailed procedure of orthotopic pancreatic tumor modeling, DCE-MRI of the tumor xenografts in mice, and quantification of pharmacokinetic parameters.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="1275">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:245px;">Name of Material/ Equipment</td>
			<td style="width:199px;">Company</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Catalog Number</td>
			<td style="width:712px;">Comments/Description</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">DMEM</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>11965-118</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Fetal bovine serum</td>
			<td>Harlan Laboratories</td>
			<td>BT-9501</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Betadine</td>
			<td style="width:199px;">Purdue products</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">67618-153-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">5-0 Prolene sutures</td>
			<td style="width:199px;">Ethicon</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">8720H</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">9.4T MR scanner</td>
			<td>Bruker Biospin Corporation</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">BioSpec 94/20 USR</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">Gadoteridol</td>
			<td>Bracco Diagnostics Inc</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">NDC 0270-1111-03</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Micro-polyethelene tube</td>
			<td style="width:199px;">Strategic Applications, Inc</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">#PE-10-25</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">30G blunt tip needle</td>
			<td style="width:199px;">Strategic Applications, Inc</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">89134-194</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Monitoring and gating system</td>
			<td style="width:199px;">SA instruments, Inc</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Model 1030</td>
			<td>This is an MR compatiable system to measure resiratory rating and body temperature of small animals at the same time.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Syringe pump</td>
			<td>New Era Pump Systems, Inc.</td>
			<td>NE-1600</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

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.

Human pancreatic tumor cells grow successfully in mouse pancreas creating a solid tumor. Figure 1 shows photographs of (A) a normal pancreas where tumor cell solution is injected, and (B) a representative mouse bearing an orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenograft (MIA PaCa-2). Tumor is located in the left upper quadrant of abdomen, next to the spleen. It usually takes 2 - 4 weeks for the tumors to grow up to 5 - 7 mm in diameter after cell implantation.
Motion of orthotopic pancre...

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

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.

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has been limitedly used for orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts due to severe ...

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15.0K Views.  University of Alabama at Birmingham. 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. 