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Sample records for cancer mouse models

  1. Mouse Models of Gastric Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayakawa, Yoku; Fox, James G.; Gonda, Tamas; Worthley, Daniel L.; Muthupalani, Sureshkumar; Wang, Timothy C.

    2013-01-01

    Animal models have greatly enriched our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of numerous types of cancers. Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with a poor prognosis and high incidence of drug-resistance. However, most inbred strains of mice have proven resistant to gastric carcinogenesis. To establish useful models which mimic human gastric cancer phenotypes, investigators have utilized animals infected with Helicobacter species and treated with carcinogens. In addition, by exploiting genetic engineering, a variety of transgenic and knockout mouse models of gastric cancer have emerged, such as INS-GAS mice and TFF1 knockout mice. Investigators have used the combination of carcinogens and gene alteration to accelerate gastric cancer development, but rarely do mouse models show an aggressive and metastatic gastric cancer phenotype that could be relevant to preclinical studies, which may require more specific targeting of gastric progenitor cells. Here, we review current gastric carcinogenesis mouse models and provide our future perspectives on this field. PMID:24216700

  2. Esophageal Cancer: Insights from Mouse Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Pier Tétreault

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Esophageal cancer is the eighth leading cause of cancer and the sixth most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite recent advances in the development of surgical techniques in combination with the use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the prognosis for esophageal cancer remains poor. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer are still poorly understood. Hence, understanding these mechanisms is crucial to improving outcomes for patients with esophageal cancer. Mouse models constitute valuable tools for modeling human cancers and for the preclinical testing of therapeutic strategies in a manner not possible in human subjects. Mice are excellent models for studying human cancers because they are similar to humans at the physiological and molecular levels and because they have a shorter gestation time and life cycle. Moreover, a wide range of well-developed technologies for introducing genetic modifications into mice are currently available. In this review, we describe how different mouse models are used to study esophageal cancer.

  3. The Mouse Tumor Biology Database: A Comprehensive Resource for Mouse Models of Human Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupke, Debra M; Begley, Dale A; Sundberg, John P; Richardson, Joel E; Neuhauser, Steven B; Bult, Carol J

    2017-11-01

    Research using laboratory mice has led to fundamental insights into the molecular genetic processes that govern cancer initiation, progression, and treatment response. Although thousands of scientific articles have been published about mouse models of human cancer, collating information and data for a specific model is hampered by the fact that many authors do not adhere to existing annotation standards when describing models. The interpretation of experimental results in mouse models can also be confounded when researchers do not factor in the effect of genetic background on tumor biology. The Mouse Tumor Biology (MTB) database is an expertly curated, comprehensive compendium of mouse models of human cancer. Through the enforcement of nomenclature and related annotation standards, MTB supports aggregation of data about a cancer model from diverse sources and assessment of how genetic background of a mouse strain influences the biological properties of a specific tumor type and model utility. Cancer Res; 77(21); e67-70. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

  4. Mouse models of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shakur Mohibi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Despite advances in genetic and biochemical analyses, the incidence of breast cancer and its associated mortality remain very high. About 60 - 70% of breast cancers are Estrogen Receptor alpha (ER-α positive and are dependent on estrogen for growth. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs have therefore provided an effective targeted therapy to treat ER-α positive breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, development of resistance to endocrine therapy is frequent and leads to cancer recurrence. Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in the development of ER-α positive tumors and their resistance to ER antagonists is currently limited due to lack of experimental models of ER-α positive breast cancer. In most mouse models of breast cancer, the tumors that form are typically ER-negative and independent of estrogen for their growth. However, in recent years more attention has been given to develop mouse models that develop different subtypes of breast cancers, including ER-positive tumors. In this review, we discuss the currently available mouse models that develop ER-α positive mammary tumors and their potential use to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of ER-α positive breast cancer development and endocrine resistance.

  5. A Mouse Model for Human Anal Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stelzer, Marie K.; Pitot, Henry C.; Liem, Amy; Schweizer, Johannes; Mahoney, Charles; Lambert, Paul F.

    2010-01-01

    Human anal cancers are associated with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) that cause other anogenital cancers and head and neck cancers. As with other cancers, HPV16 is the most common high-risk HPV in anal cancers. We describe the generation and characterization of a mouse model for human anal cancer. This model makes use of K14E6 and K14E7 transgenic mice in which the HPV16 E6 and E7 genes are directed in their expression to stratified squamous epithelia. HPV16 E6 and E7 possess oncogenic properties including but not limited to their capacity to inactivate the cellular tumor suppressors p53 and pRb, respectively. Both E6 and E7 were found to be functionally expressed in the anal epithelia of K14E6/K14E7 transgenic mice. To assess the susceptibility of these mice to anal cancer, mice were treated topically with dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), a chemical carcinogen that is known to induce squamous cell carcinomas in other sites. Nearly 50% of DMBA-treated HPV16 E6/E7 transgenic mice showed overt signs of tumors; whereas, none of the like treated non-transgenic mice showed tumors. Histopathological analyses confirmed that the HPV16 transgenic mice were increased in their susceptibility to anal cancers and precancerous lesions. Biomarker analyses demonstrated that these mouse anal cancers exhibit properties that are similar to those observed in HPV-positive precursors to human anal cancer. This is the first mouse model for investigating the contributions of viral and cellular factors in anal carcinogenesis, and should provide a platform for assessing new therapeutic modalities for treating and/or preventing this type of cancer. PMID:20947489

  6. Mouse models for gastric cancer: Matching models to biological questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poh, Ashleigh R; O'Donoghue, Robert J J

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide. This is in part due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease, which often results in late‐stage diagnosis, at which point there are limited treatment options. Even when treated successfully, gastric cancer patients have a high risk of tumor recurrence and acquired drug resistance. It is vital to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying gastric cancer pathogenesis to facilitate the design of new‐targeted therapies that may improve patient survival. A number of chemically and genetically engineered mouse models of gastric cancer have provided significant insight into the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to disease onset and progression. This review outlines the strengths and limitations of current mouse models of gastric cancer and their relevance to the pre‐clinical development of new therapeutics. PMID:26809278

  7. Regulatory Forum commentary: alternative mouse models for future cancer risk assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Daniel; Sistare, Frank D; Nambiar, Prashant R; Turner, Oliver C; Radi, Zaher; Bower, Nancy

    2014-07-01

    International regulatory and pharmaceutical industry scientists are discussing revision of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) S1 guidance on rodent carcinogenicity assessment of small molecule pharmaceuticals. A weight-of-evidence approach is proposed to determine the need for rodent carcinogenicity studies. For compounds with high human cancer risk, the product may be labeled appropriately without conducting rodent carcinogenicity studies. For compounds with minimal cancer risk, only a 6-month transgenic mouse study (rasH2 mouse or p53+/- mouse) or a 2-year mouse study would be needed. If rodent carcinogenicity testing may add significant value to cancer risk assessment, a 2-year rat study and either a 6-month transgenic mouse or a 2-year mouse study is appropriate. In many cases, therefore, one rodent carcinogenicity study could be sufficient. The rasH2 model predicts neoplastic findings relevant to human cancer risk assessment as well as 2-year rodent models, produces fewer irrelevant neoplastic outcomes, and often will be preferable to a 2-year rodent study. Before revising ICH S1 guidance, a prospective evaluation will be conducted to test the proposed weight-of-evidence approach. This evaluation offers an opportunity for a secondary analysis comparing the value of alternative mouse models and 2-year rodent studies in the proposed ICH S1 weight-of-evidence approach for human cancer risk assessment. © 2014 by The Author(s).

  8. Obesity-Linked Mouse Models of Liver Cancer | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimmy Stauffer, Ph.D., and colleagues working with Robert  Wiltrout, Ph.D., in CCR’s Cancer and Inflammation Program, along with collaborators in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, have developed a novel mouse model that demonstrates how fat-producing phenotypes can influence the development of hepatic cancer.   The team recently reported their findings in Cancer Research.

  9. Taltirelin alleviates fatigue-like behavior in mouse models of cancer-related fatigue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dougherty, John P; Wolff, Brian S; Cullen, Mary J; Saligan, Leorey N; Gershengorn, Marvin C

    2017-10-01

    Fatigue affects most cancer patients and has numerous potential causes, including cancer itself and cancer treatment. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is not relieved by rest, can decrease quality of life, and has no FDA-approved therapy. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) has been proposed as a potential novel treatment for CRF, but its efficacy against CRF remains largely untested. Thus, we tested the TRH analog, taltirelin (TAL), in mouse models of CRF. To model fatigue, we used a mouse model of chemotherapy, a mouse model of radiation therapy, and mice bearing colon 26 carcinoma tumors. We used the treadmill fatigue test to assess fatigue-like behavior after treatment with TAL. Additionally, we used wild-type and TRH receptor knockout mice to determine which TRH receptor was necessary for the actions of TAL. Tumor-bearing mice displayed muscle wasting and all models caused fatigue-like behavior, with mice running a shorter distance in the treadmill fatigue test than controls. TAL reversed fatigue-like behavior in all three models and the mouse TRH 1 receptor was necessary for the effects of TAL. These data suggest that TAL may be useful in alleviating fatigue in all cancer patients and provide further support for evaluating TAL as a potential therapy for CRF in humans. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Hypothalamic food intake regulation in a cancer-cachectic mouse model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dwarkasing, J.T.; Dijk, van M.; Dijk, F.J.; Boekschoten, M.V.; Faber, J.; Argiles, J.M.; Laviano, A.; Müller, M.R.; Witkamp, R.F.; Norren, van K.

    2014-01-01

    Background Appetite is frequently affected in cancer patients leading to anorexia and consequently insufficient food intake. In this study, we report on hypothalamic gene expression profile of a cancer-cachectic mouse model with increased food intake. In this model, mice bearing C26 tumour have an

  11. Mouse models in liver cancer research: A review of current literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leenders, Martijn WH; Nijkamp, Maarten W; Rinkes, Inne HM Borel

    2008-01-01

    Primary liver cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. Due to differences in prevalence of etiological factors the incidence of primary liver cancer varies among the world, with a peak in East-Asia. As this disease is still lethal in most of the cases, research has to be done to improve our understanding of the disease, offering insights for possible treatment options. For this purpose, animal models are widely used, especially mouse models. In this review, we describe the different types of mouse models used in liver cancer research, with emphasis on genetically engineered mice used in this field. We focus on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as this is by far the most common type of primary liver cancer, accounting for 70%-85% of cases. PMID:19058325

  12. Histologic scoring of gastritis and gastric cancer in mouse models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Arlin B

    2012-01-01

    Histopathology is a defining endpoint in mouse models of experimental gastritis and gastric adenocarcinoma. Presented here is an overview of the histology of gastritis and gastric cancer in mice experimentally infected with Helicobacter pylori or H. felis. A modular histopathologic scoring scheme is provided that incorporates relevant disease-associated changes. Whereas the guide uses Helicobacter infection as the prototype challenge, features may be applied to chemical and genetically engineered mouse models of stomach cancer as well. Specific criteria included in the combined gastric histologic activity index (HAI) include inflammation, epithelial defects, oxyntic atrophy, hyperplasia, pseudopyloric metaplasia, and dysplasia or neoplasia. Representative photomicrographs accompany descriptions for each lesion grade. Differentiation of genuine tumor invasion from pseudoinvasion is highlighted. A brief comparison of normal rodent versus human stomach anatomy and physiology is accompanied by an introduction to mouse-specific lesions including mucous metaplasia and eosinophilic droplets (hyalinosis). In conjunction with qualified pathology support, this guide is intended to assist research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and medical professionals from affiliated disciplines in the interpretation and histologic grading of chronic gastritis and gastric carcinoma in mouse models.

  13. Mouse Models for Studying Oral Cancer: Impact in the Era of Cancer Immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, J J; Young, C D; Zhou, H M; Wang, X J

    2018-04-01

    Model systems for oral cancer research have progressed from tumor epithelial cell cultures to in vivo systems that mimic oral cancer genetics, pathological characteristics, and tumor-stroma interactions of oral cancer patients. In the era of cancer immunotherapy, it is imperative to use model systems to test oral cancer prevention and therapeutic interventions in the presence of an immune system and to discover mechanisms of stromal contributions to oral cancer carcinogenesis. Here, we review in vivo mouse model systems commonly used for studying oral cancer and discuss the impact these models are having in advancing basic mechanisms, chemoprevention, and therapeutic intervention of oral cancer while highlighting recent discoveries concerning the role of immune cells in oral cancer. Improvements to in vivo model systems that highly recapitulate human oral cancer hold the key to identifying features of oral cancer initiation, progression, and invasion as well as molecular and cellular targets for prevention, therapeutic response, and immunotherapy development.

  14. No Effect of NGAL/lipocalin-2 on Aggressiveness of Cancer in the MMTV-PyMT/FVB/N Mouse Model for Breast Cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cramer, Elisabeth P; Glenthøj, Andreas; Häger, Mattias

    2012-01-01

    tumor volume, or to the number of metastases. Histology and gelatinolytic activity of the mammary tumors did not differ between wild-type and lipocalin-2-deficient mice. We conclude that NGAL/lipocalin-2 does not invariably affect the aggressiveness of breast cancers as assessed in mouse models, thus......NGAL/lipocalin-2 is a siderophore-binding protein that is highly expressed in several cancers. It is suggested to confer a proliferative advantage to cancer cells. Its expression has been correlated with aggressiveness of breast cancer as determined both in patients and in mouse breast cancer...... models. This was recently confirmed in two mouse models of spontaneous breast cancer in wild-type and lipocalin-2-deficient mice. We used a similar strategy using a different mouse strain. Lipocalin-2-deficient mice and mouse mammary tumor virus-polyoma middle T antigen (MMTV-PyMT) mice were crossed...

  15. Recent technological advances in using mouse models to study ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    House, Carrie Danielle; Hernandez, Lidia; Annunziata, Christina Messineo

    2014-01-01

    Serous epithelial ovarian cancer (SEOC) is the most lethal gynecological cancer in the United States with disease recurrence being the major cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of SEOC, the survival rate for women with this disease has remained relatively unchanged in the last two decades. Preclinical mouse models of ovarian cancer, including xenograft, syngeneic, and genetically engineered mice, have been developed to provide a mechanism for studying the development and progression of SEOC. Such models strive to increase our understanding of the etiology and dissemination of ovarian cancer in order to overcome barriers to early detection and resistance to standard chemotherapy. Although there is not a single model that is most suitable for studying ovarian cancer, improvements have led to current models that more closely mimic human disease in their genotype and phenotype. Other advances in the field, such as live animal imaging techniques, allow effective monitoring of the microenvironment and therapeutic efficacy. New and improved preclinical mouse models, combined with technological advances to study such models, will undoubtedly render success of future human clinical trials for patients with SEOC.

  16. Development of A Mouse Model of Menopausal Ovarian Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth R. Smith

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Despite significant understanding of the genetic mutations involved in ovarian epithelial cancer and advances in genomic approaches for expression and mutation profiling of tumor tissues, several key questions in ovarian cancer biology remain enigmatic: the mechanism for the well-established impact of reproductive factors on ovarian cancer risk remains obscure; questions of the cell of origin of ovarian cancer continue to be debated; and the precursor lesion, sequence, or events in progression remain to be defined. Suitable mouse models should complement the analysis of human tumor tissues and may provide clues to these questions currently perplexing ovarian cancer biology.A potentially useful model is the germ cell-deficient Wv (white spotting variant mutant mouse line, which may be used to study the impact of menopausal physiology on the increased risk of ovarian cancer. The Wv mice harbor a point mutation in c-Kit that reduces the receptor tyrosine kinase activity to about 1-5% (it is not a null mutation. Homozygous Wv mutant females have a reduced ovarian germ cell reservoir at birth and the follicles are rapidly depleted upon reaching reproductive maturity, but other biological phenotypes are minimal and the mice have a normal life span. The loss of ovarian function precipitates changes in hormonal and metabolic activity that model features of menopause in humans. As a consequence of follicle depletion, the Wv ovaries develop ovarian tubular adenomas, a benign epithelial tumor corresponding to surface epithelial invaginations and papillomatosis that mark human ovarian aging. Ongoing work will test the possibility of converting the benign epithelial tubular adenomas into neoplastic tumors by addition of an oncogenic mutation, such as of Tp53, to model the genotype and biology of serous ovarian cancer.Model based on the Wv mice may have the potential to gain biological and etiological insights into ovarian cancer development and prevention.

  17. Hypothalamic food intake regulation in a cancer-cachectic mouse model

    OpenAIRE

    Dwarkasing, Jvalini T.; van Dijk, Miriam; Dijk, Francina J.; Boekschoten, Mark V.; Faber, Joyce; Argilès, Josep M.; Laviano, Alessandro; Müller, Michael; Witkamp, Renger F.; van Norren, Klaske

    2013-01-01

    Background Appetite is frequently affected in cancer patients leading to anorexia and consequently insufficient food intake. In this study, we report on hypothalamic gene expression profile of a cancer-cachectic mouse model with increased food intake. In this model, mice bearing C26 tumour have an increased food intake subsequently to the loss of body weight. We hypothesise that in this model, appetite-regulating systems in the hypothalamus, which apparently fail in anorexia, are still able t...

  18. A preclinical mouse model of invasive lobular breast cancer metastasis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doornebal, Chris W.; Klarenbeek, Sjoerd; Braumuller, Tanya M.; Klijn, Christiaan N.; Ciampricotti, Metamia; Hau, Cheei-Sing; Hollmann, Markus W.; Jonkers, Jos; de Visser, Karin E.

    2013-01-01

    Metastatic disease accounts for more than 90% of cancer-related deaths, but the development of effective antimetastatic agents has been hampered by the paucity of clinically relevant preclinical models of human metastatic disease. Here, we report the development of a mouse model of spontaneous

  19. Hypothalamic gene expression of appetite regulators in a cancer-cachectic mouse model [Dataset 1

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dwarkasing, Jvalini; Dijk, Francina J.; Boekschoten, Mark; Faber, Joyce; Argilès, Josep M.; Lavianio, Alessandro; Muller, Michael; Witkamp, Renger; Norren, van Klaske

    2013-01-01

    Appetite is frequently affected in cancer patients, leading to anorexia and consequently insufficient food intake. In this study, we report on hypothalamic gene expression profile of a cancer cachectic mouse model with increased food intake. In this model, mice bearing C26 colon adenocarcinoma have

  20. Hypothalamic gene expression of appetite regulators in a cancer-cachectic mouse model [Dataset 2

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dwarkasing, Jvalini; Dijk, Francina J.; Boekschoten, Mark; Faber, Joyce; Argilès, Josep M.; Lavianio, Alessandro; Muller, Michael; Witkamp, Renger; Norren, van Klaske

    2013-01-01

    Appetite is frequently affected in cancer patients, leading to anorexia and consequently insufficient food intake. In this study, we report on hypothalamic gene expression profile of a cancer cachectic mouse model with increased food intake. In this model, mice bearing C26 colon adenocarcinoma have

  1. Hybrid liposomes showing enhanced accumulation in tumors as theranostic agents in the orthotopic graft model mouse of colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okumura, Masaki; Ichihara, Hideaki; Matsumoto, Yoko

    2018-11-01

    Hybrid liposomes (HLs) can be prepared by simply sonicating a mixture of vesicular and micellar molecules in a buffer solution. This study aimed to elucidate the therapeutic effects and ability of HLs to detect (diagnosis) cancer in an orthotopic graft mouse model of colorectal cancer with HCT116 cells for the use of HLs as theranostic agents. In the absence of a chemotherapeutic drug, HLs exhibited therapeutic effects by inhibiting the growth of HCT116 colorectal cancer cells in vitro, possibly through an increase in apoptosis. Intravenously administered HLs also caused a remarkable reduction in the relative cecum weight in an orthotopic graft mouse model of colorectal cancer. A decrease in tumor size in the cecal sections was confirmed by histological analysis using HE staining. TUNEL staining indicated an induction of apoptosis in HCT116 cells in the orthotopic graft mouse model of colorectal cancer. For the detection (diagnosis) of colorectal cancer by HLs, the accumulation of HLs encapsulating a fluorescent probe (ICG) was observed in HCT116 cells in the in vivo colorectal cancer model following intravenous administration. These data indicate that HLs can accumulate in tumor cells in the cecum of the orthotopic graft mouse model of colorectal cancer for a prolonged period of time, and inhibit the growth of HCT116 cells.

  2. The landscape of chromosomal aberrations in breast cancer mouse models reveals driver-specific routes to tumorigenesis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ben-David, Uri; Ha, Gavin; Khadka, Prasidda; Jin, Xin; Wong, Bang; Franke, Lude; Golub, Todd R.

    Aneuploidy and copy-number alterations (CNAs) are a hallmark of human cancer. Although genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) are commonly used to model human cancer, their chromosomal landscapes remain underexplored. Here we use gene expression profiles to infer CNAs in 3,108 samples from 45

  3. Hypothalamic gene expression of appetite regulators in a cancer-cachectic mouse model [Dataset 2

    OpenAIRE

    Dwarkasing, Jvalini; Dijk, Francina J.; Boekschoten, Mark; Faber, Joyce; Argilès, Josep M.; Lavianio, Alessandro; Muller, Michael; Witkamp, Renger; Norren, van, Klaske

    2013-01-01

    Appetite is frequently affected in cancer patients, leading to anorexia and consequently insufficient food intake. In this study, we report on hypothalamic gene expression profile of a cancer cachectic mouse model with increased food intake. In this model, mice bearing C26 colon adenocarcinoma have an increased food intake subsequently to the loss of body weight. We hypothesize that in this model, appetite regulating systems in the hypothalamus, which apparently fail in anorexia, are still ab...

  4. Hypothalamic gene expression of appetite regulators in a cancer-cachectic mouse model [Dataset 1

    OpenAIRE

    Dwarkasing, Jvalini; Dijk, Francina J.; Boekschoten, Mark; Faber, Joyce; Argilès, Josep M.; Lavianio, Alessandro; Muller, Michael; Witkamp, Renger; Norren, van, Klaske

    2013-01-01

    Appetite is frequently affected in cancer patients, leading to anorexia and consequently insufficient food intake. In this study, we report on hypothalamic gene expression profile of a cancer cachectic mouse model with increased food intake. In this model, mice bearing C26 colon adenocarcinoma have an increased food intake subsequently to the loss of body weight. We hypothesize that in this model, appetite regulating systems in the hypothalamus, which apparently fail in anorexia, are still ab...

  5. Chemotherapy-Induced Depletion of OCT4-Positive Cancer Stem Cells in a Mouse Model of Malignant Testicular Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy M. Pierpont

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs are among the most responsive solid cancers to conventional chemotherapy. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we developed a mouse TGCT model featuring germ cell-specific Kras activation and Pten inactivation. The resulting mice developed malignant, metastatic TGCTs composed of teratoma and embryonal carcinoma, the latter of which exhibited stem cell characteristics, including expression of the pluripotency factor OCT4. Consistent with epidemiological data linking human testicular cancer risk to in utero exposures, embryonic germ cells were susceptible to malignant transformation, whereas adult germ cells underwent apoptosis in response to the same oncogenic events. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with genotoxic chemotherapy not only prolonged survival and reduced tumor size but also selectively eliminated the OCT4-positive cancer stem cells. We conclude that the chemosensitivity of TGCTs derives from the sensitivity of their cancer stem cells to DNA-damaging chemotherapy. : Using a mouse testicular germ cell tumor model, Pierpont et al. establish that male germ cells are susceptible to malignant transformation during a restricted window of embryonic development. The cancer stem cells of the resulting testicular cancers demonstrate genotoxin hypersensitivity, rendering these malignancies highly responsive to conventional chemotherapy. Keywords: testicular germ cell tumor, TGCT, cancer stem cells, CSCs, chemotherapy, embryonal carcinoma, EC, DNA damage response, DDR

  6. Nucleotide excision repair- and p53-deficient mouse models in cancer research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoogervorst, Esther M. [Laboratory of Toxicology, Pathology and Genetics, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven (Netherlands); Utrecht University, Department of Pathobiology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Steeg, Harry van [Laboratory of Toxicology, Pathology and Genetics, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven (Netherlands); Vries, Annemieke de [Laboratory of Toxicology, Pathology and Genetics, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven (Netherlands)]. E-mail: Annemieke.de.Vries@rivm.nl

    2005-07-01

    Cancer is caused by the loss of controlled cell growth due to mutational (in)activation of critical genes known to be involved in cell cycle regulation. Three main mechanisms are known to be involved in the prevention of cells from becoming cancerous; DNA repair and cell cycle control, important to remove DNA damage before it will be fixed into mutations and apoptosis, resulting in the elimination of cells containing severe DNA damage. Several human syndromes are known to have (partially) deficiencies in these pathways, and are therefore highly cancer prone. Examples are xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) caused by an inborn defect in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway and the Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which is the result of a germ line mutation in the p53 gene. XP patients develop skin cancer on sun exposed areas at a relatively early age, whereas Li-Fraumeni patients spontaneously develop a wide variety of early onset tumors, including sarcomas, leukemia's and mammary gland carcinomas. Several mouse models have been generated to mimic these human syndromes, providing us information about the role of these particular gene defects in the tumorigenesis process. In this review, spontaneous phenotypes of mice deficient for nucleotide excision repair and/or the p53 gene will be described, together with their responses upon exposure to either chemical carcinogens or radiation. Furthermore, possible applications of these and newly generated mouse models for cancer will be given.

  7. Human tissue models in cancer research: looking beyond the mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel J. Jackson

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Mouse models, including patient-derived xenograft mice, are widely used to address questions in cancer research. However, there are documented flaws in these models that can result in the misrepresentation of human tumour biology and limit the suitability of the model for translational research. A coordinated effort to promote the more widespread development and use of ‘non-animal human tissue’ models could provide a clinically relevant platform for many cancer studies, maximising the opportunities presented by human tissue resources such as biobanks. A number of key factors limit the wide adoption of non-animal human tissue models in cancer research, including deficiencies in the infrastructure and the technical tools required to collect, transport, store and maintain human tissue for lab use. Another obstacle is the long-standing cultural reliance on animal models, which can make researchers resistant to change, often because of concerns about historical data compatibility and losing ground in a competitive environment while new approaches are embedded in lab practice. There are a wide range of initiatives that aim to address these issues by facilitating data sharing and promoting collaborations between organisations and researchers who work with human tissue. The importance of coordinating biobanks and introducing quality standards is gaining momentum. There is an exciting opportunity to transform cancer drug discovery by optimising the use of human tissue and reducing the reliance on potentially less predictive animal models.

  8. Human tissue models in cancer research: looking beyond the mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Samuel J; Thomas, Gareth J

    2017-08-01

    Mouse models, including patient-derived xenograft mice, are widely used to address questions in cancer research. However, there are documented flaws in these models that can result in the misrepresentation of human tumour biology and limit the suitability of the model for translational research. A coordinated effort to promote the more widespread development and use of 'non-animal human tissue' models could provide a clinically relevant platform for many cancer studies, maximising the opportunities presented by human tissue resources such as biobanks. A number of key factors limit the wide adoption of non-animal human tissue models in cancer research, including deficiencies in the infrastructure and the technical tools required to collect, transport, store and maintain human tissue for lab use. Another obstacle is the long-standing cultural reliance on animal models, which can make researchers resistant to change, often because of concerns about historical data compatibility and losing ground in a competitive environment while new approaches are embedded in lab practice. There are a wide range of initiatives that aim to address these issues by facilitating data sharing and promoting collaborations between organisations and researchers who work with human tissue. The importance of coordinating biobanks and introducing quality standards is gaining momentum. There is an exciting opportunity to transform cancer drug discovery by optimising the use of human tissue and reducing the reliance on potentially less predictive animal models. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  9. Inhibitory effect of gene combination in a mouse model of colon cancer with liver metastasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DU, Tong; Niu, Hongxin

    2014-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to establish an animal liver metastasis model with human colon cancer and investigate the inhibitory effect of the wild type (WT) p53 gene combined with thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (TK/GCV) and cytosine deaminase/5-fluorocytosine (CD/5-FC) systems on liver metastasis of colon cancer. A nude mouse liver metastasis model with human colon cancer was established via a spleen cultivation method. A total of 32 nude mice were randomly divided into four groups, each group with eight mice. Group 1 mice received splenic injections of SW480 cells (control group), while group 2 mice were injected with SW480/p53 cells in the spleen. Group 3 mice were administered splenic injections of SW480/TK-CD cells, and GCV and 5-FC were injected into the abdominal cavity. Finally, group 4 mice received splenic injections of SW480/p53 cells mixed in equal proportion with SW480/TK-CD cells, as well as GCV and 5-FC injections in the abdominal cavity. These cells described were constructed in our laboratory and other laboratories. The number of liver metastatic tumors, the liver metastasis rate, conventional pathology, electron microscopy and other indicators in the nude mice of each group were compared and observed. The nude mouse liver metastasis model with human colon cancer was successfully established; the liver metastasis rate of the control group was 100%. The results demonstrated that the rate of liver metastasis in the nude mice in each treatment group decreased, as well as the average number of liver metastatic tumors. Furthermore, the effect of the treatment group with genetic combination (group 4) was the most effective, demonstrating that WTp53 had a synergistic effect with TK/GCV and CD/5-FC. Therefore, the present study successfully established a mouse model of liver metastasis with colon cancer by injecting human colon cancer cells in the spleen. Combined gene therapy was shown to have a synergistic effect, which effectively inhibited the

  10. Mouse Models of the Skin: Models to Define Mechanisms of Skin Carcinogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wheeler, D. L.; Verma, A. K.; Denning, M. F.

    2013-01-01

    The multistep model of mouse skin carcinogenesis has facilitated identification of irreversible genetic events of initiation and progression, and epigenetic events of tumor promotion. Mouse skin tumor initiation can be accomplished by a single exposure to a sufficiently small dose of a carcinogen, and this step is rapid and irreversible. However, promotion of skin tumor formation requires a repeated and prolonged exposure to a promoter, and that tumor promotion is reversible. Investigations focused on the mechanisms of mouse carcinogenesis have resulted in the identifications of potential molecular targets of cancer induction and progression useful in planning strategies for human cancer prevention trials. This special issue contains eight papers that focus on mouse models used to study individual proteins expressed in the mouse skin and the role they play in differentiation, tissue homeostasis, skin carcinogenesis, and chemo prevention of skin cancer.

  11. Generation of an inducible colon-specific Cre enzyme mouse line for colon cancer research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tetteh, Paul W.; Kretzschmar, Kai; Begthel, Harry; Van Den Born, Maaike; Korving, Jeroen; Morsink, Folkert; Farin, Henner; Van Es, Johan H.; Offerhaus, G. Johan A; Clevers, Hans

    2016-01-01

    Current mouse models for colorectal cancer often differ significantly from human colon cancer, being largely restricted to the small intestine. Here, we aim to develop a colon-specific inducible mouse model that can faithfully recapitulate human colon cancer initiation and progression. Carbonic

  12. Rational Design of Mouse Models for Cancer Research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landgraf, M.; McGovern, J.A.; Friedl, P.; Hutmacher, D.W.

    2018-01-01

    The laboratory mouse is widely considered as a valid and affordable model organism to study human disease. Attempts to improve the relevance of murine models for the investigation of human pathologies led to the development of various genetically engineered, xenograft and humanized mouse models.

  13. Transgenic mouse models of hormonal mammary carcinogenesis: advantages and limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirma, Nameer B; Tekmal, Rajeshwar R

    2012-09-01

    Mouse models of breast cancer, especially transgenic and knockout mice, have been established as valuable tools in shedding light on factors involved in preneoplastic changes, tumor development and malignant progression. The majority of mouse transgenic models develop estrogen receptor (ER) negative tumors. This is seen as a drawback because the majority of human breast cancers present an ER positive phenotype. On the other hand, several transgenic mouse models have been developed that produce ER positive mammary tumors. These include mice over-expressing aromatase, ERα, PELP-1 and AIB-1. In this review, we will discuss the value of these models as physiologically relevant in vivo systems to understand breast cancer as well as some of the pitfalls involving these models. In all, we argue that the use of transgenic models has improved our understanding of the molecular aspects and biology of breast cancer. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Defining the role of polyamines in colon carcinogenesis using mouse models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia A Ignatenko

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Genetics and diet are both considered important risk determinants for colorectal cancer, a leading cause of death in the US and worldwide. Genetically engineered mouse (GEM models have made a significant contribution to the characterization of colorectal cancer risk factors. Reliable, reproducible, and clinically relevant animal models help in the identification of the molecular events associated with disease progression and in the development of effictive treatment strategies. This review is focused on the use of mouse models for studying the role of polyamines in colon carcinogenesis. We describe how the available mouse models of colon cancer such as the multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min mice and knockout genetic models facilitate understanding of the role of polyamines in colon carcinogenesis and help in the development of a rational strategy for colon cancer chemoprevention.

  15. MUC1 selectively targets human pancreatic cancer in orthotopic nude mouse models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeong Youp Park

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was to determine whether MUC1 antibody conjugated with a fluorophore could be used to visualize pancreatic cancer. Anti-MUC1 (CT2 antibody was conjugated with 550 nm or 650 nm fluorophores. Nude mouse were used to make subcutaneous and orthotopic models of pancreatic cancer. Western blot and flow cytometric analysis confirmed the expression of MUC1 in human pancreatic cancer cell lines including BxPC-3 and Panc-1. Immunocytochemistry with fluorophore conjugated anti-MUC1 antibody demonstrated fluorescent areas on the membrane of Panc-1 cancer cells. After injecting the conjugated anti-MUC1 antibodies via the tail vein, subcutaneously transplanted Panc-1 and BxPC-3 tumors emitted strong fluorescent signals. In the subcutaneous tumor models, the fluorescent signal from the conjugated anti-MUC1 antibody was noted around the margin of the tumor and space between the cells. The conjugated anti-MUC1 antibody bound the tumor in orthotopically-transplanted Panc-1 and BxPC-3 models enabling the tumors to be imaged. This study showed that fluorophore conjugated anti-MUC1 antibodies could visualize pancreatic tumors in vitro and in vivo and may help to improve the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

  16. Modeling bladder cancer in mice: opportunities and challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Takashi; Owczarek, Tomasz B.; McKiernan, James M.; Abate-Shen, Cory

    2015-01-01

    The prognosis and treatment of bladder cancer have hardly improved in the last 20 years. Bladder cancer remains a debilitating and often fatal disease, and among the most costly cancers to treat. The generation of informative mouse models has the potential to improve our understanding of bladder cancer progression, as well as impact its diagnosis and treatment. However, relatively few mouse models of bladder cancer have been described and particularly few that develop invasive cancer phenotypes. This review focuses on opportunities for improving the landscape of mouse models of bladder cancer. PMID:25533675

  17. Iodine uptake and prostate cancer in the TRAMP mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olvera-Caltzontzin, Paloma; Delgado, Guadalupe; Aceves, Carmen; Anguiano, Brenda

    2013-11-08

    Iodine supplementation exerts antitumor effects in several types of cancer. Iodide (I⁻) and iodine (I₂) reduce cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells (LNCaP and DU-145). Both chemical species decrease tumor growth in athymic mice xenografted with DU-145 cells. The aim of this study was to analyze the uptake and effects of iodine in a preclinical model of prostate cancer (transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate [TRAMP] mice/SV40-TAG antigens), which develops cancer by 12 wks of age. ¹²⁵I⁻ and ¹²⁵I₂ uptake was analyzed in prostates from wild-type and TRAMP mice of 12 and 24 wks in the presence of perchlorate (inhibitor of the Na⁺/I⁻ symporter [NIS]). NIS expression was quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Mice (6 wks old) were supplemented with 0.125 mg I⁻ plus 0.062 mg I₂/mouse/day for 12 or 24 wks. The weight of the genitourinary tract (GUT), the number of acini with lesions, cell proliferation (levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen [PCNA] by immunohistochemistry), p53 and p21 expression (by qPCR) and apoptosis (relative amount of nucleosomes by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) were evaluated. In both age-groups, normal and tumoral prostates take up both forms of iodine, but only I⁻ uptake was blocked by perchlorate. Iodine supplementation prevented the overexpression of NIS in the TRAMP mice, but had no effect on the GUT weight, cell phenotype, proliferation or apoptosis. In TRAMP mice, iodine increased p53 expression but had no effect on p21 (a p53-dependent gene). Our data corroborate NIS involvement in I⁻ uptake and support the notion that another transporter mediates I₂ uptake. Iodine did not prevent cancer progression. This result could be explained by a strong inactivation of the p53 pathway by TAG antigens.

  18. Selective expression of myosin IC Isoform A in mouse and human cell lines and mouse prostate cancer tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanna Ihnatovych

    Full Text Available Myosin IC is a single headed member of the myosin superfamily. We recently identified a novel isoform and showed that the MYOIC gene in mammalian cells encodes three isoforms (isoforms A, B, and C. Furthermore, we demonstrated that myosin IC isoform A but not isoform B exhibits a tissue specific expression pattern. In this study, we extended our analysis of myosin IC isoform expression patterns by analyzing the protein and mRNA expression in various mammalian cell lines and in various prostate specimens and tumor tissues from the transgenic mouse prostate (TRAMP model by immunoblotting, qRT-PCR, and by indirect immunohistochemical staining of paraffin embedded prostate specimen. Analysis of a panel of mammalian cell lines showed an increased mRNA and protein expression of specifically myosin IC isoform A in a panel of human and mouse prostate cancer cell lines but not in non-cancer prostate or other (non-prostate- cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we demonstrate that myosin IC isoform A expression is significantly increased in TRAMP mouse prostate samples with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN lesions and in distant site metastases in lung and liver when compared to matched normal tissues. Our observations demonstrate specific changes in the expression of myosin IC isoform A that are concurrent with the occurrence of prostate cancer in the TRAMP mouse prostate cancer model that closely mimics clinical prostate cancer. These data suggest that elevated levels of myosin IC isoform A may be a potential marker for the detection of prostate cancer.

  19. Fluorescence-guided surgery of human colon cancer increases complete resection resulting in cures in an orthotopic nude mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metildi, Cristina A; Kaushal, Sharmeela; Snyder, Cynthia S; Hoffman, Robert M; Bouvet, Michael

    2013-01-01

    We inquired if fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) could improve surgical outcomes in fluorescent orthotopic nude mouse models of human colon cancer. We established fluorescent orthotopic mouse models of human colon cancer expressing a fluorescent protein. Tumors were resected under bright light surgery (BLS) or FGS. Pre- and post-operative images with the OV-100 Small Animal Imaging System (Olympus Corp, Tokyo Japan) were obtained to assess the extent of surgical resection. All mice with primary tumor that had undergone FGS had complete resection compared with 58% of mice in the BLS group (P = 0.001). FGS resulted in decreased recurrence compared with BLS (33% versus 62%, P = 0.049) and lengthened disease-free median survival from 9 to >36 wk. The median overall survival increased from 16 wk in the BLS group to 31 weeks in the FGS group. FGS resulted in a cure in 67% of mice (alive without evidence of tumor at >6 mo after surgery) compared with only 37% of mice that underwent BLS (P = 0.049). Surgical outcomes in orthotopic nude mouse models of human colon cancer were significantly improved with FGS. The present study can be translated to the clinic by various effective methods of fluorescently labeling tumors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The latest animal models of ovarian cancer for novel drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnotti, Elizabeth; Marasco, Wayne A

    2018-03-01

    Epithelial ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease classified into five subtypes, each with a different molecular profile. Most cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed after metastasis of the primary tumor and are resistant to traditional platinum-based chemotherapeutics. Mouse models of ovarian cancer have been utilized to discern ovarian cancer tumorigenesis and the tumor's response to therapeutics. Areas covered: The authors provide a review of mouse models currently employed to understand ovarian cancer. This article focuses on advances in the development of orthotopic and patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) mouse models of ovarian cancer and discusses current humanized mouse models of ovarian cancer. Expert opinion: The authors suggest that humanized mouse models of ovarian cancer will provide new insight into the role of the human immune system in combating and augmenting ovarian cancer and aid in the development of novel therapeutics. Development of humanized mouse models will take advantage of the NSG and NSG-SGM3 strains of mice as well as new strains that are actively being derived.

  1. Pharmacologic inhibition of MLK3 kinase activity blocks the in vitro migratory capacity of breast cancer cells but has no effect on breast cancer brain metastasis in a mouse xenograft model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kun Hyoe Rhoo

    Full Text Available Brain metastasis of breast cancer is an important clinical problem, with few therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. Recent data have implicated mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3 in controlling the in vitro migratory capacity of breast cancer cells, as well as the metastasis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells from the mammary fat pad to distant lymph nodes in a mouse xenograft model. We therefore set out to test whether MLK3 plays a role in brain metastasis of breast cancer cells. To address this question, we used a novel, brain penetrant, MLK3 inhibitor, URMC099. URMC099 efficiently inhibited the migration of breast cancer cells in an in vitro cell monolayer wounding assay, and an in vitro transwell migration assay, but had no effect on in vitro cell growth. We also tested the effect of URMC099 on tumor formation in a mouse xenograft model of breast cancer brain metastasis. This analysis showed that URMC099 had no effect on the either the frequency or size of breast cancer brain metastases. We conclude that pharmacologic inhibition of MLK3 by URMC099 can reduce the in vitro migratory capacity of breast cancer cells, but that it has no effect on either the frequency or size of breast cancer brain metastases, in a mouse xenograft model.

  2. Radiation promotes cancer cell metastasis via EMT induction in mouse model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Jongkuk; Kang, Sungwook; Hwang, Sanggu; Um, Hongduck [Department of Radiation Cancer, New York (United States); Jang, Su Jin; Kang, Joohyun [Molecular Imaging Research Center, Charlestown (United States); Park, Sunhoo [Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Wunjae [Chungbuk National Univ., Cheongju (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    Whether γ-IR-induced invasion and metastasis are stimulated in our in vitro C6L cell line and in vivo systems, and further identify the associated changes in signal pathways or mice physiology. We constructed an animal model system with a view to clarifying the intracellular molecular events underlying the promotion of metastasis after γ-IR treatment for primary cancer and developing effective anti-metastatic reagents. Our results demonstrate that γ-IR treatment of cancer cell lines and mice xenografts triggers invasion and metastasis. In particular, γ-IR-treated cancer cells or mouse xenografts and metastatic lesions in mice bearing γ-IR-treated xenografts also display typical EMT marker expression patterns, such as increased venetum or MMP-2 expression, decreased E-chondron, and enhanced activity of MMP-2. Our results collectively suggest that γ-IR-induced invasion or metastasis results from induction of EMT, and inhibition of EMT may thus be a means to enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy. Our results also suggested EMT might be one of the major therapeutic targets to block metastasis.

  3. Radiation promotes cancer cell metastasis via EMT induction in mouse model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jongkuk; Kang, Sungwook; Hwang, Sanggu; Um, Hongduck; Jang, Su Jin; Kang, Joohyun; Park, Sunhoo; Kim, Wunjae

    2013-01-01

    Whether γ-IR-induced invasion and metastasis are stimulated in our in vitro C6L cell line and in vivo systems, and further identify the associated changes in signal pathways or mice physiology. We constructed an animal model system with a view to clarifying the intracellular molecular events underlying the promotion of metastasis after γ-IR treatment for primary cancer and developing effective anti-metastatic reagents. Our results demonstrate that γ-IR treatment of cancer cell lines and mice xenografts triggers invasion and metastasis. In particular, γ-IR-treated cancer cells or mouse xenografts and metastatic lesions in mice bearing γ-IR-treated xenografts also display typical EMT marker expression patterns, such as increased venetum or MMP-2 expression, decreased E-chondron, and enhanced activity of MMP-2. Our results collectively suggest that γ-IR-induced invasion or metastasis results from induction of EMT, and inhibition of EMT may thus be a means to enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy. Our results also suggested EMT might be one of the major therapeutic targets to block metastasis

  4. Targeting Th17-IL-17 Pathway in Prevention of Micro-Invasive Prostate Cancer in a Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qiuyang; Liu, Sen; Ge, Dongxia; Cunningham, David M; Huang, Feng; Ma, Lin; Burris, Thomas P; You, Zongbing

    2017-06-01

    Chronic inflammation has been associated with the development and progression of human cancers including prostate cancer. The exact role of the inflammatory Th17-IL-17 pathway in prostate cancer remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to determine the importance of Th17 cells and IL-17 in a Pten-null prostate cancer mouse model. The Pten-null mice were treated by Th17 inhibitor SR1001 or anti-mouse IL-17 monoclonal antibody from 6 weeks of age up to 12 weeks of age. For SR1001 treatment, the mice were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) twice a day with vehicle or SR1001, which was dissolved in a dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution. All mice were euthanized for necropsy at 12 weeks of age. For IL-17 antibody treatment, the mice were injected intravenously (i.v.) once every two weeks with control IgG or rat anti-mouse IL-17 monoclonal antibody, which was dissolved in PBS. The injection time points were at 6, 8, and 10 weeks old. All mice were analyzed for the prostate phenotypes at 12 weeks of age. We found that either SR1001 or anti-IL-17 antibody treatment decreased the formation of micro-invasive prostate cancer in Pten-null mice. The SR1001 or anti-IL-17 antibody treated mouse prostates had reduced proliferation, increased apoptosis, and reduced angiogenesis, as well as reduced inflammatory cell infiltration. By assessing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, we found that SR1001 or anti-IL-17 antibody treated prostate tissues had weaker EMT phenotype compared to the control treated prostates. These results demonstrated that Th17-IL-17 pathway plays a key role in prostate cancer progression in Pten-null mice. Targeting Th17-IL-17 pathway could prevent micro-invasive prostate cancer formation in mice. Prostate 77:888-899, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Proteomic profiling of the hypothalamus in a mouse model of cancer-induced anorexia-cachexia

    OpenAIRE

    Ihnatko, Robert; Post, Claes; Blomqvist, Anders

    2013-01-01

    Background: Anorexia-cachexia is a common and severe cancer-related complication but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, using a mouse model for tumour-induced anorexia-cachexia, we screened for proteins that are differentially expressed in the hypothalamus, the brain’s metabolic control centre. Methods: The hypothalamus of tumour-bearing mice with implanted methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma (MCG 101) displaying anorexia and their sham-implanted pair-fed or free-fed litterma...

  6. Bicarbonate and dichloroacetate: Evaluating pH altering therapies in a mouse model for metastatic breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robey, Ian F; Martin, Natasha K

    2011-01-01

    The glycolytic nature of malignant tumors contributes to high levels of extracellular acidity in the tumor microenvironment. Tumor acidity is a driving force in invasion and metastases. Recently, it has been shown that buffering of extracellular acidity through systemic administration of oral bicarbonate can inhibit the spread of metastases in a mouse model for metastatic breast cancer. While these findings are compelling, recent assessments into the use of oral bicarbonate as a cancer intervention reveal limitations. We posited that safety and efficacy of bicarbonate could be enhanced by dichloroacetate (DCA), a drug that selectively targets tumor cells and reduces extracellular acidity through inhibition of glycolysis. Using our mouse model for metastatic breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), we designed an interventional survival study where tumor bearing mice received bicarbonate, DCA, or DCA-bicarbonate (DB) therapies chronically. Dichloroacetate alone or in combination with bicarbonate did not increase systemic alkalosis in mice. Survival was longest in mice administered bicarbonate-based therapies. Primary tumor re-occurrence after surgeries is associated with survival rates. Although DB therapy did not significantly enhance oral bicarbonate, we did observe reduced pulmonary lesion diameters in this cohort. The DCA monotherapy was not effective in reducing tumor size or metastases or improving survival time. We provide in vitro evidence to suggest this outcome may be a function of hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment. DB combination therapy did not appear to enhance the effect of chronic oral bicarbonate. The anti-tumor effect of DCA may be dependent on the cancer model. Our studies suggest DCA efficacy is unpredictable as a cancer therapy and further studies are necessary to determine the role of this agent in the tumor microenvironment

  7. Substance P and beta-endorphin mediate electro-acupuncture induced analgesia in mouse cancer pain model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Sun-Hyung

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Opioid analgesics are generally used to combat the pain associated with cancerous conditions. These agents not only inhibit respiratory function and cause constipation, but also induce other significant side effects such as addiction and tolerance, all of which further contribute to a reduced quality of life for cancer patients. Thus, in the present study, the effects of electro-acupuncture treatment (EA on mechanical allodynia were examined in a cancer pain mouse model. Methods In order to produce a neuropathic cancer pain model, S-180 sarcoma cells were inoculated around the sciatic nerve of left legs of Balb/c mice. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI scanning confirmed the mass of S-180 cancer cells embedded around the sciatic nerve. Mechanical allodynia was most consistently induced in the mouse sarcoma cell line S-180 (2 × 106sarcoma cells-treated group compared to all the other groups studied. EA stimulation (2 Hz was administered daily to ST36 (Zusanli of S-180 bearing mice for 30 min for 9 days after S-180 inoculation. Results EA treatment significantly prolonged paw withdrawal latency from 5 days after inoculation. It also shortened the cumulative lifting duration from 7 days after inoculation, compared to the tumor control. Also, the overexpression of pain peptide substance P in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord was significantly decreased in the EA-treated group compared to the tumor control on Day 9 post inoculation. Furthermore, EA treatment effectively increased the concentration of β-endorphin in blood and brain samples of the mice to a greater extent than that of the tumor control as well as the normal group. The concentration of β-endorphin for EA treatment group increased by 51.457% in the blood and 12.6% in the brain respectively, compared to the tumor control group. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that a S-180 cancer pain model is useful as a consistent and short time animal model. It also

  8. Fluorescent humanized anti-CEA antibody specifically labels metastatic pancreatic cancer in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lwin, Thinzar M.; Miyake, Kentaro; Murakami, Takashi; DeLong, Jonathan C.; Yazaki, Paul J.; Shivley, John E.; Clary, Bryan; Hoffman, Robert M.; Bouvet, Michael

    2018-03-01

    Specific tumor targeting can result in selective labeling of cancer in vivo for surgical navigation. In the present study, we show that the use of an anti-CEA antibody conjugated to the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye, IRDye800CW, can selectively target and label pancreatic cancer and its metastases in a clinically relevant patient derived xenograft mouse model.

  9. Building a better model of cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DeGregori James

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The 2006 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory meeting on the Mechanisms and Models of Cancer was held August 16–20. The meeting featured several hundred presentations of many short talks (mostly selected from the abstracts and posters, with the airing of a number of exciting new discoveries. We will focus this meeting review on models of cancer (primarily mouse models, highlighting recent advances in new mouse models that better recapitulate sporadic tumorigenesis, demonstrations of tumor addiction to tumor suppressor inactivation, new insight into senescence as a tumor barrier, improved understanding of the evolutionary paths of cancer development, and environmental/immunological influences on cancer.

  10. Inhibition of PKCδ reduces cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity without blocking chemotherapeutic efficacy in mouse models of cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pabla, Navjotsingh; Dong, Guie; Jiang, Man; Huang, Shuang; Kumar, M. Vijay; Messing, Robert O.; Dong, Zheng

    2011-01-01

    Cisplatin is a widely used cancer therapy drug that unfortunately has major side effects in normal tissues, notably nephrotoxicity in kidneys. Despite intensive research, the mechanism of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity remains unclear, and renoprotective approaches during cisplatin-based chemotherapy are lacking. Here we have identified PKCδ as a critical regulator of cisplatin nephrotoxicity, which can be effectively targeted for renoprotection during chemotherapy. We showed that early during cisplatin nephrotoxicity, Src interacted with, phosphorylated, and activated PKCδ in mouse kidney lysates. After activation, PKCδ regulated MAPKs, but not p53, to induce renal cell apoptosis. Thus, inhibition of PKCδ pharmacologically or genetically attenuated kidney cell apoptosis and tissue damage, preserving renal function during cisplatin treatment. Conversely, inhibition of PKCδ enhanced cisplatin-induced cell death in multiple cancer cell lines and, remarkably, enhanced the chemotherapeutic effects of cisplatin in several xenograft and syngeneic mouse tumor models while protecting kidneys from nephrotoxicity. Together these results demonstrate a role of PKCδ in cisplatin nephrotoxicity and support targeting PKCδ as an effective strategy for renoprotection during cisplatin-based cancer therapy. PMID:21633170

  11. Establishment of Orthotopic Xuanwei Lung Cancer SCID Mouse Model 
and Analysis of Biological Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongchun ZHOU

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective The incidence of Xuanwei lung cancer ranks first in China, and its pathogenesis requires in-depth investigation. This study aims to establish an orthotopic Xuanwei lung cancer severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID mouse model and to provide a basic experimental platform for further study. Methods The Xuanwei lung cancer cell line XWLC-05 was inoculated into the lung tissue of SCID mice in high and low doses. The tumor formation rates, tumor characteristics, spontaneous metastases, and survival times of the mice were observed, taking a subcutaneously transplanted tumor as control. Results The tumor formation rates of the orthotopic transplantation of lung cancer cells in high and low doses were 81% and 83%, respectively, among which mice in the high-dose group appeared cachectic on day 13. Extensive invasion and adhesion were observed in the contralateral lung and thoracic cavity, but no distant metastasis was exhibited. Mice with low-dose cells in the orthotopic transplantation group appeared cachectic and distant metastasis occurred on day 25. The tumor formation rates in the subcutaneous inoculation group by the high and low doses of cells were 100% and 94.5%, respectively, and no distant metastasis was observed. The rate of metastasis within the orthotopic transplantation group and between the orthotopic and subcutaneous inoculation groups showed a significant difference (P<0.05. A significant difference was indicated by the survival rate within and between the groups (P<0.001. Conclusion We successfully established an orthotopic XWLC SCID mouse model, which lays the foundation for a more in-depth study.

  12. Workshop on challenges, insights, and future directions for mouse and humanized models in cancer immunology and immunotherapy: a report from the associated programs of the 2016 annual meeting for the Society for Immunotherapy of cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zloza, Andrew; Karolina Palucka, A; Coussens, Lisa M; Gotwals, Philip J; Headley, Mark B; Jaffee, Elizabeth M; Lund, Amanda W; Sharpe, Arlene H; Sznol, Mario; Wainwright, Derek A; Wong, Kwok-Kin; Bosenberg, Marcus W

    2017-09-19

    Understanding how murine models can elucidate the mechanisms underlying antitumor immune responses and advance immune-based drug development is essential to advancing the field of cancer immunotherapy. The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) convened a workshop titled, "Challenges, Insights, and Future Directions for Mouse and Humanized Models in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy" as part of the SITC 31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs on November 10, 2016 in National Harbor, MD. The workshop focused on key issues in optimizing models for cancer immunotherapy research, with discussions on the strengths and weaknesses of current models, approaches to improve the predictive value of mouse models, and advances in cancer modeling that are anticipated in the near future. This full-day program provided an introduction to the most common immunocompetent and humanized models used in cancer immunology and immunotherapy research, and addressed the use of models to evaluate immune-targeting therapies. Here, we summarize the workshop presentations and subsequent panel discussion.

  13. Comparative molecular analysis of early and late cancer cachexia-induced muscle wasting in mouse models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Rulin; Zhang, Santao; Lu, Xing; Hu, Wenjun; Lou, Ning; Zhao, Yan; Zhou, Jia; Zhang, Xiaoping; Yang, Hongmei

    2016-12-01

    Cancer-induced muscle wasting, which commonly occurs in cancer cachexia, is characterized by impaired quality of life and poor patient survival. To identify an appropriate treatment, research on the mechanism underlying muscle wasting is essential. Thus far, studies on muscle wasting using cancer cachectic models have generally focused on early cancer cachexia (ECC), before severe body weight loss occurs. In the present study, we established models of ECC and late cancer cachexia (LCC) and compared different stages of cancer cachexia using two cancer cachectic mouse models induced by colon-26 (C26) adenocarcinoma or Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC). In each model, tumor-bearing (TB) and control (CN) mice were injected with cancer cells and PBS, respectively. The TB and CN mice, which were euthanized on the 24th day or the 36th day after injection, were defined as the ECC and ECC-CN mice or the LCC and LCC-CN mice. In addition, the tissues were harvested and analyzed. We found that both the ECC and LCC mice developed cancer cachexia. The amounts of muscle loss differed between the ECC and LCC mice. Moreover, the expression of some molecules was altered in the muscles from the LCC mice but not in those from the ECC mice compared with their CN mice. In conclusion, the molecules with altered expression in the muscles from the ECC and LCC mice were not exactly the same. These findings may provide some clues for therapy which could prevent the muscle wasting in cancer cachexia from progression to the late stage.

  14. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Delivery in a Genetically Engineered Mouse Model of Lung Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, Shisuo; Lockamy, Virginia [Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Zhou, Lin [Department of Thoracic Oncology, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan (China); Xue, Christine; LeBlanc, Justin [Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Glenn, Shonna [Xstrahl, Inc, Suwanee, Georgia (United States); Shukla, Gaurav; Yu, Yan; Dicker, Adam P.; Leeper, Dennis B. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Lu, You [Department of Thoracic Oncology, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan (China); Lu, Bo, E-mail: bo.lu@jefferson.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States)

    2016-11-01

    Purpose: To implement clinical stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) using a small animal radiation research platform (SARRP) in a genetically engineered mouse model of lung cancer. Methods and Materials: A murine model of multinodular Kras-driven spontaneous lung tumors was used for this study. High-resolution cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging was used to identify and target peripheral tumor nodules, whereas off-target lung nodules in the contralateral lung were used as a nonirradiated control. CBCT imaging helps localize tumors, facilitate high-precision irradiation, and monitor tumor growth. SBRT planning, prescription dose, and dose limits to normal tissue followed the guidelines set by RTOG protocols. Pathologic changes in the irradiated tumors were investigated using immunohistochemistry. Results: The image guided radiation delivery using the SARRP system effectively localized and treated lung cancer with precision in a genetically engineered mouse model of lung cancer. Immunohistochemical data confirmed the precise delivery of SBRT to the targeted lung nodules. The 60 Gy delivered in 3 weekly fractions markedly reduced the proliferation index, Ki-67, and increased apoptosis per staining for cleaved caspase-3 in irradiated lung nodules. Conclusions: It is feasible to use the SARRP platform to perform dosimetric planning and delivery of SBRT in mice with lung cancer. This allows for preclinical studies that provide a rationale for clinical trials involving SBRT, especially when combined with immunotherapeutics.

  15. Chemotherapy-Induced Depletion of OCT4-Positive Cancer Stem Cells in a Mouse Model of Malignant Testicular Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierpont, Timothy M; Lyndaker, Amy M; Anderson, Claire M; Jin, Qiming; Moore, Elizabeth S; Roden, Jamie L; Braxton, Alicia; Bagepalli, Lina; Kataria, Nandita; Hu, Hilary Zhaoxu; Garness, Jason; Cook, Matthew S; Capel, Blanche; Schlafer, Donald H; Southard, Teresa; Weiss, Robert S

    2017-11-14

    Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are among the most responsive solid cancers to conventional chemotherapy. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we developed a mouse TGCT model featuring germ cell-specific Kras activation and Pten inactivation. The resulting mice developed malignant, metastatic TGCTs composed of teratoma and embryonal carcinoma, the latter of which exhibited stem cell characteristics, including expression of the pluripotency factor OCT4. Consistent with epidemiological data linking human testicular cancer risk to in utero exposures, embryonic germ cells were susceptible to malignant transformation, whereas adult germ cells underwent apoptosis in response to the same oncogenic events. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with genotoxic chemotherapy not only prolonged survival and reduced tumor size but also selectively eliminated the OCT4-positive cancer stem cells. We conclude that the chemosensitivity of TGCTs derives from the sensitivity of their cancer stem cells to DNA-damaging chemotherapy. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Generation of an inducible colon-specific Cre enzyme mouse line for colon cancer research.

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    Tetteh, Paul W; Kretzschmar, Kai; Begthel, Harry; van den Born, Maaike; Korving, Jeroen; Morsink, Folkert; Farin, Henner; van Es, Johan H; Offerhaus, G Johan A; Clevers, Hans

    2016-10-18

    Current mouse models for colorectal cancer often differ significantly from human colon cancer, being largely restricted to the small intestine. Here, we aim to develop a colon-specific inducible mouse model that can faithfully recapitulate human colon cancer initiation and progression. Carbonic anhydrase I (Car1) is a gene expressed uniquely in colonic epithelial cells. We generated a colon-specific inducible Car1 CreER knock-in (KI) mouse with broad Cre activity in epithelial cells of the proximal colon and cecum. Deletion of the tumor suppressor gene Apc using the Car1 CreER KI caused tumor formation in the cecum but did not yield adenomas in the proximal colon. Mutation of both Apc and Kras yielded microadenomas in both the cecum and the proximal colon, which progressed to macroadenomas with significant morbidity. Aggressive carcinomas with some invasion into lymph nodes developed upon combined induction of oncogenic mutations of Apc, Kras, p53, and Smad4 Importantly, no adenomas were observed in the small intestine. Additionally, we observed tumors from differentiated Car1-expressing cells with Apc/Kras mutations, suggesting that a top-down model of intestinal tumorigenesis can occur with multiple mutations. Our results establish the Car1 CreER KI as a valuable mouse model to study colon-specific tumorigenesis and metastasis as well as cancer-cell-of-origin questions.

  17. Bicarbonate and dichloroacetate: Evaluating pH altering therapies in a mouse model for metastatic breast cancer

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    Martin Natasha K

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The glycolytic nature of malignant tumors contributes to high levels of extracellular acidity in the tumor microenvironment. Tumor acidity is a driving force in invasion and metastases. Recently, it has been shown that buffering of extracellular acidity through systemic administration of oral bicarbonate can inhibit the spread of metastases in a mouse model for metastatic breast cancer. While these findings are compelling, recent assessments into the use of oral bicarbonate as a cancer intervention reveal limitations. Methods We posited that safety and efficacy of bicarbonate could be enhanced by dichloroacetate (DCA, a drug that selectively targets tumor cells and reduces extracellular acidity through inhibition of glycolysis. Using our mouse model for metastatic breast cancer (MDA-MB-231, we designed an interventional survival study where tumor bearing mice received bicarbonate, DCA, or DCA-bicarbonate (DB therapies chronically. Results Dichloroacetate alone or in combination with bicarbonate did not increase systemic alkalosis in mice. Survival was longest in mice administered bicarbonate-based therapies. Primary tumor re-occurrence after surgeries is associated with survival rates. Although DB therapy did not significantly enhance oral bicarbonate, we did observe reduced pulmonary lesion diameters in this cohort. The DCA monotherapy was not effective in reducing tumor size or metastases or improving survival time. We provide in vitro evidence to suggest this outcome may be a function of hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment. Conclusions DB combination therapy did not appear to enhance the effect of chronic oral bicarbonate. The anti-tumor effect of DCA may be dependent on the cancer model. Our studies suggest DCA efficacy is unpredictable as a cancer therapy and further studies are necessary to determine the role of this agent in the tumor microenvironment.

  18. Bicarbonate and dichloroacetate: Evaluating pH altering therapies in a mouse model for metastatic breast cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background The glycolytic nature of malignant tumors contributes to high levels of extracellular acidity in the tumor microenvironment. Tumor acidity is a driving force in invasion and metastases. Recently, it has been shown that buffering of extracellular acidity through systemic administration of oral bicarbonate can inhibit the spread of metastases in a mouse model for metastatic breast cancer. While these findings are compelling, recent assessments into the use of oral bicarbonate as a cancer intervention reveal limitations. Methods We posited that safety and efficacy of bicarbonate could be enhanced by dichloroacetate (DCA), a drug that selectively targets tumor cells and reduces extracellular acidity through inhibition of glycolysis. Using our mouse model for metastatic breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), we designed an interventional survival study where tumor bearing mice received bicarbonate, DCA, or DCA-bicarbonate (DB) therapies chronically. Results Dichloroacetate alone or in combination with bicarbonate did not increase systemic alkalosis in mice. Survival was longest in mice administered bicarbonate-based therapies. Primary tumor re-occurrence after surgeries is associated with survival rates. Although DB therapy did not significantly enhance oral bicarbonate, we did observe reduced pulmonary lesion diameters in this cohort. The DCA monotherapy was not effective in reducing tumor size or metastases or improving survival time. We provide in vitro evidence to suggest this outcome may be a function of hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment. Conclusions DB combination therapy did not appear to enhance the effect of chronic oral bicarbonate. The anti-tumor effect of DCA may be dependent on the cancer model. Our studies suggest DCA efficacy is unpredictable as a cancer therapy and further studies are necessary to determine the role of this agent in the tumor microenvironment. PMID:21663677

  19. A novel and effective cancer immunotherapy mouse model using antigen-specific B cells selected in vitro.

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    Tatsuya Moutai

    Full Text Available Immunotherapies such as adoptive transfer of T cells or natural killer cells, or monoclonal antibody (MoAb treatment have recently been recognized as effective means to treat cancer patients. However, adoptive transfer of B cells or plasma cells producing tumor-specific antibodies has not been applied as a therapy because long-term culture and selective expansion of antigen-specific B cells has been technically very difficult. Here, we describe a novel cancer immunotherapy that uses B-cell adoptive transfer. We demonstrate that germinal-center-like B cells (iGB cells induced in vitro from mouse naïve B cells become plasma cells and produce IgG antibodies for more than a month in the bone marrow of non-irradiated recipient mice. When transferred into mice, iGB cells producing antibody against a surrogate tumor antigen suppressed lung metastasis and growth of mouse melanoma cells expressing the same antigen and prolonged survival of the recipients. In addition, we have developed a novel culture system called FAIS to selectively expand antigen-specific iGB cells utilizing the fact that iGB cells are sensitive to Fas-induced cell death unless their antigen receptors are ligated by membrane-bound antigens. The selected iGB cells efficiently suppressed lung metastasis of melanoma cells in the adoptive immunotherapy model. As human blood B cells can be propagated as iGB cells using culture conditions similar to the mouse iGB cell cultures, our data suggest that it will be possible to treat cancer-bearing patients by the adoptive transfer of cancer-antigen-specific iGB cells selected in vitro. This new adoptive immunotherapy should be an alternative to the laborious development of MoAb drugs against cancers for which no effective treatments currently exist.

  20. PET/SPECT/CT multimodal imaging in a transgenic mouse model of breast cancer

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    Boisgard, R.; Alberini, J.L.; Jego, B.; Siquier, K.; Theze, B.; Guillermet, S.; Tavitian, B. [Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot, Institut d' Imagerie BioMedicale, CEA, 91 - Orsay (France); Inserm, U803, 91 - Orsay (France)

    2008-02-15

    Background. - In the therapy monitoring of breast cancer, conventional imaging methods include ultrasound, mammography, CT and MRI, which are essentially based on tumor size modifications. However these modifications represent a late consequence of the biological response and fail to differentiate scar or necrotic tissue from residual viable tumoral tissue. Therefore, a current objective is to develop tools able to predict early response to treatment. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (SPECT) are imaging modalities able to provide extremely sensitive quantitative molecular data and are widely used in humans and animals. Results. - Mammary epithelial cells of female transgenic mice expressing the polyoma middle T onco-protein (Py M.T.), undergo four distinct stages of tumour progression, from pre malignant to malignant stages. Stages are identifiable in the mammary tissue and can lead to the development of distant metastases Longitudinal studies by dynamic whole body acquisitions by multimodal imaging including PET, SPECT and Computed Tomography (CT) allow following the tumoral evolution in Py M.T. mice in comparison with the histopathological analysis. At four weeks of age, mammary hyperplasia was identified by histopathology, but no abnormalities were found by palpation or detected by PET with 2-deoxy-2-[{sup 18}F]fluoro-D-glucose. Such as in some human mammary cancers, the sodium iodide sym-porter (N.I.S.) in tumoral mammary epithelial cells is expressed in this mouse model. In order to investigate the expression of N.I.S. in the Py M.T. mice mammary tumours, [{sup 99m}Tc]TcO{sub 4} imaging was performed with a dedicated SPECT/CT system camera (B.I.O.S.P.A.C.E. Gamma Imager/CT). Local uptake of [{sup 99m}Tc]TcO{sub 4} was detected as early as four weeks of age. The efficacy of chemotherapy was evaluated in this mouse model using a conventional regimen (Doxorubicine, 100 mg/ kg) administered weekly from nine to

  1. Doxil Synergizes with Cancer Immunotherapies to Enhance Antitumor Responses in Syngeneic Mouse Models

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    Jonathan Rios-Doria

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Based on the previously described roles of doxorubicin in immunogenic cell death, both doxorubicin and liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil were evaluated for their ability to boost the antitumor response of different cancer immunotherapies including checkpoint blockers (anti–PD-L1, PD-1, and CTLA-4 mAbs and TNF receptor agonists (OX40 and GITR ligand fusion proteins in syngeneic mouse models. In a preventative CT26 mouse tumor model, both doxorubicin and Doxil synergized with anti–PD-1 and CTLA-4 mAbs. Doxil was active when CT26 tumors were grown in immunocompetent mice but not immunocompromised mice, demonstrating that Doxil activity is increased in the presence of a functional immune system. Using established tumors and maximally efficacious doses of Doxil and cancer immunotherapies in either CT26 or MCA205 tumor models, combination groups produced strong synergistic antitumor effects, a larger percentage of complete responders, and increased survival. In vivo pharmacodynamic studies showed that Doxil treatment decreased the percentage of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells and, in combination with anti–PD-L1, increased the percentage of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. In the tumor, Doxil administration increased CD80 expression on mature dendritic cells. CD80 expression was also increased on both monocytic and granulocytic myeloid cells, suggesting that Doxil may induce these tumor-infiltrating cells to elicit a costimulatory phenotype capable of activating an antitumor T-cell response. These results uncover a novel role for Doxil in immunomodulation and support the use of Doxil in combination with checkpoint blockade or TNFR agonists to increase response rates and antitumor activity.

  2. Metformin blocks progression of obesity-activated thyroid cancer in a mouse model.

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    Park, Jeongwon; Kim, Won Gu; Zhao, Li; Enomoto, Keisuke; Willingham, Mark; Cheng, Sheue-Yann

    2016-06-07

    Compelling epidemiologic evidence indicates that obesity is associated with a high risk of human malignancies, including thyroid cancer. We previously demonstrated that a high fat diet (HFD) effectively induces the obese phenotype in a mouse model of aggressive follicular thyroid cancer (ThrbPV/PVPten+/-mice). We showed that HFD promotes cancer progression through aberrant activation of the leptin-JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway. HFD-promoted thyroid cancer progression allowed us to test other molecular targets for therapeutic opportunity for obesity-induced thyroid cancer. Metformin is a widely used drug to treat patients with type II diabetes. It has been shown to reduce incidences of neoplastic diseases and cancer mortality in type II diabetes patients. The present study aimed to test whether metformin could be a therapeutic for obesity-activated thyroid cancer. ThrbPV/PVPten+/-mice were fed HFD together with metformin or vehicle-only, as controls, for 20 weeks. While HFD-ThrbPV/PVPten+/-mice had shorter survival than LFD-treated mice, metformin had no effects on the survival of HFD-ThrbPV/PVPten+/-mice. Remarkably, metformin markedly decreased occurrence of capsular invasion and completely blocked vascular invasion and anaplasia in HFD-ThrbPV/PVPten+/-mice without affecting thyroid tumor growth. The impeded cancer progression was due to the inhibitory effect of metformin on STAT3-ERK-vimentin and fibronectin-integrin signaling to decrease tumor cell invasion and de-differentiation. The present studies provide additional molecular evidence to support the link between obesity and thyroid cancer risk. Importantly, our findings suggest that metformin could be used as an adjuvant in combination with antiproliferative modalities to improve the outcome of patients with obesity-activated thyroid cancer.

  3. Microencapsulated tumor assay: Evaluation of the nude mouse model of pancreatic cancer

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    Ma, Ming-Zhe; Cheng, Dong-Feng; Ye, Jin-Hua; Zhou, Yong; Wang, Jia-Xiang; Shi, Min-Min; Han, Bao-San; Peng, Cheng-Hong

    2012-01-01

    AIM: To establish a more stable and accurate nude mouse model of pancreatic cancer using cancer cell microencapsulation. METHODS: The assay is based on microencapsulation technology, wherein human tumor cells are encapsulated in small microcapsules (approximately 420 μm in diameter) constructed of semipermeable membranes. We implemented two kinds of subcutaneous implantation models in nude mice using the injection of single tumor cells and encapsulated pancreatic tumor cells. The size of subcutaneously implanted tumors was observed on a weekly basis using two methods, and growth curves were generated from these data. The growth and metastasis of orthotopically injected single tumor cells and encapsulated pancreatic tumor cells were evaluated at four and eight weeks postimplantation by positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan and necropsy. The pancreatic tumor samples obtained from each method were then sent for pathological examination. We evaluated differences in the rates of tumor incidence and the presence of metastasis and variations in tumor volume and tumor weight in the cancer microcapsules vs single-cell suspensions. RESULTS: Sequential in vitro observations of the microcapsules showed that the cancer cells in microcapsules proliferated well and formed spheroids at days 4 to 6. Further in vitro culture resulted in bursting of the membrane of the microcapsules and cells deviated outward and continued to grow in flasks. The optimum injection time was found to be 5 d after tumor encapsulation. In the subcutaneous implantation model, there were no significant differences in terms of tumor volume between the encapsulated pancreatic tumor cells and cells alone and rate of tumor incidence. There was a significant difference in the rate of successful implantation between the cancer cell microencapsulation group and the single tumor-cell suspension group (100% vs 71.43%, respectively, P = 0.0489) in the orthotropic implantation model. The former method

  4. Ultrasound-guided direct delivery of 3-bromopyruvate blocks tumor progression in an orthotopic mouse model of human pancreatic cancer.

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    Ota, Shinichi; Geschwind, Jean-Francois H; Buijs, Manon; Wijlemans, Joost W; Kwak, Byung Kook; Ganapathy-Kanniappan, Shanmugasundaram

    2013-06-01

    Studies in animal models of cancer have demonstrated that targeting tumor metabolism can be an effective anticancer strategy. Previously, we showed that inhibition of glucose metabolism by the pyruvate analog, 3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA), induces anticancer effects both in vitro and in vivo. We have also documented that intratumoral delivery of 3-BrPA affects tumor growth in a subcutaneous tumor model of human liver cancer. However, the efficacy of such an approach in a clinically relevant orthotopic tumor model has not been reported. Here, we investigated the feasibility of ultrasound (US) image-guided delivery of 3-BrPA in an orthotopic mouse model of human pancreatic cancer and evaluated its therapeutic efficacy. In vitro, treatment of Panc-1 cells with 3-BrPA resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability. The loss of viability correlated with a dose-dependent decrease in the intracellular ATP level and lactate production confirming that disruption of energy metabolism underlies these 3-BrPA-mediated effects. In vivo, US-guided delivery of 3-BrPA was feasible and effective as demonstrated by a marked decrease in tumor size on imaging. Further, the antitumor effect was confirmed by (1) a decrease in the proliferative potential by Ki-67 immunohistochemical staining and (2) the induction of apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine 5-triphospate nick end labeling staining. We therefore demonstrate the technical feasibility of US-guided intratumoral injection of 3-BrPA in a mouse model of human pancreatic cancer as well as its therapeutic efficacy. Our data suggest that this new therapeutic approach consisting of a direct intratumoral injection of antiglycolytic agents may represent an exciting opportunity to treat patients with pancreas cancer.

  5. Humanized mouse models: Application to human diseases.

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    Ito, Ryoji; Takahashi, Takeshi; Ito, Mamoru

    2018-05-01

    Humanized mice are superior to rodents for preclinical evaluation of the efficacy and safety of drug candidates using human cells or tissues. During the past decade, humanized mouse technology has been greatly advanced by the establishment of novel platforms of genetically modified immunodeficient mice. Several human diseases can be recapitulated using humanized mice due to the improved engraftment and differentiation capacity of human cells or tissues. In this review, we discuss current advanced humanized mouse models that recapitulate human diseases including cancer, allergy, and graft-versus-host disease. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Fluorescence lifetime imaging of endogenous molecules in live mouse cancer models (Conference Presentation)

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    Svindrych, Zdenek; Wang, Tianxiong; Hu, Song; Periasamy, Ammasi

    2017-02-01

    NADH and FAD are important endogenous fluorescent coenzymes participating in key enzymatic reactions of cellular metabolism. While fluorescence intensities of NADH and FAD have been used to determine the redox state of cells and tissues, this simple approach breaks down in the case of deep-tissue intravital imaging due to depth- and wavelength-dependent light absorption and scattering. To circumvent this limitation, our research focuses on fluorescence lifetimes of two-photon excited NADH and FAD emission to study the metabolic state of live tissues. In our custom-built scanning microscope we combine tunable femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (operating at 740 nm for NADH excitation and 890 nm for FAD excitation), two GaAsP hybrid detectors for registering individual fluorescence photons and two Becker and Hickl time correlator boards for high precision lifetime measurements. Together with our rigorous FLIM analysis approach (including image segmentation, multi-exponential decay fitting and detailed statistical analysis) we are able to detect metabolic changes in cancer xenografts (human pancreatic cancer MPanc96 cells injected subcutaneously into the ear of an immunodeficient nude mouse), relative to surrounding healthy tissue. Advantageously, with the same instrumentation we can also take high-resolution and high-contrast images of second harmonic signal (SHG) originating from collagen fibers of both the healthy skin and the growing tumor. The combination of metabolic measurements (NADH and FAD lifetime) and morphological information (collagen SHG) allows us to follow the tumor growth in live mouse model and the changes in tumor microenvironment.

  7. The Next Generation of Orthotopic Thyroid Cancer Models: Immunocompetent Orthotopic Mouse Models of BRAFV600E-Positive Papillary and Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma

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    Vanden Borre, Pierre; McFadden, David G.; Gunda, Viswanath; Sadow, Peter M.; Varmeh, Shohreh; Bernasconi, Maria; Jacks, Tyler

    2014-01-01

    Background: While the development of new treatments for aggressive thyroid cancer has advanced in the last 10 years, progress has trailed headways made with other malignancies. A lack of reliable authenticated human cell lines and reproducible animal models is one major roadblock to preclinical testing of novel therapeutics. Existing xenograft and orthotopic mouse models of aggressive thyroid cancer rely on the implantation of highly passaged human thyroid carcinoma lines in immunodeficient mice. Genetically engineered models of papillary and undifferentiated (anaplastic) thyroid carcinoma (PTC and ATC) are immunocompetent; however, slow and stochastic tumor development hinders high-throughput testing. Novel models of PTC and ATC in which tumors arise rapidly and synchronously in immunocompetent mice would facilitate the investigation of novel therapeutics and approaches. Methods: We characterized and utilized mouse cell lines derived from PTC and ATC tumors arising in genetically engineered mice with thyroid-specific expression of endogenous BrafV600E/WT and deletion of either Trp53 (p53) or Pten. These murine thyroid cancer cells were transduced with luciferase- and GFP-expressing lentivirus and implanted into the thyroid glands of immunocompetent syngeneic B6129SF1/J mice in which the growth characteristics were assessed. Results: Large locally aggressive thyroid tumors form within one week of implantation. Tumors recapitulate their histologic subtype, including well-differentiated PTC and ATC, and exhibit CD3+, CD8+, B220+, and CD163+ immune cell infiltration. Tumor progression can be followed in vivo using luciferase and ex vivo using GFP. Metastatic spread is not detected at early time points. Conclusions: We describe the development of the next generation of murine orthotopic thyroid cancer models. The implantation of genetically defined murine BRAF-mutated PTC and ATC cell lines into syngeneic mice results in rapid and synchronous tumor formation. This

  8. Animal models and therapeutic molecular targets of cancer: utility and limitations

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    Cekanova M

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Maria Cekanova, Kusum Rathore Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA Abstract: Cancer is the term used to describe over 100 diseases that share several common hallmarks. Despite prevention, early detection, and novel therapies, cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the USA. Successful bench-to-bedside translation of basic scientific findings about cancer into therapeutic interventions for patients depends on the selection of appropriate animal experimental models. Cancer research uses animal and human cancer cell lines in vitro to study biochemical pathways in these cancer cells. In this review, we summarize the important animal models of cancer with focus on their advantages and limitations. Mouse cancer models are well known, and are frequently used for cancer research. Rodent models have revolutionized our ability to study gene and protein functions in vivo and to better understand their molecular pathways and mechanisms. Xenograft and chemically or genetically induced mouse cancers are the most commonly used rodent cancer models. Companion animals with spontaneous neoplasms are still an underexploited tool for making rapid advances in human and veterinary cancer therapies by testing new drugs and delivery systems that have shown promise in vitro and in vivo in mouse models. Companion animals have a relatively high incidence of cancers, with biological behavior, response to therapy, and response to cytotoxic agents similar to those in humans. Shorter overall lifespan and more rapid disease progression are factors contributing to the advantages of a companion animal model. In addition, the current focus is on discovering molecular targets for new therapeutic drugs to improve survival and quality of life in cancer patients. Keywords: mouse cancer model, companion animal cancer model, dogs, cats, molecular targets

  9. Morphine does not facilitate breast cancer progression in two preclinical mouse models for human invasive lobular and HER2⁺ breast cancer.

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    Doornebal, Chris W; Vrijland, Kim; Hau, Cheei-Sing; Coffelt, Seth B; Ciampricotti, Metamia; Jonkers, Jos; de Visser, Karin E; Hollmann, Markus W

    2015-08-01

    Morphine and other opioid analgesics are potent pain-relieving agents routinely used for pain management in patients with cancer. However, these drugs have recently been associated with a worse relapse-free survival in patients with surgical cancer, thus suggesting that morphine adversely affects cancer progression and relapse. In this study, we evaluated the impact of morphine on breast cancer progression, metastatic dissemination, and outgrowth of minimal residual disease. Using preclinical mouse models for metastatic invasive lobular and HER2 breast cancer, we show that analgesic doses of morphine do not affect mammary tumor growth, angiogenesis, and the composition of tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Our studies further demonstrate that morphine, administered in the presence or absence of surgery-induced tissue damage, neither facilitates de novo metastatic dissemination nor promotes outgrowth of minimal residual disease after surgery. Together, these findings indicate that opioid analgesics can be used safely for perioperative pain management in patients with cancer and emphasize that current standards of "good clinical practice" should be maintained.

  10. Longitudinal Multiplexed Measurement of Quantitative Proteomic Signatures in Mouse Lymphoma Models Using Magneto-Nanosensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jung-Rok; Appelmann, Iris; Miething, Cornelius; Shultz, Tyler O; Ruderman, Daniel; Kim, Dokyoon; Mallick, Parag; Lowe, Scott W; Wang, Shan X

    2018-01-01

    Cancer proteomics is the manifestation of relevant biological processes in cancer development. Thus, it reflects the activities of tumor cells, host-tumor interactions, and systemic responses to cancer therapy. To understand the causal effects of tumorigenesis or therapeutic intervention, longitudinal studies are greatly needed. However, most of the conventional mouse experiments are unlikely to accommodate frequent collection of serum samples with a large enough volume for multiple protein assays towards single-object analysis. Here, we present a technique based on magneto-nanosensors to longitudinally monitor the protein profiles in individual mice of lymphoma models using a small volume of a sample for multiplex assays. Methods: Drug-sensitive and -resistant cancer cell lines were used to develop the mouse models that render different outcomes upon the drug treatment. Two groups of mice were inoculated with each cell line, and treated with either cyclophosphamide or vehicle solution. Serum samples taken longitudinally from each mouse in the groups were measured with 6-plex magneto-nanosensor cytokine assays. To find the origin of IL-6, experiments were performed using IL-6 knock-out mice. Results: The differences in serum IL-6 and GCSF levels between the drug-treated and untreated groups were revealed by the magneto-nanosensor measurement on individual mice. Using the multiplex assays and mouse models, we found that IL-6 is secreted by the host in the presence of tumor cells upon the drug treatment. Conclusion: The multiplex magneto-nanosensor assays enable longitudinal proteomic studies on mouse tumor models to understand tumor development and therapy mechanisms more precisely within a single biological object.

  11. Stage-dependent analgesia of electro-acupuncture in a mouse model of cutaneous cancer pain.

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    Mao-Ying, Qi-Liang; Cui, Ke-Mi; Liu, Qiong; Dong, Zhi-Qiang; Wang, Wei; Wang, Jun; Sha, Hong; Wu, Gen-Cheng; Wang, Yan-Qing

    2006-11-01

    Acupuncture is one of the most effective alternative medical treatments in pain management with the advantages of simple application, low cost and minimal side effects. However its scientific evidence and laws of action are not very clear in cancer pain relieving. The aim of this study was to examine the immediate and therapeutic anti-hyperalgesic effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on a mouse model of cutaneous cancer pain. B16-BL6 melanoma cells were inoculated into the plantar region of unilateral hind paw and the thermal hyperalgesia was measured by using radiant heat test and hot plate test. C57BL/6 mice showed moderate and marked hyperalgesia during days 8-12 and from day 14 after the orthotopic inoculation of B16-BL6 melanoma cells into the hind paw. Single EA on day 8 after inoculation showed significant analgesic effect immediately after the treatment, the analgesic effect reached its maximum within 15-30min and declined to its minimum at 50min after EA treatment. Single EA treatment on day 20 showed no significant analgesic effect; Repeated EA treatments (started from day 8, once every other day) showed therapeutic analgesic effect, while it showed no therapeutic effect when started from day 16, a relatively late stage of this cancer pain model. The results demonstrated that EA had anti-hyperalgesic effect on early stage of cutaneous cancer pain but not on late stage. These results indicated a tight correlation of EA anti-hyperalgesic effects with the time window of cancer pain.

  12. 4-tert-Octylphenol stimulates the expression of cathepsins in human breast cancer cells and xenografted breast tumors of a mouse model via an estrogen receptor-mediated signaling pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hye-Rim; Choi, Kyung-Chul

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Cathepsins B and D were markedly enhanced by octylphenol (OP) in MCF-7 cells. ► OP may accelerate breast cancer cell growth and cathepsins via ER-mediated signaling. ► Breast cancer cells exposed with OP to mouse model were more aggressive. ► OP can promote metastasis through the amplification of cathepsins B and D via ER-mediated signaling pathway. -- Abstract: Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are defined as environmental compounds that modulate steroid hormone receptor-dependent responses an abnormal manner, resulting in adverse health problems for humans such as cancer growth and metastasis. Cathepsins are proteases that have been implicated in cancer progression. However, there have been few studies about the association between cathepsins and estrogenic chemicals during the cancer progression. In this study, we examined the effect(s) of 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), a potent EDC, on the expression of cathepsins B and D in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells and a xenograft mouse model. Treatment with OP significantly induced the proliferation MCF-7 cells in an MTT assay. In addition, the expression of cathepsins B and D was markedly enhanced in MCF-7 cells at both the transcriptional and the translational levels following treatment with E2 or OP up to 48 h. These results demonstrated the ability of OP to disrupt normal transcriptional regulation of cathepsins B and D in human breast cancer cells. However, the effects of OP on cell growth or overexpression of cathepsins by inhibiting ER-mediated signaling were abolished by an ER antagonist and siRNA specific for ERα. In conclusion, our findings suggest that OP at 10 −6 M, like E2, may accelerate breast cancer cell proliferation and the expression of cathepsins through an ER-mediated signaling pathway. In addition, the breast cancer cells exposed with OP to a xenograft mouse model were more aggressive according to our histological analysis and showed markedly increased expression of

  13. Tumor-Targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R in Combination with Trastuzumab Eradicates HER-2-Positive Cervical Cancer Cells in Patient-Derived Mouse Models.

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    Yukihiko Hiroshima

    Full Text Available We have previously developed mouse models of HER-2-positive cervical cancer. Tumors in nude mice had histological structures similar to the original tumor and were stained by anti-HER-2 antibody in the same pattern as the patient's cancer. We have also previously developed tumor-targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R and have demonstrated its efficacy against patient-derived tumor mouse models, both alone and in combination. In the current study, we determined the efficacy of S. typhimurium A1-R in combination with trastuzumab on a patient-cancer nude-mouse model of HER-2 positive cervical cancer. Mice were randomized to 5 groups and treated as follows: (1 no treatment; (2 carboplatinum (30 mg/kg, ip, weekly, 5 weeks; (3 trastuzumab (20 mg/kg, ip, weekly, 5 weeks; (4 S. typhimurium A1-R (5 × 107 CFU/body, ip, weekly, 5 weeks; (5 S. typhimurium A1-R (5 × 107 CFU/body, ip, weekly, 5 weeks + trastuzumab (20 mg/kg, ip, weekly, 5 weeks. All regimens had significant efficacy compared to the untreated mice. The relative tumor volume of S. typhimurium A1-R + trastuzumab-treated mice was smaller compared to trastuzumab alone (p = 0.007 and S. typhimurium A1-R alone (p = 0.039. No significant body weight loss was found compared to the no treatment group except for carboplatinum-treated mice (p = 0.021. Upon histological examination, viable tumor cells were not detected, and replaced by stromal cells in the tumors treated with S. typhimurium A1-R + trastuzumab. The results of the present study suggest that S. typhimurium A1-R and trastuzumab in combination are highly effective against HER-2-expressing cervical cancer.

  14. Therapeutic effects of anti-CD115 monoclonal antibody in mouse cancer models through dual inhibition of tumor-associated macrophages and osteoclasts.

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    Laetitia Fend

    Full Text Available Tumor progression is promoted by Tumor-Associated Macrophages (TAMs and metastasis-induced bone destruction by osteoclasts. Both myeloid cell types depend on the CD115-CSF-1 pathway for their differentiation and function. We used 3 different mouse cancer models to study the effects of targeting cancer host myeloid cells with a monoclonal antibody (mAb capable of blocking CSF-1 binding to murine CD115. In mice bearing sub-cutaneous EL4 tumors, which are CD115-negative, the anti-CD115 mAb depleted F4/80(+ CD163(+ M2-type TAMs and reduced tumor growth, resulting in prolonged survival. In the MMTV-PyMT mouse model, the spontaneous appearance of palpable mammary tumors was delayed when the anti-CD115 mAb was administered before malignant transition and tumors became palpable only after termination of the immunotherapy. When administered to mice already bearing established PyMT tumors, anti-CD115 treatment prolonged their survival and potentiated the effect of chemotherapy with Paclitaxel. As shown by immunohistochemistry, this therapeutic effect correlated with the depletion of F4/80(+CD163(+ M2-polarized TAMs. In a breast cancer model of bone metastasis, the anti-CD115 mAb potently blocked the differentiation of osteoclasts and their bone destruction activity. This resulted in the inhibition of cancer-induced weight loss. CD115 thus represents a promising target for cancer immunotherapy, since a specific blocking antibody may not only inhibit the growth of a primary tumor through TAM depletion, but also metastasis-induced bone destruction through osteoclast inhibition.

  15. Fluorescently labeled chimeric anti-CEA antibody improves detection and resection of human colon cancer in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) nude mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metildi, Cristina A; Kaushal, Sharmeela; Luiken, George A; Talamini, Mark A; Hoffman, Robert M; Bouvet, Michael

    2014-04-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate a new fluorescently labeled chimeric anti-CEA antibody for improved detection and resection of colon cancer. Frozen tumor and normal human tissue samples were stained with chimeric and mouse antibody-fluorophore conjugates for comparison. Mice with patient-derived orthotopic xenografts (PDOX) of colon cancer underwent fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) or bright-light surgery (BLS) 24 hr after tail vein injection of fluorophore-conjugated chimeric anti-CEA antibody. Resection completeness was assessed using postoperative images. Mice were followed for 6 months for recurrence. The fluorophore conjugation efficiency (dye/mole ratio) improved from 3-4 to >5.5 with the chimeric CEA antibody compared to mouse anti-CEA antibody. CEA-expressing tumors labeled with chimeric CEA antibody provided a brighter fluorescence signal on frozen human tumor tissues (P = 0.046) and demonstrated consistently lower fluorescence signals in normal human tissues compared to mouse antibody. Chimeric CEA antibody accurately labeled PDOX colon cancer in nude mice, enabling improved detection of tumor margins for more effective FGS. The R0 resection rate increased from 86% to 96% with FGS compared to BLS. Improved conjugating efficiency and labeling with chimeric fluorophore-conjugated antibody resulted in better detection and resection of human colon cancer in an orthotopic mouse model. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Correlations of 3T DCE-MRI Quantitative Parameters with Microvessel Density in a Human-Colorectal-Cancer Xenograft Mouse Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Sung Jun; An, Chan Sik; Koom, Woong Sub; Song, Ho Taek; Suh, Jin Suck

    2011-01-01

    To investigate the correlation between quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters and microvascular density (MVD) in a human-colon-cancer xenograft mouse model using 3 Tesla MRI. A human-colon-cancer xenograft model was produced by subcutaneously inoculating 1 X 106 DLD-1 human-colon-cancer cells into the right hind limbs of 10 mice. The tumors were allowed to grow for two weeks and then assessed using MRI. DCE-MRI was performed by tail vein injection of 0.3 mmol/kg of gadolinium. A region of interest (ROI) was drawn at the midpoints along the z-axes of the tumors, and a Tofts model analysis was performed. The quantitative parameters (Ktrans, Kep and Ve) from the whole transverse ROI and the hotspot ROI of the tumor were calculated. Immunohistochemical microvessel staining was performed and analyzed according to Weidner's criteria at the corresponding MRI sections. Additional Hematoxylin and Eosin staining was performed to evaluate tumor necrosis. The Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's rho correlation analysis were performed to prove the existence of a correlation between the quantitative parameters, necrosis, and MVD. Whole transverse ROI of the tumor showed no significant relationship between the MVD values and quantitative DCE-MRI parameters. In the hotspot ROI, there was a difference in MVD between low and high group of Ktrans and Kep that had marginally statistical significance (ps = 0.06 and 0.07, respectively). Also, Ktrans and Kep were found to have an inverse relationship with MVD (r -0.61, p = 0.06 in Ktrans; r = -0.60, p = 0.07 in Kep). Quantitative analysis of T1-weighted DCE-MRI using hotspot ROI may provide a better histologic match than whole transverse section ROI. Within the hotspots, Ktrans and Kep tend to have a reverse correlation with MVD in this colon cancer mouse model.

  17. Correlations of 3T DCE-MRI Quantitative Parameters with Microvessel Density in a Human-Colorectal-Cancer Xenograft Mouse Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Sung Jun; An, Chan Sik; Koom, Woong Sub; Song, Ho Taek; Suh, Jin Suck [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-11-15

    To investigate the correlation between quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters and microvascular density (MVD) in a human-colon-cancer xenograft mouse model using 3 Tesla MRI. A human-colon-cancer xenograft model was produced by subcutaneously inoculating 1 X 106 DLD-1 human-colon-cancer cells into the right hind limbs of 10 mice. The tumors were allowed to grow for two weeks and then assessed using MRI. DCE-MRI was performed by tail vein injection of 0.3 mmol/kg of gadolinium. A region of interest (ROI) was drawn at the midpoints along the z-axes of the tumors, and a Tofts model analysis was performed. The quantitative parameters (Ktrans, Kep and Ve) from the whole transverse ROI and the hotspot ROI of the tumor were calculated. Immunohistochemical microvessel staining was performed and analyzed according to Weidner's criteria at the corresponding MRI sections. Additional Hematoxylin and Eosin staining was performed to evaluate tumor necrosis. The Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's rho correlation analysis were performed to prove the existence of a correlation between the quantitative parameters, necrosis, and MVD. Whole transverse ROI of the tumor showed no significant relationship between the MVD values and quantitative DCE-MRI parameters. In the hotspot ROI, there was a difference in MVD between low and high group of Ktrans and Kep that had marginally statistical significance (ps = 0.06 and 0.07, respectively). Also, Ktrans and Kep were found to have an inverse relationship with MVD (r -0.61, p = 0.06 in Ktrans; r = -0.60, p = 0.07 in Kep). Quantitative analysis of T1-weighted DCE-MRI using hotspot ROI may provide a better histologic match than whole transverse section ROI. Within the hotspots, Ktrans and Kep tend to have a reverse correlation with MVD in this colon cancer mouse model.

  18. AOM/DSS Model of Colitis-Associated Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parang, Bobak; Barret, Caitlyn W.; Williams, Christopher S.

    2016-01-01

    Summary Our understanding of colitis-associated carcinoma (CAC) has benefited substantially from mouse models that faithfully recapitulate human CAC. Chemical models, in particular, have enabled fast and efficient analysis of genetic and environmental modulators of CAC without the added requirement of time-intensive genetic crossings. Here we describe the Azoxymethane (AOM)/Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS) mouse model of inflammatory colorectal cancer. PMID:27246042

  19. AOM/DSS Model of Colitis-Associated Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parang, Bobak; Barrett, Caitlyn W; Williams, Christopher S

    2016-01-01

    Our understanding of colitis-associated carcinoma (CAC) has benefited substantially from mouse models that faithfully recapitulate human CAC. Chemical models, in particular, have enabled fast and efficient analysis of genetic and environmental modulators of CAC without the added requirement of time-intensive genetic crossings. Here we describe the Azoxymethane (AOM)/Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS) mouse model of inflammatory colorectal cancer.

  20. Next-generation sequence analysis of cancer xenograft models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando J Rossello

    Full Text Available Next-generation sequencing (NGS studies in cancer are limited by the amount, quality and purity of tissue samples. In this situation, primary xenografts have proven useful preclinical models. However, the presence of mouse-derived stromal cells represents a technical challenge to their use in NGS studies. We examined this problem in an established primary xenograft model of small cell lung cancer (SCLC, a malignancy often diagnosed from small biopsy or needle aspirate samples. Using an in silico strategy that assign reads according to species-of-origin, we prospectively compared NGS data from primary xenograft models with matched cell lines and with published datasets. We show here that low-coverage whole-genome analysis demonstrated remarkable concordance between published genome data and internal controls, despite the presence of mouse genomic DNA. Exome capture sequencing revealed that this enrichment procedure was highly species-specific, with less than 4% of reads aligning to the mouse genome. Human-specific expression profiling with RNA-Seq replicated array-based gene expression experiments, whereas mouse-specific transcript profiles correlated with published datasets from human cancer stroma. We conclude that primary xenografts represent a useful platform for complex NGS analysis in cancer research for tumours with limited sample resources, or those with prominent stromal cell populations.

  1. Curcumin Inhibits Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Human Pancreatic Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Bimonte

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is a malignant neoplasm originating from transformed cells arising in tissues forming the pancreas. The best chemotherapeutic agent used to treat pancreatic cancer is the gemcitabine. However, gemcitabine treatment is associated with many side effects. Thus novel strategies involving less toxic agents for treatment of pancreatic cancer are necessary. Curcumin is one such agent that inhibits the proliferation and angiogenesis of a wide variety of tumor cells, through the modulation of many cell signalling pathways. In this study, we investigated whether curcumin plays antitumor effects in MIA PaCa-2 cells. In vitro studies showed that curcumin inhibits the proliferation and enhances apoptosis of MIA PaCa-2 cells. To test whether the antitumor activity of curcumin is also observed in vivo, we generated an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer by injection of MIA PaCa-2 cells in nude mice. We placed mice on diet containing curcumin at 0.6% for 6 weeks. In these treated mice tumors were smaller with respect to controls and showed a downregulation of the transcription nuclear factor NF-κB and NF-κB-regulated gene products. Overall, our data indicate that curcumin has a great potential in treatment of human pancreatic cancer through the modulation of NF-κB pathway.

  2. Development of a metastatic fluorescent Lewis Lung carcinoma mouse model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Lene; Fregil, Marianne; Høgdall, Estrid

    2013-01-01

    Cancer metastasis is the foremost cause of death in cancer patients. A series of observable pathological changes takes place during progression and metastasis of cancer, but the underlying genetic changes remain unclear. Therefore, new approaches are required, including insights from cancer mouse...... and the model is well suited for the identification of novel microRNAs and mRNAs involved in malignant progression. Our results suggest that increases in metalloproteinase expression and impairment of microRNA processing are involved in the acquirement of metastatic ability....

  3. Cancer-preventive Properties of an Anthocyanin-enriched Sweet Potato in the APCMIN Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asadi, Khalid; Ferguson, Lynnette R; Philpott, Martin; Karunasinghe, Nishi

    2017-09-01

    Anthocyanin-rich foods and preparations have been reported to reduce the risk of life-style related diseases, including cancer. The SL222 sweet potato, a purple-fleshed cultivar developed in New Zealand, accumulates high levels of anthocyanins in its storage root. We examined the chemopreventative properties of the SL222 sweet potato in the C57BL/6J-APC MIN/+ (APC MIN ) mouse, a genetic model of colorectal cancer. APC MIN and C57BL/6J wild-type mice (n=160) were divided into four feeding groups consuming diets containing 10% SL222 sweet potato flesh, 10% SL222 sweet potato skin, or 0.12% ARE (Anthocyanin rich-extract prepared from SL222 sweet potato at a concentration equivalent to the flesh-supplemented diet) or a control diet (AIN-76A) for 18 weeks. At 120 days of age, the mice were anaesthetised, and blood samples were collected before the mice were sacrificed. The intestines were used for adenoma enumeration. The SL222 sweet potato-supplemented diets reduced the adenoma number in the APC MIN mice. These data have significant implications for the use of this sweet potato variant in protection against colorectal cancer.

  4. Mouse Xenograft Model for Mesothelioma | NCI Technology Transfer Center | TTC

    Science.gov (United States)

    The National Cancer Institute is seeking parties interested in collaborative research to co-develop, evaluate, or commercialize a new mouse model for monoclonal antibodies and immunoconjugates that target malignant mesotheliomas. Applications of the technology include models for screening compounds as potential therapeutics for mesothelioma and for studying the pathology of mesothelioma.

  5. Mesenchymal stem cells expressing interleukin-18 inhibit breast cancer in a mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaoyi; Hu, Jianxia; Li, Yueyun; Cao, Weihong; Wang, Yu; Ma, Zhongliang; Li, Funian

    2018-05-01

    Development of an improved breast cancer therapy has been an elusive goal of cancer gene therapy for a long period of time. Human mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical cord (hUMSCs) genetically modified with the interleukin (IL)-18 gene (hUMSCs/IL-18) were previously demonstrated to be able to suppress the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro . In the present study, the effect of hUMSCs/IL-18 on breast cancer in a mouse model was investigated. A total of 128 mice were divided into 2 studies (the early-effect study and the late-effect study), with 4 groups in each, including the PBS-, hUMSC-, hUMSC/vector- and hUMSC/IL-18-treated groups. All treatments were injected along with 200 µl PBS. Following therapy, the tumor size, histological examination, and expression of lymphocytes, Ki-67, cluster of differentiation 31 and cytokines [interleukin (IL)-18, IL-12, interferon (IFN)-γ and TNF-α] in each group were analyzed. Proliferation of cells (assessed by measuring tumor size and Ki-67 expression) and metastasis, (by determining pulmonary and hepatic metastasis) of breast cancer cells in the hUMSC/IL-18 group were significantly decreased compared with all other groups. hUMSCs/IL-18 suppressed tumor cell proliferation by activating immunocytes and immune cytokines, decreasing the proliferation index of proliferation marker protein Ki-67 of tumor cells and inhibiting tumor angiogenesis. Furthermore, hUMSCs/IL-18 were able to induce a more marked and improved therapeutic effect in the tumor sites, particularly in early tumors. The results of the present study indicate that hUMSCs/IL-18 were able to inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of breast cancer cells in vivo , possibly leading to an approach for a novel antitumor therapy in breast cancer.

  6. Cell of Origin and Cancer Stem Cells in Tumor Suppressor Mouse Models of Glioblastoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcantara Llaguno, Sheila R; Xie, Xuanhua; Parada, Luis F

    2016-01-01

    The cellular origins and the mechanisms of progression, maintenance of tumorigenicity, and therapeutic resistance are central questions in the glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) field. Using tumor suppressor mouse models, our group recently reported two independent populations of adult GBM-initiating central nervous system progenitors. We found different functional and molecular subtypes depending on the tumor-initiating cell lineage, indicating that the cell of origin is a driver of GBM subtype diversity. Using an in vivo model, we also showed that GBM cancer stem cells (CSCs) or glioma stem cells (GSCs) contribute to resistance to chemotherapeutic agents and that genetic ablation of GSCs leads to a delay in tumor progression. These studies are consistent with the cell of origin and CSCs as critical regulators of the pathogenesis of GBM. © 2016 Alcantara Llaguno et al; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  7. αVβ6 integrin expression is induced in the POET and Ptenpc-/- mouse models of prostatic inflammation and prostatic adenocarcinoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garlick, David S; Li, Jing; Sansoucy, Brian; Wang, Tao; Griffith, Leeanne; FitzGerald, TJ; Butterfield, Julie; Charbonneau, Bridget; Violette, Shelia M; Weinreb, Paul H; Ratliff, Timothy L; Liao, Chun-Peng; Roy-Burman, Pradip; Vietri, Michele; Lian, Jane B; Stein, Gary S; Altieri, Dario C; Languino, Lucia R

    2012-01-01

    Chronic inflammation is proposed to prime the development of prostate cancer. However, the mechanisms of prostate cancer initiation and development are not completely understood. The αvβ6 integrin has been shown to play a role in epithelial development, wound healing and some epithelial cancers [1, 2]. Here, we investigate the expression of αvβ6 in mouse models of prostatic inflammation and prostate cancer to establish a possible relationship between inflammation of the prostate, αvβ6 expression and the progression of prostate cancer. Using immunohistochemical techniques, we show expression of αvβ6 in two in vivo mouse models; the Ptenpc-/- model containing a prostate- specific Pten tumor suppressor deletion that causes cancer, and the prostate ovalbumin-expressing transgenic (POET) inflammation mouse model. We show that the αvβ6 integrin is induced in prostate cancer and inflammation in vivo in these two mouse models. αvβ6 is expressed in all the mice with cancer in the Ptenpc-/- model but not in age-matched wild-type mice. In the POET inflammation model, αvβ6 is expressed in mice injected with activated T-cells, but in none of the control mice. In the POET model, we also used real time PCR to assess the expression of Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 (TGFβ1), a factor in inflammation that is activated by αvβ6. In conclusion, through in vivo evidence, we conclude that αvβ6 integrin may be a crucial link between prostatic inflammation and prostatic adenocarcinoma. PMID:22611469

  8. A genetically engineered ovarian cancer mouse model based on fallopian tube transformation mimics human high-grade serous carcinoma development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherman-Baust, Cheryl A; Kuhn, Elisabetta; Valle, Blanca L; Shih, Ie-Ming; Kurman, Robert J; Wang, Tian-Li; Amano, Tomokazu; Ko, Minoru S H; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Araki, Yoshihiko; Lehrmann, Elin; Zhang, Yongqing; Becker, Kevin G; Morin, Patrice J

    2014-07-01

    Recent evidence suggests that ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) originates from the epithelium of the fallopian tube. However, most mouse models are based on the previous prevailing view that ovarian cancer develops from the transformation of the ovarian surface epithelium. Here, we report the extensive histological and molecular characterization of the mogp-TAg transgenic mouse, which expresses the SV40 large T-antigen (TAg) under the control of the mouse müllerian-specific Ovgp-1 promoter. Histological analysis of the fallopian tubes of mogp-TAg mice identified a variety of neoplastic lesions analogous to those described as precursors to ovarian HGSC. We identified areas of normal-appearing p53-positive epithelium that are similar to 'p53 signatures' in the human fallopian tube. More advanced proliferative lesions with nuclear atypia and epithelial stratification were also identified that were morphologically and immunohistochemically reminiscent of human serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC), a potential precursor of ovarian HGSC. Beside these non-invasive precursor lesions, we also identified invasive adenocarcinoma in the ovaries of 56% of the mice. Microarray analysis revealed several genes differentially expressed between the fallopian tube of mogp-TAg and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6. One of these genes, Top2a, which encodes topoisomerase IIα, was shown by immunohistochemistry to be concurrently expressed with elevated p53 and was specifically elevated in mouse STICs but not in the surrounding tissues. TOP2A protein was also found elevated in human STICs, low-grade and high-grade serous carcinoma. The mouse model reported here displays a progression from normal tubal epithelium to invasive HGSC in the ovary, and therefore closely simulates the current emerging model of human ovarian HGSC pathogenesis. This mouse therefore has the potential to be a very useful new model for elucidating the mechanisms of serous ovarian tumourigenesis, as well as

  9. Dimethylaminoparthenolide and gemcitabine: a survival study using a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yip-Schneider, Michele T; Wu, Huangbing; Stantz, Keith; Agaram, Narasimhan; Crooks, Peter A; Schmidt, C Max

    2013-01-01

    Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers due to lack of early detection and absence of effective treatments. Gemcitabine, the current standard-of-care chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, has limited clinical benefit. Treatment of pancreatic cancer cells with gemcitabine has been shown to induce the activity of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) which regulates the expression of genes involved in the inflammatory response and tumorigenesis. It has therefore been proposed that gemcitabine-induced NF-κB activation may result in chemoresistance. We hypothesize that NF-κB suppression by the novel inhibitor dimethylaminoparthenolide (DMAPT) may enhance the effect of gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer. The efficacy of DMAPT and gemcitabine was evaluated in a chemoprevention trial using the mutant Kras and p53-expressing LSL-Kras G12D/+ ; LSL-Trp53 R172H ; Pdx-1-Cre mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Mice were randomized to treatment groups (placebo, DMAPT [40 mg/kg/day], gemcitabine [50 mg/kg twice weekly], and the combination DMAPT/gemcitabine). Treatment was continued until mice showed signs of ill health at which time they were sacrificed. Plasma cytokine levels were determined using a Bio-Plex immunoassay. Statistical tests used included log-rank test, ANOVA with Dunnett’s post-test, Student’s t-test, and Fisher exact test. Gemcitabine or the combination DMAPT/gemcitabine significantly increased median survival and decreased the incidence and multiplicity of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The DMAPT/gemcitabine combination also significantly decreased tumor size and the incidence of metastasis to the liver. No significant differences in the percentages of normal pancreatic ducts or premalignant pancreatic lesions were observed between the treatment groups. Pancreata in which no tumors formed were analyzed to determine the extent of pre-neoplasia; mostly normal ducts or low grade pancreatic lesions were observed, suggesting prevention

  10. Prevention of Prostate Cancer with Oleanane Synthetic Triterpenoid CDDO-Me in the TRAMP Mouse Model of Prostate Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Xiaohua; Deeb, Dorrah; Liu, Yongbo; Arbab, Ali S.; Divine, George W.; Dulchavsky, Scott A.; Gautam, Subhash C.

    2011-01-01

    2-Cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO), a synthetic analog of oleanolic acid, and its C28 methyl ester derivative (CDDO-Me), have shown potent antitumorigenic activity against a wide range of cancer cell lines, including prostate cancer cells in vitro, and inhibited the development of liver and lung cancer in vivo. In the present study, we examined the efficacy of CDDO-Me in preventing the development and progression of prostate cancer in the transgenic adenocarinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) model. CDDO-Me inhibited the growth of murine TRAMPC-1 prostate cancer cells by inducing apoptosis through the inhibition of antiapoptotic p-Akt, p-mTOR and NF-κB. Early intervention with CDDO-Me (7.5 mg/kg) initiated at five weeks of age for 20 wk inhibited the progression of the preneoplastic lesions (low-grade PIN and high-grade-PIN) to adenocarcinoma in the dorsolateral prostate (DLP) and ventral prostate (VP) lobes of TRAMP mice. Even delayed administration of CDDO-Me started at 12 wk of age for 12 wk inhibited the development of adenocarcimona of the prostate. Both early and late treatment with CDDO-Me inhibited the metastasis of tumor to the distant organs. Treatment with CDDO-Me inhibited the expression of prosurvival p-Akt and NF-κB in the prostate and knocking-down Akt in TRAMPC-1 tumor cells sensitized them to CDDO-Me. These findings indicated that Akt is a target for apoptoxicity in TRAMPC-1 cells in vitro and potentially a target of CDDO-Me for inhibition of prostate cancer in vivo

  11. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy change vessel tree geometry and metastatic spread in a small cell lung cancer xenograft mouse tumor model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thorsten Frenzel

    Full Text Available Tumor vasculature is critical for tumor growth, formation of distant metastases and efficiency of radio- and chemotherapy treatments. However, how the vasculature itself is affected during cancer treatment regarding to the metastatic behavior has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the influence of hypofractionated radiotherapy and cisplatin chemotherapy on vessel tree geometry and metastasis formation in a small cell lung cancer xenograft mouse tumor model to investigate the spread of malignant cells during different treatments modalities.The biological data gained during these experiments were fed into our previously developed computer model "Cancer and Treatment Simulation Tool" (CaTSiT to model the growth of the primary tumor, its metastatic deposit and also the influence on different therapies. Furthermore, we performed quantitative histology analyses to verify our predictions in xenograft mouse tumor model.According to the computer simulation the number of cells engrafting must vary considerably to explain the different weights of the primary tumor at the end of the experiment. Once a primary tumor is established, the fractal dimension of its vasculature correlates with the tumor size. Furthermore, the fractal dimension of the tumor vasculature changes during treatment, indicating that the therapy affects the blood vessels' geometry. We corroborated these findings with a quantitative histological analysis showing that the blood vessel density is depleted during radiotherapy and cisplatin chemotherapy. The CaTSiT computer model reveals that chemotherapy influences the tumor's therapeutic susceptibility and its metastatic spreading behavior.Using a system biological approach in combination with xenograft models and computer simulations revealed that the usage of chemotherapy and radiation therapy determines the spreading behavior by changing the blood vessel geometry of the primary tumor.

  12. White Adipose Tissue Cells Are Recruited by Experimental Tumors and Promote Cancer Progression in Mouse Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan; Daquinag, Alexes; Traktuev, Dmitry O.; Amaya-Manzanares, Felipe; Simmons, Paul J.; March, Keith L.; Pasqualini, Renata; Arap, Wadih; Kolonin, Mikhail G.

    2010-01-01

    The connection between obesity and accelerated cancer progression has been established, but the mediating mechanisms are not well understood. We have shown that stromal cells from white adipose tissue (WAT) cooperate with the endothelium to promote blood vessel formation through the secretion of soluble trophic factors. Here, we hypothesize that WAT directly mediates cancer progression by serving as a source of cells that migrate to tumors and promote neovascularization. To test this hypothesis, we have evaluated the recruitment of WAT-derived cells by tumors and the effect of their engraftment on tumor growth by integrating a transgenic mouse strain engineered for expansion of traceable cells with established allograft and xenograft cancer models. Our studies show that entry of adipose stromal and endothelial cells into systemic circulation leads to their homing to and engraftment into tumor stroma and vasculature, respectively. We show that recruitment of adipose stromal cells by tumors is sufficient to promote tumor growth. Finally, we show that migration of stromal and vascular progenitor cells from WAT grafts to tumors is also associated with acceleration of cancer progression. These results provide a biological insight for the clinical association between obesity and cancer, thus outlining potential avenues for preventive and therapeutic strategies. PMID:19491274

  13. Overexpression of the LH receptor increases distant metastases in an endometrial cancer mouse model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serena ePillozzi

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective. The aim of the present study was to define the role of luteinizing hormone receptor (LH-R expression in endometrial cancer (EC, using preclinical mouse models, to further transfer these data to the clinical setting. Methods. The role of LH-R over-expression was studied using EC cells (Hec1A, e.g. cells with low endogenous LH-R expression transfected with the LH-R (Hec1A-LH-R. In vitro cell proliferation was measured through the WST1 assay, whereas cell invasion was measured trough the matrigel assay. The effects of LH/hCG-R overexpresion in vivo were analyzed in an appropriately developed preclinical mouse model of EC, which mimicked postmenopausal conditions. The model consisted in an orthotopic xenograft of Hec1A cells into immunodeficient mice treated daily with recombinant LH, to assure high levels of LH. Results. In vitro data indicated that LH-R overexpression increased Hec1A invasiveness. In vivo results showed that tumors arising from Hec1A-LH-R cells injection displayed a higher local invasion and a higher number of distant metastases, mainly in the lung, compared to tumors obtained from the injection of Hec1A cells. LH withdrawl strongly inhibited local and distant metastatic spread of tumors, especially those arising from Hec1A-LH-R cells. Conclusions. The overexpression of the LH-R increases the ability of EC cells to undergo local invasion and metastatic spread. This occurs in the presence of high LH serum concentrations.

  14. Burn mouse models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calum, Henrik; Høiby, Niels; Moser, Claus

    2014-01-01

    Severe thermal injury induces immunosuppression, involving all parts of the immune system, especially when large fractions of the total body surface area are affected. An animal model was established to characterize the burn-induced immunosuppression. In our novel mouse model a 6 % third-degree b......Severe thermal injury induces immunosuppression, involving all parts of the immune system, especially when large fractions of the total body surface area are affected. An animal model was established to characterize the burn-induced immunosuppression. In our novel mouse model a 6 % third...... with infected burn wound compared with the burn wound only group. The burn mouse model resembles the clinical situation and provides an opportunity to examine or develop new strategies like new antibiotics and immune therapy, in handling burn wound victims much....

  15. Mouse breast cancer model-dependent changes in metabolic syndrome-associated phenotypes caused by maternal dioxin exposure and dietary fat

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Merrill, Michele; Baston, David S.; Denison, Michael S.; Birnbaum, Linda S.; Pomp, Daniel; Threadgill, David W.

    2009-01-01

    Diets high in fat are associated with increased susceptibility to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Increased adipose tissue that is caused by high-fat diets (HFD) results in altered storage of lipophilic toxicants like 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), which may further increase susceptibility to metabolic syndrome. Because both TCDD and HFD are associated with increased breast cancer risk, we examined their effects on metabolic syndrome-associated phenotypes in three mouse models of breast cancer: 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), Tg(MMTV-Neu)202Mul/J (HER2), and TgN(MMTV-PyMT)634Mul/J (PyMT), all on an FVB/N genetic background. Pregnant mice dosed with 1 μg/kg of TCDD or vehicle on gestational day 12.5 were placed on a HFD or low-fat diet (LFD) at parturition. Body weights, percent body fat, and fasting blood glucose were measured longitudinally, and triglycerides were measured at study termination. On HFD, all cancer models reached the pubertal growth spurt ahead of FVB controls. Among mice fed HFD, the HER2 model had a greater increase in body weight and adipose tissue from puberty through adulthood compared with the PyMT and DMBA models. However, the DMBA model consistently had higher fasting blood glucose levels than the PyMT and HER2 models. TCDD only impacted serum triglycerides in the PyMT model maintained on HFD. Because the estrogenic activity of the HFD was three times lower than that of the LFD, differential dietary estrogenic activities did not drive the observed phenotypic differences. Rather, the HFD-dependent changes were cancer model dependent. These results show that cancer models can have differential effects on metabolic syndrome-associated phenotypes even before cancers arise. PMID:18840765

  16. α(V)β(6) integrin expression is induced in the POET and Pten(pc-/-) mouse models of prostatic inflammation and prostatic adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garlick, David S; Li, Jing; Sansoucy, Brian; Wang, Tao; Griffith, Leeanne; Fitzgerald, Tj; Butterfield, Julie; Charbonneau, Bridget; Violette, Shelia M; Weinreb, Paul H; Ratliff, Timothy L; Liao, Chun-Peng; Roy-Burman, Pradip; Vietri, Michele; Lian, Jane B; Stein, Gary S; Altieri, Dario C; Languino, Lucia R

    2012-01-01

    Chronic inflammation is proposed to prime the development of prostate cancer. However, the mechanisms of prostate cancer initiation and development are not completely understood. The α(v)β(6) integrin has been shown to play a role in epithelial development, wound healing and some epithelial cancers [1, 2]. Here, we investigate the expression of α(v)β(6) in mouse models of prostatic inflammation and prostate cancer to establish a possible relationship between inflammation of the prostate, α(v)β(6) expression and the progression of prostate cancer. Using immunohistochemical techniques, we show expression of α(v)β(6) in two in vivo mouse models; the Pten(pc)-/- model containing a prostate- specific Pten tumor suppressor deletion that causes cancer, and the prostate ovalbumin-expressing transgenic (POET) inflammation mouse model. We show that the α(v)β(6) integrin is induced in prostate cancer and inflammation in vivo in these two mouse models. α(v)β(6) is expressed in all the mice with cancer in the Pten(pc-/-) model but not in age-matched wild-type mice. In the POET inflammation model, α(v)β(6) is expressed in mice injected with activated T-cells, but in none of the control mice. In the POET model, we also used real time PCR to assess the expression of Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 (TGFβ1), a factor in inflammation that is activated by α(v)β(6). In conclusion, through in vivo evidence, we conclude that α(v)β(6) integrin may be a crucial link between prostatic inflammation and prostatic adenocarcinoma.

  17. Generation of a mouse model for studying the role of upregulated RTEL1 activity in tumorigenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xiaoli; Sandhu, Sumit; Nabi, Zinnatun; Ding, Hao

    2012-10-01

    Regulator of telomere length 1 (RTEL1) is a DNA helicase protein that has been demonstrated to be required for the maintenance of telomere length and genomic stability. It has also been found to be essential for DNA homologous recombination during DNA repairing. Human RTEL1 genomic locus (20q13.3) is frequently amplified in multiple types of human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma and gastrointestinal tract tumors, indicating that upregulated RTEL1 activity could be important for tumorigenesis. In this study, we have developed a conditional transgenic mouse model that overexpress mouse Rtel1 in a Cre-excision manner. By crossing with a ubiquitous Cre mouse line, we further demonstrated that these established Rtel1 conditional transgenic mice allow to efficiently and highly express a functional Rtel1 that is able to rescue the embryonic defects of Rtel1 null mouse allele. Furthermore, we demonstrated that more than 70% transgenic mice that widely overexpress Rtel1 developed liver tumors that recapitulate many malignant features of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our work not only generated a valuable mouse model for determining the role of RTEL1 in the development of cancers, but also provided the first genetic evidence to support that amplification of RTEL1, as observed in several types of human cancers, is tumorigenic.

  18. Transforming growth factor-β and breast cancer: Lessons learned from genetically altered mouse models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakefield, Lalage M; Yang, Yu-an; Dukhanina, Oksana

    2000-01-01

    Transforming growth factor (TGF)-βs are plausible candidate tumor suppressors in the breast. They also have oncogenic activities under certain circumstances, however. Genetically altered mouse models provide powerful tools to analyze the complexities of TGF-βaction in the context of the whole animal. Overexpression of TGF-β can suppress tumorigenesis in the mammary gland, raising the possibility that use of pharmacologic agents to enhance TGF-β function locally might be an effective method for the chemoprevention of breast cancer. Conversely, loss of TGF-β response increases spontaneous and induced tumorigenesis in the mammary gland. This confirms that endogenous TGF-βs have tumor suppressor activity in the mammary gland, and suggests that the loss of TGF-β receptors seen in some human breast hyperplasias may play a causal role in tumor development

  19. Optical coherence tomography imaging of colonic crypts in a mouse model of colorectal cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welge, Weston A.; Barton, Jennifer K.

    2016-03-01

    Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are abnormal epithelial lesions that precede development of colonic polyps. As the earliest morphological change in the development of colorectal cancer, ACF is a highly studied phenomenon. The most common method of imaging ACF is chromoendoscopy using methylene blue as a contrast agent. Narrow- band imaging is a contrast-agent-free modality for imaging the colonic crypts. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an attractive alternative to chromoendoscopy and narrow-band imaging because it can resolve the crypt structure at sufficiently high sampling while simultaneously providing depth-resolved data. We imaged in vivo the distal 15 mm of colon in the azoxymethane (AOM) mouse model of colorectal cancer using a commercial swept-source OCT system and a miniature endoscope designed and built in-house. We present en face images of the colonic crypts and demonstrate that different patterns in healthy and adenoma tissue can be seen. These patterns correspond to those reported in the literature. We have previously demonstrated early detection of colon adenoma using OCT by detecting minute thickening of the mucosa. By combining mucosal thickness measurement with imaging of the crypt structure, OCT can be used to correlate ACF and adenoma development in space and time. These results suggest that OCT may be a superior imaging modality for studying the connection between ACF and colorectal cancer.

  20. The conditioned place preference test for assessing welfare consequences and potential refinements in a mouse bladder cancer model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John V Roughan

    Full Text Available Most pre-clinical analgesic efficacy assays still involve nociceptive testing in rodents. This is despite concerns as to the relevance of these tests for evaluating the pain-preventative properties of drugs. More appropriate methods would target pain rather than nociception, but these are currently not available, so it remains unknown whether animal pain equates to the negatively affective and subjective/emotional state it causes in humans. Mouse cancer models are common despite the likelihood of substantial pain. We used Conditioned Place Preference (CPP testing, assessments of thermal hyperalgesia and behaviour to determine the likelihood that MBT-2 bladder cancer impacts negatively on mouse welfare, such as by causing pain. There was no CPP to saline, but morphine preference in tumour bearing mice exceeded that seen in tumour-free controls. This occurred up to 10 days before the study end-point alongside reduced body weight, development of hyperalgesia and behaviour changes. These effects indicated mice experienced a negative welfare state caused by malaise (if not pain before euthanasia. Due to the complexity of the assessments needed to demonstrate this, it is unlikely that this approach could be used for routine welfare assessment on a study-by-study basis. However, our results show mice in sufficiently similar studies are likely to benefit from more intensive severity assessment and re-evaluation of end-points with a view to implementing appropriate refinements. In this particular case, a refinement would have been to have euthanased mice at least 7 days earlier or possibly by provision of end-stage pain relief. CPP testing was found to be a helpful method to investigate the responses of mice to analgesics, possibly on a subjective level. These findings and those of other recent studies show it could be a valuable method of screening candidate analgesics for efficacy against cancer pain and possibly other pain or disease models.

  1. Orthologous microRNA genes are located in cancer-associated genomic regions in human and mouse.

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    Igor V Makunin

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that regulate differentiation and development in many organisms and play an important role in cancer. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a public database of mapped retroviral insertion sites from various mouse models of cancer we demonstrate that MLV-derived retroviral inserts are enriched in close proximity to mouse miRNA loci. Clustered inserts from cancer-associated regions (Common Integration Sites, CIS have a higher association with miRNAs than non-clustered inserts. Ten CIS-associated miRNA loci containing 22 miRNAs are located within 10 kb of known CIS insertions. Only one CIS-associated miRNA locus overlaps a RefSeq protein-coding gene and six loci are located more than 10 kb from any RefSeq gene. CIS-associated miRNAs on average are more conserved in vertebrates than miRNAs associated with non-CIS inserts and their human homologs are also located in regions perturbed in cancer. In addition we show that miRNA genes are enriched around promoter and/or terminator regions of RefSeq genes in both mouse and human. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We provide a list of ten miRNA loci potentially involved in the development of blood cancer or brain tumors. There is independent experimental support from other studies for the involvement of miRNAs from at least three CIS-associated miRNA loci in cancer development.

  2. [The therapeutic effect of HSV1-hGM-CSF combined with doxorubicin on the mouse breast cancer model].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, X F; Zhang, S R; Liu, B L; Wu, J L; Li, X Q; Gu, H G; Shu, Y

    2018-03-23

    Objective: To evaluate the oncolytic effect of herpes simplex virus type 1 which carried recombined human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (HSV1-hGM-CSF) on the mouse breast cancer cell line 4T1 and compare the anticancer effects of HSV1-hGM-CSF, doxorubicin alone or combination on the breast cancer in mice. Methods: We investigated the cytotoxic effect on 4T1 cells in vitro, the cell growth, cell apoptosis and cell cycle of 4T1 cells treated with oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF at different MOIs (0, 0.5, 1 and 2) and doxorubicin at different concentrations (0, 2, 4 and 8 μg/ml). The effects of oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF and doxorubicin on the tumor growth, survival time and their side effects on the mouse breast cancer model were observed. Results: Both oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF and doxorubicin significantly inhibited the proliferation of 4T1 cells in vitro . Doxorubicin induced the G(2)/M phase arrest of 4T1 cells, while the cytotoxicity of oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF was no cell cycle-dependent.At day 16 after treatment with doxorubicin and HSV1-hGM-CSF, the tumor volume of 4T1 tumor bearing mice were (144.40±27.68)mm(3,) (216.80±57.18)mm(3,) (246.10±21.90)mm(3,) (327.50±44.24)mm(3,) (213.30±32.31)mm(3) and (495.80±75.87)mm(3) in the groups of doxorubicin combined with high dose HSV1-hGM-CSF, doxorubicin combined with low dose HSV1-hGM-CSF, doxorubicin alone, high dose HSV1-hGM-CSF alone, low dose HSV1-hGM-CSF alone and control, respectively.Compared with the control group, both doxorubicin and HSV1-hGM-CSF treatment exhibited significant reduction of primary tumor volume in vivo ( P CSF alone and low dose HSV1-hGM-CSF alone were significantly longer than that of control ( P CSF is observed in 4T1 mouse breast cancer.

  3. Urinary volatile compounds as biomarkers for lung cancer: a proof of principle study using odor signatures in mouse models of lung cancer.

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    Koichi Matsumura

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A potential strategy for diagnosing lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related death, is to identify metabolic signatures (biomarkers of the disease. Although data supports the hypothesis that volatile compounds can be detected in the breath of lung cancer patients by the sense of smell or through bioanalytical techniques, analysis of breath samples is cumbersome and technically challenging, thus limiting its applicability. The hypothesis explored here is that variations in small molecular weight volatile organic compounds ("odorants" in urine could be used as biomarkers for lung cancer. To demonstrate the presence and chemical structures of volatile biomarkers, we studied mouse olfactory-guided behavior and metabolomics of volatile constituents of urine. Sensor mice could be trained to discriminate between odors of mice with and without experimental tumors demonstrating that volatile odorants are sufficient to identify tumor-bearing mice. Consistent with this result, chemical analyses of urinary volatiles demonstrated that the amounts of several compounds were dramatically different between tumor and control mice. Using principal component analysis and supervised machine-learning, we accurately discriminated between tumor and control groups, a result that was cross validated with novel test groups. Although there were shared differences between experimental and control animals in the two tumor models, we also found chemical differences between these models, demonstrating tumor-based specificity. The success of these studies provides a novel proof-of-principle demonstration of lung tumor diagnosis through urinary volatile odorants. This work should provide an impetus for similar searches for volatile diagnostic biomarkers in the urine of human lung cancer patients.

  4. Androgen receptor levels during progression of prostate cancer in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krisna Murti

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Aim To construct tissue microarrays (TMAs that consisted of prostate tumours from the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP mice and non-transgenic murine prostates and to assess androgen receptor (AR levels during progression of prostate cancer in TRAMP mice by immunohistochemistry.Methods Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E sections from the ventral and dorso-lateral prostate lobes of non-transgenic, intact TRAMP and castrated TRAMP were used to demarcate regions of interest for TMAs construction. The samples on TMAs were used to evaluate AR expression using video image analysis (VIA.Results AR was expressed during cancer progression, but AR levels were reduced or absent in late stage disease. Furthermore, when AR levels were compared in tumours from intact and castrate animals, a significant increase in AR levels was observed following androgen ablation.Conclusion Similar to clinical prostate cancer, in the TRAMP model, prostate tumours evolve mechanisms to maintain AR expression and AR responsive gene pathways following castration to facilitate continued tumour growth. (Med J Indones 2010; 19:5-13Keywords : androgen ablation therapy, tissue microarrays, haematoxylin and eosin, video image analysis

  5. p53 constrains progression to anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in a Braf-mutant mouse model of papillary thyroid cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, David G.; Vernon, Amanda; Santiago, Philip M.; Martinez-McFaline, Raul; Bhutkar, Arjun; Crowley, Denise M.; McMahon, Martin; Sadow, Peter M.; Jacks, Tyler

    2014-01-01

    Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) has among the worst prognoses of any solid malignancy. The low incidence of the disease has in part precluded systematic clinical trials and tissue collection, and there has been little progress in developing effective therapies. v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF) and tumor protein p53 (TP53) mutations cooccur in a high proportion of ATCs, particularly those associated with a precursor papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). To develop an adult-onset model of BRAF-mutant ATC, we generated a thyroid-specific CreER transgenic mouse. We used a Cre-regulated BrafV600E mouse and a conditional Trp53 allelic series to demonstrate that p53 constrains progression from PTC to ATC. Gene expression and immunohistochemical analyses of murine tumors identified the cardinal features of human ATC including loss of differentiation, local invasion, distant metastasis, and rapid lethality. We used small-animal ultrasound imaging to monitor autochthonous tumors and showed that treatment with the selective BRAF inhibitor PLX4720 improved survival but did not lead to tumor regression or suppress signaling through the MAPK pathway. The combination of PLX4720 and the mapk/Erk kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD0325901 more completely suppressed MAPK pathway activation in mouse and human ATC cell lines and improved the structural response and survival of ATC-bearing animals. This model expands the limited repertoire of autochthonous models of clinically aggressive thyroid cancer, and these data suggest that small-molecule MAPK pathway inhibitors hold clinical promise in the treatment of advanced thyroid carcinoma. PMID:24711431

  6. Mouse Models of Breast Cancer: Platforms for Discovering Precision Imaging Diagnostics and Future Cancer Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, H Charles; Buck, Jason R; Cook, Rebecca S

    2016-02-01

    Representing an enormous health care and socioeconomic challenge, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Although many of the challenges associated with preventing, treating, and ultimately curing breast cancer are addressable in the laboratory, successful translation of groundbreaking research to clinical populations remains an important barrier. Particularly when compared with research on other types of solid tumors, breast cancer research is hampered by a lack of tractable in vivo model systems that accurately recapitulate the relevant clinical features of the disease. A primary objective of this article was to provide a generalizable overview of the types of in vivo model systems, with an emphasis primarily on murine models, that are widely deployed in preclinical breast cancer research. Major opportunities to advance precision cancer medicine facilitated by molecular imaging of preclinical breast cancer models are discussed. © 2016 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  7. Effect of xanthohumol on Th1/Th2 balance in a breast cancer mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenchao; Pan, Yanlong; Gou, Panhong; Zhou, Cheng; Ma, Lianqing; Liu, Qiming; Du, Yuping; Yang, Jinbo; Wang, Qin

    2018-01-01

    Xanthohumol (XN), a prenylflavonoid found in the hop plant, Humulus lupulus, exhibits a variety of biological activities. Numerous studies have reported that XN inhibits the growth of many types of cancer cells, but the effects of XN on tumor immunity have not yet been studied. We explored the effect of XN on Th1/Th2 balance and the underlying mechanism based on a BALB/c-4T1 breast cancer mouse model. The results showed that XN significantly slowed down tumor growth and inhibited expression of antitumor proliferation protein Ki-67 as well as breast cancer-specific marker cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that XN enhanced the secretion of perforin, granzyme B and increased the ratio of CD8+/CD25+. ELISA analysis of cytokine results demonstrated that XN obviously upregulated Th1 cytokines, while downregulated Th2 cytokines. Th1/Th2 ratio analysis by flow cytometry illustrated that XN regulated the balance drift to Th1 polarization. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) results manifested that XN induced expression of T-bet, a Th1-specific transcription factor. Furthermore, we found that XN significantly promoted the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)4. Our results demonstrated that XN promoted Th1/Th2 balance towards Th1 polarization, and STAT4 may play a positive role in the regulation of Th1/Th2 cytokines by XN.

  8. Ethanolic Extract of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Gamboge Inhibits Colon Cancer via the Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling Pathway in an Orthotopic Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wei; Li, Youran; Chen, Yiqi; Chen, Hongjin; Zhu, Ping; Xu, Minmin; Wang, Hao; Wu, Minna; Yang, Zhijian; Hoffman, Robert M; Gu, Yunfei

    2018-04-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of an ethanolic extract of gamboge (EEG), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), both in vitro on colon cancer cells and in vivo in an orthotopic mouse model of human colon cancer. The in vitro cytotoxicity of EEG on colon cancer cells was determined with the CCK8 proliferation assay and the Annexin V-PE/7-AAD apoptosis assay. Efficacy of EEG in vivo was evaluated in an orthotopic mouse model of human colon cancer implated with the green fluorescent protein-expressing human colon cancer cell line SW480-GFP. The tumor-bearing mice were treated with vehicle (0.2 ml/dose normal saline, po, daily), irinotecan (50 mg/kg/dose, ip, twice a week), 5-FU (15 mg/kg/dose, ip, every other day) as positive controls or EEG at doses of 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg/dose, po, daily. Real-time fluorescence imaging was performed to determine tumor inhibition in each treated group compared to the untreated controls. The protein expression of β-catenin, MMP-7, cyclin D1 and E-cadherin in the tumors was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. EEG significantly induced proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of SW480 colon cancer cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Tumor growth in the colon-cancer orthotopic model was significantly inhibited by irinotecan, 5-FU and all three doses of EEG. The efficacy of EEG was comparable to irinotecan and 5-FU. Irinotecan, 5-FU and 50 mg/kg EEG significantly decreased the protein expression of β-catenin and MMP-7. Cyclin D1 expression was decreased and E-cadherin expression was increased by irinotecan, 5-FU and all three doses of EEG. The present study demonstrates anti-tumor efficacy of EEG on colon cancer both in vitro and in vivo through inducing proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of SW480 colon cancer cells and inhibiting tumor growth, respectively. EEG exerts anti-tumor activity at least partly via down-regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Copyright© 2018, International

  9. Application of proteomics in the study of rodent models of cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Terp, Mikkel Green; Ditzel, Henrik J

    2014-01-01

    The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the multistage processes of cancer progression and metastasis are complex and strictly depend on the interplay between tumor cells and surrounding tissues. Identification of protein aberrations in cancer pathophysiology requires a physiologically r......, and monitoring of cancer progression and treatment response. Central to such studies is the ability to ensure at an early stage that the identified proteins are of clinical relevance by examining relevant specimens from larger cohorts of cancer patients.......The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the multistage processes of cancer progression and metastasis are complex and strictly depend on the interplay between tumor cells and surrounding tissues. Identification of protein aberrations in cancer pathophysiology requires a physiologically...... relevant experimental model. The mouse offers such a model to identify protein changes associated with tumor initiation and progression, metastasis development, tumor/microenvironment interplay, and treatment responses. Furthermore, the mouse model offers the ability to collect samples at any stage...

  10. Increased thrombin generation in a mouse model of cancer cachexia is partially interleukin-6 dependent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddel, C J; Allen, J D; Ehteda, A; Taylor, R; Chen, V M Y; Curnow, J L; Kritharides, L; Robertson, G

    2017-03-01

    Essentials Cancer cachexia and cancer-associated thrombosis have not previously been mechanistically linked. We assessed thrombin generation and coagulation parameters in cachectic C26 tumor-bearing mice. C26 mice are hypercoagulable, partially corrected by blocking tumor derived interleukin-6. Coagulability and anti-inflammatory interventions may be clinically important in cancer cachexia. Background Cancer cachexia and cancer-associated thrombosis are potentially fatal outcomes of advanced cancer, which have not previously been mechanistically linked. The colon 26 (C26) carcinoma is a well-established mouse model of complications of advanced cancer cachexia, partially dependent on high levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) produced by the tumor. Objectives To assess if cancer cachexia altered the coagulation state and if this was attributable to tumor IL-6 production. Methods In male BALB/c*DBA2 (F1 hybrid) mice with a C26 tumor we used modified calibrated automated thrombogram and fibrin generation (based on overall hemostatic potential) assays to assess the functional coagulation state, and also examined fibrinogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), platelet count, tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and hepatic expression of coagulation factors by microarray. C26 mice were compared with non-cachectic NC26, pair-fed and sham control mice. IL-6 expression in C26 cells was knocked down by lentiviral shRNA constructs. Results C26 mice with significant weight loss and highly elevated IL-6 had elevated thrombin generation, fibrinogen, ESR, platelets and TFPI compared with all control groups. Fibrin generation was elevated compared with pair-fed and sham controls but not compared with NC26 tumor mice. Hepatic expression of coagulation factors and fibrinolytic inhibitors was increased. Silencing IL-6 in the tumor significantly, but incompletely, attenuated the increased thrombin generation, fibrinogen and TFPI. Conclusions Cachectic C26 tumor-bearing mice are in a

  11. NIH mouse study finds gut microorganisms may determine cancer treatment outcome

    Science.gov (United States)

    An intact gut commensal microbiota, which is a population of microorganisms living in the intestine, is required for optimal response to cancer therapy, according to a mouse study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  12. The dynamics of gene expression changes in a mouse model of oral tumorigenesis may help refine prevention and treatment strategies in patients with oral cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foy, Jean-Philippe; Tortereau, Antonin; Caulin, Carlos; Le Texier, Vincent; Lavergne, Emilie; Thomas, Emilie; Chabaud, Sylvie; Perol, David; Lachuer, Joël; Lang, Wenhua; Hong, Waun Ki; Goudot, Patrick; Lippman, Scott M; Bertolus, Chloé; Saintigny, Pierre

    2016-06-14

    A better understanding of the dynamics of molecular changes occurring during the early stages of oral tumorigenesis may help refine prevention and treatment strategies. We generated genome-wide expression profiles of microdissected normal mucosa, hyperplasia, dysplasia and tumors derived from the 4-NQO mouse model of oral tumorigenesis. Genes differentially expressed between tumor and normal mucosa defined the "tumor gene set" (TGS), including 4 non-overlapping gene subsets that characterize the dynamics of gene expression changes through different stages of disease progression. The majority of gene expression changes occurred early or progressively. The relevance of these mouse gene sets to human disease was tested in multiple datasets including the TCGA and the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer project. The TGS was able to discriminate oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) from normal oral mucosa in 3 independent datasets. The OSCC samples enriched in the mouse TGS displayed high frequency of CASP8 mutations, 11q13.3 amplifications and low frequency of PIK3CA mutations. Early changes observed in the 4-NQO model were associated with a trend toward a shorter oral cancer-free survival in patients with oral preneoplasia that was not seen in multivariate analysis. Progressive changes observed in the 4-NQO model were associated with an increased sensitivity to 4 different MEK inhibitors in a panel of 51 squamous cell carcinoma cell lines of the areodigestive tract. In conclusion, the dynamics of molecular changes in the 4-NQO model reveal that MEK inhibition may be relevant to prevention and treatment of a specific molecularly-defined subgroup of OSCC.

  13. Conditional Expression of Human 15-Lipoxygenase-1 in Mouse Prostate Induces Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia: The FLiMP Mouse Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uddhav P. Kelavkar

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The incidence and mortality of prostate cancer (PCa vary greatly in different geographic regions, for which lifestyle factors, such as dietary fat intake, have been implicated. Human 15-lipoxygenase-1 (h15-LO-1, which metabolizes polyunsaturated fatty acids, is a highly regulated, tissue-specific, lipid-peroxidating enzyme that functions in physiological membrane remodeling and in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, inflammation, and carcinogenesis. We have shown that aberrant overexpression of 15-LO-1 occurs in human PCa, particularly high-grade PCa, and in high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN, and that the murine orthologue is increased in SV40-based genetically engineered mouse (GEM models of PCa, such as LADY and TRansgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate. To further define the role of 15-LO-1 in prostate carcinogenesis, we established a novel GEM model with targeted overexpression of h15-LO-1 in the prostate [human fifteen lipoxygenase-1 in mouse prostate (FLiMP]. We used a Cre- mediated and a loxP-mediated recombination strategy to target h15-LO-1 specifically to the prostate of C57BL/6 mice. Wild-type (wt, FLiMP+/-, and FLiMP+/+ mice aged 7 to 21, 24 to 28, and 35 weeks were characterized by histopathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC, and DNA/RNA and enzyme analyses. Compared to wt mice, h15-LO-1 enzyme activity was increased similarly in both homozygous FLiMP+/+ and hemizygous FLiMP+/- prostates. Dorsolateral and ventral prostates of FLiMP mice showed focal and progressive epithelial hyperplasia with nuclear atypia, indicative of the definition of mouse prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (mPIN according to the National Cancer Institute. These foci showed increased proliferation by Ki-67 IHC. No progression to invasive PCa was noted up to 35 weeks. By IHC, h15-LO-1 expression was limited to luminal epithelial cells, with increased expression in mPIN foci (similar to human HGPIN. In summary, targeted overexpression of h

  14. Mevalonate Pathway Antagonist Suppresses Formation of Serous Tubal Intraepithelial Carcinoma and Ovarian Carcinoma in Mouse Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Yusuke; Kashima, Hiroyasu; Wu, Ren-Chin; Jung, Jin-Gyoung; Kuan, Jen-Chun; Gu, Jinghua; Xuan, Jianhua; Sokoll, Lori; Visvanathan, Kala; Shih, Ie-Ming; Wang, Tian-Li

    2015-10-15

    Statins are among the most frequently prescribed drugs because of their efficacy and low toxicity in treating hypercholesterolemia. Recently, statins have been reported to inhibit the proliferative activity of cancer cells, especially those with TP53 mutations. Because TP53 mutations occur in almost all ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), we determined whether statins suppressed tumor growth in animal models of ovarian cancer. Two ovarian cancer mouse models were used. The first one was a genetically engineered model, mogp-TAg, in which the promoter of oviduct glycoprotein-1 was used to drive the expression of SV40 T-antigen in gynecologic tissues. These mice spontaneously developed serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs), which are known as ovarian cancer precursor lesions. The second model was a xenograft tumor model in which human ovarian cancer cells were inoculated into immunocompromised mice. Mice in both models were treated with lovastatin, and effects on tumor growth were monitored. The molecular mechanisms underlying the antitumor effects of lovastatin were also investigated. Lovastatin significantly reduced the development of STICs in mogp-TAg mice and inhibited ovarian tumor growth in the mouse xenograft model. Knockdown of prenylation enzymes in the mevalonate pathway recapitulated the lovastatin-induced antiproliferative phenotype. Transcriptome analysis indicated that lovastatin affected the expression of genes associated with DNA replication, Rho/PLC signaling, glycolysis, and cholesterol biosynthesis pathways, suggesting that statins have pleiotropic effects on tumor cells. The above results suggest that repurposing statin drugs for ovarian cancer may provide a promising strategy to prevent and manage this devastating disease. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

  15. Breeding a PKU-mouse model on Phe-free diet, is it possible?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dagnæs-Hansen, Frederik; Johansen, Karen Singers; Vorup-Jensen, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    The PKU-mouse model mutated in the PAH gene was developed in the 1990s in the laboratory of Dr. Alexandra Shedlovsky at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin. The mutation was generated by ENU (N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea) treatment of BTBR males. Several mutation was found...

  16. Role of Stat in Skin Carcinogenesis: Insights Gained from Relevant Mouse Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macias, E.; Rao, D.; DiGiovanni, J.; DiGiovanni, J.; DiGiovanni, J.

    2013-01-01

    Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat) is a cytoplasmic protein that is activated in response to cytokines and growth factors and acts as a transcription factor. Stat plays critical roles in various biological activities including cell proliferation, migration, and survival. Studies using keratinocyte-specific Stat-deficient mice have revealed that Stat plays an important role in skin homeostasis including keratinocyte migration, wound healing, and hair follicle growth. Use of both constitutive and inducible keratinocyte-specific Stat-deficient mouse models has demonstrated that Stat is required for both the initiation and promotion stages of multistage skin carcinogenesis. Further studies using a transgenic mouse model with a gain of function mutant of Stat (Stat3C) expressed in the basal layer of the epidermis revealed a novel role for Stat in skin tumor progression. Studies using similar Stat-deficient and gain-of-function mouse models have indicated its similar roles in ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation-mediated skin carcinogenesis. This paper summarizes the use of these various mouse models for studying the role and underlying mechanisms for the function of Stat in skin carcinogenesis. Given its significant role throughout the skin carcinogenesis process, Stat is an attractive target for skin cancer prevention and treatment.

  17. Quo natas, Danio?—Recent Progress in Modeling Cancer in Zebrafish

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Kirchberger

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decade, zebrafish has proven to be a powerful model in cancer research. Zebrafish form tumors that histologically and genetically resemble human cancers. The live imaging and cost-effective compound screening possible with zebrafish especially complement classic mouse cancer models. Here, we report recent progress in the field, including genetically engineered zebrafish cancer models, xenotransplantation of human cancer cells into zebrafish, promising approaches toward live investigation of the tumor microenvironment, and identification of therapeutic strategies by performing compound screens on zebrafish cancer models. Given the recent advances in genome editing, personalized zebrafish cancer models are now a realistic possibility. In addition, ongoing automation will soon allow high-throughput compound screening using zebrafish cancer models to be part of preclinical precision medicine approaches.

  18. Immunocompromised and immunocompetent mouse models for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei ZG

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Zhen-ge Lei,1,* Xiao-hua Ren,2,* Sha-sha Wang,3 Xin-hua Liang,3,4 Ya-ling Tang3,5 1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatological Hospital Affiliated to Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 2Department of Stomatology, Sichuan Medical Science Academy and Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, 3State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 4Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 5Department of Oral Pathology, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Mouse models can closely mimic human oral squamous epithelial carcinogenesis, greatly expand the in vivo research possibilities, and play a critical role in the development of diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. With the development of the recent research on the contribution of immunity/inflammation to cancer initiation and progression, mouse models have been divided into two categories, namely, immunocompromised and immunocompetent mouse models. And thus, this paper will review these two kinds of models applied in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to provide a platform to understand the complicated histological, molecular, and genetic changes of oral squamous epithelial tumorigenesis. Keywords: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HNSCC, mouse models, immunocompromised models, immunocompetent models, transgenic models

  19. Honokiol inhibits pathological retinal neovascularization in oxygen-induced retinopathy mouse model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vavilala, Divya Teja [Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO (United States); O’Bryhim, Bliss E. [Department of Ophthalmology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS (United States); Ponnaluri, V.K. Chaithanya [Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO (United States); White, R. Sid; Radel, Jeff [Department of Ophthalmology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS (United States); Symons, R.C. Andrew [Department of Ophthalmology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS (United States); Ophthalmology Department, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia); Department of Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia); Mukherji, Mridul, E-mail: mukherjim@umkc.edu [Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO (United States)

    2013-09-06

    Highlights: •Aberrant activation of HIF pathway is the underlying cause of ischemic neovascularization. •Honokiol has better therapeutic index as a HIF inhibitor than digoxin and doxorubicin. •Daily IP injection of honokiol in OIR mouse model reduced retinal neovascularization. •Honokiol also prevents vaso-obliteration, the characteristic feature of the OIR model. •Honokiol enhanced physiological revascularization of the retinal vascular plexuses. -- Abstract: Aberrant activation of the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway is the underlying cause of retinal neovascularization, one of the most common causes of blindness worldwide. The HIF pathway also plays critical roles during tumor angiogenesis and cancer stem cell transformation. We have recently shown that honokiol is a potent inhibitor of the HIF pathway in a number of cancer and retinal pigment epithelial cell lines. Here we evaluate the safety and efficacy of honokiol, digoxin, and doxorubicin, three recently identified HIF inhibitors from natural sources. Our studies show that honokiol has a better safety to efficacy profile as a HIF inhibitor than digoxin and doxorubicin. Further, we show for the first time that daily intraperitoneal injection of honokiol starting at postnatal day (P) 12 in an oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mouse model significantly reduced retinal neovascularization at P17. Administration of honokiol also prevents the oxygen-induced central retinal vaso-obliteration, characteristic feature of the OIR model. Additionally, honokiol enhanced physiological revascularization of the retinal vascular plexuses. Since honokiol suppresses multiple pathways activated by HIF, in addition to the VEGF signaling, it may provide advantages over current treatments utilizing specific VEGF antagonists for ocular neovascular diseases and cancers.

  20. Combined immunotherapy of breast cancer with EGF and VEGF vaccines from DNA shuffling in a mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Dong; Yu, Xin; Chen, Bing; Li, Zhitao; Ding, Jia; Zhao, Xiuyun; Qi, Gaofu

    2017-06-01

    Development of EGF and VEGF vaccines with high antigenicity for combined immunotherapy of EGF-EGFR signaling-dependent epithelial tumors such as breast cancer. EGF genes from mouse, human and chicken were randomly assembled to chimeric genes by DNA shuffling, then a chimeric EGF was selected out by PCR, SDS-PAGE and immunization for combined immunotherapy of breast cancer with a previously constructed chimeric VEGF vaccine from shuffling. Combined vaccination with chimeric EGF and VEGF from shuffling could induce high titer of antibodies against EGF and VEGF to inhibit tumor growth and angiogenesis, and improve the survival rate of mice with breast cancer. Combined vaccination with EGF and VEGF from shuffling showed better immunotherapy on EGF-EGFR signaling-dependent epithelial tumors such as breast cancer than the single-agent EGF vaccination.

  1. The cellular cancer resistance of the SR/CR mouse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Janne; Hau, Jann; Jensen, Henrik Elvang

    2012-01-01

    The SR/CR mouse phenotype, first described in 1999 in BALB/c and later bred into C57BL/6 mice, is resistant to cancer formation following high doses of cancer cells administered intraperitoneally. The tumor cell targeting and destruction mechanisms have not been identified. By fluorescence-activa...... controls. Importantly, this differentially regulated immune response of SR/CR mice could not be found in response to challenge with the lymphoma cell line EL-4....

  2. Cross-species comparison of aCGH data from mouse and human BRCA1- and BRCA2-mutated breast cancers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holstege, Henne; Wessels, Lodewyk FA; Nederlof, Petra M; Jonkers, Jos; Beers, Erik van; Velds, Arno; Liu, Xiaoling; Joosse, Simon A; Klarenbeek, Sjoerd; Schut, Eva; Kerkhoven, Ron; Klijn, Christiaan N

    2010-01-01

    Genomic gains and losses are a result of genomic instability in many types of cancers. BRCA1- and BRCA2-mutated breast cancers are associated with increased amounts of chromosomal aberrations, presumably due their functions in genome repair. Some of these genomic aberrations may harbor genes whose absence or overexpression may give rise to cellular growth advantage. So far, it has not been easy to identify the driver genes underlying gains and losses. A powerful approach to identify these driver genes could be a cross-species comparison of array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) data from cognate mouse and human tumors. Orthologous regions of mouse and human tumors that are commonly gained or lost might represent essential genomic regions selected for gain or loss during tumor development. To identify genomic regions that are associated with BRCA1- and BRCA2-mutated breast cancers we compared aCGH data from 130 mouse Brca1 Δ/Δ ;p53 Δ/Δ , Brca2 Δ/Δ ;p53 Δ/Δ and p53 Δ/Δ mammary tumor groups with 103 human BRCA1-mutated, BRCA2-mutated and non-hereditary breast cancers. Our genome-wide cross-species analysis yielded a complete collection of loci and genes that are commonly gained or lost in mouse and human breast cancer. Principal common CNAs were the well known MYC-associated gain and RB1/INTS6-associated loss that occurred in all mouse and human tumor groups, and the AURKA-associated gain occurred in BRCA2-related tumors from both species. However, there were also important differences between tumor profiles of both species, such as the prominent gain on chromosome 10 in mouse Brca2 Δ/Δ ;p53 Δ/Δ tumors and the PIK3CA associated 3q gain in human BRCA1-mutated tumors, which occurred in tumors from one species but not in tumors from the other species. This disparity in recurrent aberrations in mouse and human tumors might be due to differences in tumor cell type or genomic organization between both species. The selection of the oncogenome during

  3. Mevalonate Pathway Antagonist Inhibits Proliferation of Serous Tubal Intraepithelial Carcinoma and Ovarian Carcinoma in Mouse Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Yusuke; Kashima, Hiroyasu; Wu, Ren-Chin; Jung, Jin- Gyoung; Kuan, Jen-Chun; Gu, Jinghua; Xuan, Jianhua; Sokoll, Lori; Visvanathan, Kala; Shih, Ie-Ming; Wang, Tian-Li

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Statins are among the most frequently prescribed drugs because of their efficacy and low toxicity in treating hypercholesterolemia. Recently, statins have been reported to inhibit the proliferative activity of cancer cells, especially those with TP53 mutations. Since TP53 mutations occur in almost all of the ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma, we determined if statins suppressed tumor growth in animal models of ovarian cancer. Experimental Design Two ovarian cancer mouse models were employed. The first one was a genetically engineered model, mogp-TAg, in which the promoter of oviduct glycoprotein-1 was used to drive the expression of SV40 T-antigen in gynecologic tissues. These mice spontaneously develop serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs), which are known as ovarian cancer precursor lesions. The second model was a xenograft tumor model in which human ovarian cancer cells were inoculated into immunocompromised mice. Mice in both models were treated with lovastatin, and effects on tumor growth were monitored. The molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor effects of lovastatin were also investigated. Results Lovastatin significantly reduced the development of STICs in mogp-TAg mice and inhibited ovarian tumor growth in the mouse xenograft model. Knockdown of prenylation enzymes in the mevalonate pathway recapitulated the lovastatin-induced anti-proliferative phenotype. Transcriptome analysis indicated that lovastatin affected the expression of genes associated with DNA replication, Rho/PLC signaling, glycolysis, and cholesterol biosynthesis pathways, suggesting that statins have pleiotropic effects on tumor cells. Conclusion The above results suggest that repurposing statin drugs for ovarian cancer may provide a promising strategy to prevent and manage this devastating disease. PMID:26109099

  4. Preclinical Studies of Signaling Pathways in a Mutant Mouse Model of Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-01

    intraepithelial neoplasia in the mouse prostate. Cancer Res 63: 8784–8790. Joshua AM, Vukovic B, Braude I, Hussein S, Zielenska M, Srigley J , Evans A, Squire JA...prostate tumors 4. Reportable Outcomes Kinkade, C.W., Castillo-Martin, M., Puzio-Kuter, A., Yan, J ., Foster, T.H., Gao, H., Sun,, Y., Ouyang, X...2) Uzgare, A. R. and Isaacs, J . T. (2004). Enhanced redundancy in Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase-induced survival of malignant versus

  5. Characterization of Two Novel Oncogenic Pathways Collaborating With Loss of P53 or Activated Neu in Mouse Models of Breast Cancer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Lu, Jianrong; Leder, Philip

    2005-01-01

    .... The viral integrations result in marked overexpression of a novel, naturally occurring Fbw4 short isoform, which is also spontaneously enriched in several mouse and human breast cancer cell lines...

  6. Calorie restriction as an anti-invasive therapy for malignant brain cancer in the VM mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Laura M; Huysentruyt, Leanne C; Mukherjee, Purna; Seyfried, Thomas N

    2010-07-23

    GBM (glioblastoma multiforme) is the most aggressive and invasive form of primary human brain cancer. We recently developed a novel brain cancer model in the inbred VM mouse strain that shares several characteristics with human GBM. Using bioluminescence imaging, we tested the efficacy of CR (calorie restriction) for its ability to reduce tumour size and invasion. CR targets glycolysis and rapid tumour cell growth in part by lowering circulating glucose levels. The VM-M3 tumour cells were implanted intracerebrally in the syngeneic VM mouse host. Approx. 12-15 days post-implantation, brains were removed and both ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres were imaged to measure bioluminescence of invading tumour cells. CR significantly reduced the invasion of tumour cells from the implanted ipsilateral hemisphere into the contralateral hemisphere. The total percentage of Ki-67-stained cells within the primary tumour and the total number of blood vessels was also significantly lower in the CR-treated mice than in the mice fed ad libitum, suggesting that CR is anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic. Our findings indicate that the VM-M3 GBM model is a valuable tool for studying brain tumour cell invasion and for evaluating potential therapeutic approaches for managing invasive brain cancer. In addition, we show that CR can be effective in reducing malignant brain tumour growth and invasion.

  7. Calorie Restriction as an Anti-Invasive Therapy for Malignant Brain Cancer in the VM Mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura M Shelton

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available GBM (glioblastoma multiforme is the most aggressive and invasive form of primary human brain cancer. We recently developed a novel brain cancer model in the inbred VM mouse strain that shares several characteristics with human GBM. Using bioluminescence imaging, we tested the efficacy of CR (calorie restriction for its ability to reduce tumour size and invasion. CR targets glycolysis and rapid tumour cell growth in part by lowering circulating glucose levels. The VM-M3 tumour cells were implanted intracerebrally in the syngeneic VM mouse host. Approx. 12-15 days post-implantation, brains were removed and both ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres were imaged to measure bioluminescence of invading tumour cells. CR significantly reduced the invasion of tumour cells from the implanted ipsilateral hemisphere into the contralateral hemisphere. The total percentage of Ki-67-stained cells within the primary tumour and the total number of blood vessels was also significantly lower in the CR-treated mice than in the mice fed ad libitum, suggesting that CR is anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic. Our findings indicate that the VM-M3 GBM model is a valuable tool for studying brain tumour cell invasion and for evaluating potential therapeutic approaches for managing invasive brain cancer. In addition, we show that CR can be effective in reducing malignant brain tumour growth and invasion.

  8. Combination Effect of Regulatory T-Cell Depletion and Ionizing Radiation in Mouse Models of Lung and Colon Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Son, Cheol-Hun [Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Department of Biochemistry, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Jae-Ho [Department of Biochemistry, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Dong-Yeok; Lee, Hong-Rae; Jo, Wol-Soon; Yang, Kwangmo [Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Park, You-Soo, E-mail: biotek01@hanmail.net [Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-06-01

    Purpose: To investigate the potential of low-dose cyclophosphamide (LD-CTX) and anti-CD25 antibody to prevent activation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) during radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: We used LD-CTX and anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody as a means to inhibit Tregs and improve the therapeutic effect of radiation in a mouse model of lung and colon cancer. Mice were irradiated on the tumor mass of the right leg and treated with LD-CTX and anti-CD25 antibody once per week for 3 weeks. Results: Combined treatment of LD-CTX or anti-CD25 antibody with radiation significantly decreased Tregs in the spleen and tumor compared with control and irradiation only in both lung and colon cancer. Combinatorial treatments resulted in a significant increase in the effector T cells, longer survival rate, and suppressed irradiated and distal nonirradiated tumor growth. Specifically, the combinatorial treatment of LD-CTX with radiation resulted in outstanding regression of local and distant tumors in colon cancer, and almost all mice in this group survived until the end of the study. Conclusions: Our results suggest that Treg depletion strategies may enhance radiation-mediated antitumor immunity and further improve outcomes after radiation therapy.

  9. Monitoring Prostate Tumor Growth in an Orthotopic Mouse Model Using Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Imaging Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Ni

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Prostate cancer (CaP is the most commonly diagnosed and the second leading cause of death from cancer in males in USA. Prostate orthotopic mouse model has been widely used to study human CaP in preclinical settings. Measurement of changes in tumor size obtained from noninvasive diagnostic images is a standard method for monitoring responses to anticancer modalities. This article reports for the first time the usage of a three-dimensional (3D ultrasound system equipped with photoacoustic (PA imaging in monitoring longitudinal prostate tumor growth in a PC-3 orthotopic NODSCID mouse model (n = 8. Two-dimensional and 3D modes of ultrasound show great ability in accurately depicting the size and shape of prostate tumors. PA function on two-dimensional and 3D images showed average oxygen saturation and average hemoglobin concentration of the tumor. Results showed a good fit in representative exponential tumor growth curves (n = 3; r2 = 0.948, 0.955, and 0.953, respectively and a good correlation of tumor volume measurements performed in vivo with autopsy (n = 8, r = 0.95, P < .001. The application of 3D ultrasound imaging proved to be a useful imaging modality in monitoring tumor growth in an orthotopic mouse model, with advantages such as high contrast, uncomplicated protocols, economical equipment, and nonharmfulness to animals. PA mode also enabled display of blood oxygenation surrounding the tumor and tumor vasculature and angiogenesis, making 3D ultrasound imaging an ideal tool for preclinical cancer research.

  10. Lessons learned using different mouse models during space radiation-induced lung tumorigenesis experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jian; Zhang, Xiangming; Wang, Ping; Wang, Xiang; Farris, Alton B.; Wang, Ya

    2016-06-01

    Unlike terrestrial ionizing radiation, space radiation, especially galactic cosmic rays (GCR), contains high energy charged (HZE) particles with high linear energy transfer (LET). Due to a lack of epidemiologic data for high-LET radiation exposure, it is highly uncertain how high the carcinogenesis risk is for astronauts following exposure to space radiation during space missions. Therefore, using mouse models is necessary to evaluate the risk of space radiation-induced tumorigenesis; however, which mouse model is better for these studies remains uncertain. Since lung tumorigenesis is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, and low-LET radiation exposure increases human lung carcinogenesis, evaluating space radiation-induced lung tumorigenesis is critical to enable safe Mars missions. Here, by comparing lung tumorigenesis obtained from different mouse strains, as well as miR-21 in lung tissue/tumors and serum, we believe that wild type mice with a low spontaneous tumorigenesis background are ideal for evaluating the risk of space radiation-induced lung tumorigenesis, and circulating miR-21 from such mice model might be used as a biomarker for predicting the risk.

  11. A Bone Metastasis Nude Mouse Model Created by Ultrasound Guided Intracardiac Injection of Breast Cancer Cells: the Micro-CT, MRI and Bioluminescence Imaging Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Young Jin; Song, Eun Hye; Kim, Seol Hwa; Song, Ho Taek; Suh, Jin Suck [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Sang Hyun [Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, Heongsung (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-01-15

    The purpose of this study was to develop a nude mouse model of bone metastasis by performing intracardiac injection of breast cancer cells under ultrasonography guidance and we wanted to evaluate the development and the distribution of metastasis in vivo using micro-CT, MRI and bioluminescence imaging. Animal experiments were performed in 6-week-old female nude mice. The animals underwent left ventricular injection of 2x105 MDA-MB-231Bo-Luc cells. After injection of the tumor cells, serial bioluminescence imaging was performed for 7 weeks. The findings of micro-CT, MRI and the histology were correlated with the 'hot' lesions seen on the bioluminescence imaging. Metastasis was found in 62.3% of the animals. Two weeks after intracardiac injection, metastasis to the brain, spine and femur was detected with bioluminescence imaging with an increasing intensity by week 7. Micro-CT scan confirmed multiple osteolytic lesions at the femur, spine and skull. MRI and the histology were able to show metastasis in the brain and extraskeletal metastasis around the femur. The intracardiac injection of cancer cells under ultrasonography guidance is a safe and highly reproducible method to produce bone metastasis in nude mice. This bone metastasis nude mouse model will be useful to study the mechanism of bone metastasis and to validate new therapeutics

  12. Radio-deoxynucleoside Analogs used for Imaging tk Expression in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haibin Tian, Xincheng Lu, Hong Guo, David Corn, Joseph Molter, Bingcheng Wang, Guangbin Luo, Zhenghong Lee

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: A group of radiolabeled thymidine analogs were developed as radio-tracers for imaging herpes viral thymidine kinase (HSV1-tk or its variants used as reporter gene. A transgenic mouse model was created to express tk upon liver injury or naturally occurring hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. The purpose of this study was to use this unique animal model for initial testing with radio-labeled thymidine analogs, mainly a pair of newly emerging nucleoside analogs, D-FMAU and L-FMAU.Methods: A transgeneic mouse model was created by putting a fused reporter gene system, firefly luciferase (luc and HSV1-tk, under the control of mouse alpha fetoprotein (Afp promoter. Initial multimodal imaging, which was consisted of bioluminescent imaging (BLI and planar gamma scintigraphy with [125I]-FIAU, was used for examining the model creation in the new born and liver injury in the adult mice. Carcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN was then administrated to induce HCC in these knock-in mice such that microPET imaging could be used to track the activity of Afp promoter during tumor development and progression by imaging tk expression first with [18F]-FHBG. Dynamic PET scans with D-[18F]-FMAU and L-[18F]-FMAU were then performed to evaluate this pair of relatively new tracers. Cells were derived from these liver tumors for uptake assays using H-3 labeled version of PET tracers.Results: The mouse model with dual reporters: HSV1-tk and luc placed under the transcriptional control of an endogenous Afp promoter was used for imaging studies. The expression of the Afp gene was highly specific in proliferative hepatocytes, in regenerative liver, and in developing fetal liver, and thus provided an excellent indicator for liver injury and cancer development in adult mice. Both D-FMAU and L-FMAU showed stable liver tumor uptake where the tk gene was expressed under the Afp promoter. The performance of this pair of tracers was slightly different in terms of signal

  13. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling of an antagonist (SM-406/AT-406) of multiple inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) in a mouse xenograft model of human breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tao; Li, Yanyan; Zou, Peng; Yu, Jing-yu; McEachern, Donna; Wang, Shaomeng; Sun, Duxin

    2013-09-01

    The inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are a class of key apoptosis regulators overexpressed or dysregulated in cancer. SM-406/AT-406 is a potent and selective small molecule mimetic of Smac that antagonizes the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs). A physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PBPK-PD) model was developed to predict the tissue concentration-time profiles of SM-406, the related onco-protein levels in tumor, and the tumor growth inhibition in a mouse model bearing human breast cancer xenograft. In the whole body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for pharmacokinetics characterization, a well stirred (perfusion rate-limited) model was used to describe SM-406 pharmacokinetics in the lung, heart, kidney, intestine, liver and spleen, and a diffusion rate-limited (permeability limited) model was used for tumor. Pharmacodynamic (PD) models were developed to correlate the SM-406 concentration in tumor to the cIAP1 degradation, pro-caspase 8 decrease, CL-PARP accumulation and tumor growth inhibition. The PBPK-PD model well described the experimental pharmacokinetic data, the pharmacodynamic biomarker responses and tumor growth. This model may be helpful to predict tumor and plasma SM-406 concentrations in the clinic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. X-ray phase-contrast CT of a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arne Tapfer

    Full Text Available To explore the potential of grating-based x-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (CT for preclinical research, a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC was investigated. One ex-vivo mouse specimen was scanned with different grating-based phase-contrast CT imaging setups covering two different settings: i high-resolution synchrotron radiation (SR imaging and ii dose-reduced imaging using either synchrotron radiation or a conventional x-ray tube source. These experimental settings were chosen to assess the potential of phase-contrast imaging for two different types of application: i high-performance imaging for virtual microscopy applications and ii biomedical imaging with increased soft-tissue contrast for in-vivo applications. For validation and as a reference, histological slicing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI were performed on the same mouse specimen. For each x-ray imaging setup, attenuation and phase-contrast images were compared visually with regard to contrast in general, and specifically concerning the recognizability of lesions and cancerous tissue. To quantitatively assess contrast, the contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR of selected regions of interest (ROI in the attenuation images and the phase images were analyzed and compared. It was found that both for virtual microscopy and for in-vivo applications, there is great potential for phase-contrast imaging: in the SR-based benchmarking data, fine details about tissue composition are accessible in the phase images and the visibility of solid tumor tissue under dose-reduced conditions is markedly superior in the phase images. The present study hence demonstrates improved diagnostic value with phase-contrast CT in a mouse model of a complex endogenous cancer, promoting the use and further development of grating-based phase-contrast CT for biomedical imaging applications.

  15. A novel animal model for in vivo study of liver cancer metastasis

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Shinsuke Fujiwara; Katsutoshi Yoshizato; Hikaru Fujioka; Chise Tateno; Ken Taniguchi; Masahiro Ito; Hiroshi Ohishi; Rie Utoh; Hiromi Ishibashi; Takashi Kanematsu

    2012-01-01

    AIM:To establish an animal model with human hepatocyte-repopulated liver for the study of liver cancer metastasis.METHODS:Cell transplantation into mouse livers was conducted using alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing human gastric cancer cells (h-GCCs) and h-hepatocytes as donor cells in a transgenic mouse line expressing urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) driven by the albumin enhancer/promoter crossed with a severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mouse line (uPA/SCID mice).Host mice were divided into two groups (A and B).Group A mice were transplanted with h-GCCs alone,and group B mice were transplanted with h-GCCs and h-hepatocytes together.The replacement index (RI),which is the ratio of transplanted h-GCCs and h-hepatocytes that occupy the examined area of a histological section,was estimated by measuring h-AFP and h-albumin concentrations in sera,respectively,as well as by immunohistochemical analyses of h-AFP and human cytokeratin 18 in histological sections.RESULTS:The h-GCCs successfully engrafted,repopulated,and colonized the livers of mice in group A (RI =22.0% ± 2.6%).These mice had moderately differentiated adenocarcinomatous lesions with disrupted glandular structures,which is a characteristics feature of gastric cancers.The serum h-AFP level reached 211.0 ± 142.2 g/mL (range,7.1-324.2 g/mL).In group B mice,the h-GCCs and h-hepatocytes independently engrafted,repopulated the host liver,and developed colonies (RI =12.0% ± 6.8% and 66.0% ± 12.3%,respectively).h-GCC colonies also showed typical adenocarcinomatous glandular structures around the h-hepatocyte-colonies.These mice survived for the full 56day-study and did not exhibit any metastasis of h-GCCs in the extrahepatic regions during the observational period.The mice with an h-hepatocyte-repopulated liver possessed metastasized h-GCCs and therefore could be a useful humanized liver animal model for studying liver cancer metastasis in vivo.CONCLUSION:A novel animal model of

  16. Organoid Models of Human and Mouse Ductal Pancreatic Cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boj, Sylvia F.; Hwang, Chang-Il; Baker, Lindsey A.; Chio, Iok In Christine; Engle, Dannielle D.; Corbo, Vincenzo; Jager, Myrthe; Ponz-Sarvise, Mariano; Tiriac, Herve; Spector, Mona S.; Gracanin, Ana; Oni, Tobiloba; Yu, Kenneth H.; van Boxtel, Ruben; Huch, Meritxell; Rivera, Keith D.; Wilson, John P.; Feigin, Michael E.; Oehlund, Daniel; Handly-Santana, Abram; Ardito-Abraham, Christine M.; Ludwig, Michael; Elyada, Ela; Alagesan, Brinda; Biffi, Giulia; Yordanov, Georgi N.; Delcuze, Bethany; Creighton, Brianna; Wright, Kevin; Park, Youngkyu; Morsink, Folkert H. M.; Molenaar, IQ; Borel Rinkes, Inne H.; Cuppen, Edwin; Hao, Yuan; Jin, Ying; Nijman, Isaac J.; Iacobuzio-Donahue, Christine; Leach, Steven D.; Pappin, Darryl J.; Hammell, Molly; Klimstra, David S.; Basturk, Olca; Hruban, Ralph H.; Offerhaus, George Johan; Vries, Robert G. J.; Clevers, Hans; Tuveson, David A.

    2015-01-01

    Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies due to its late diagnosis and limited response to treatment. Tractable methods to identify and interrogate pathways involved in pancreatic tumorigenesis are urgently needed. We established organoid models from normal and neoplastic murine and

  17. Investigation of nuclear nano-morphology marker as a biomarker for cancer risk assessment using a mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bista, Rajan K.; Uttam, Shikhar; Hartman, Douglas J.; Qiu, Wei; Yu, Jian; Zhang, Lin; Brand, Randall E.; Liu, Yang

    2012-06-01

    The development of accurate and clinically applicable tools to assess cancer risk is essential to define candidates to undergo screening for early-stage cancers at a curable stage or provide a novel method to monitor chemoprevention treatments. With the use of our recently developed optical technology--spatial-domain low-coherence quantitative phase microscopy (SL-QPM), we have derived a novel optical biomarker characterized by structure-derived optical path length (OPL) properties from the cell nucleus on the standard histology and cytology specimens, which quantifies the nano-structural alterations within the cell nucleus at the nanoscale sensitivity, referred to as nano-morphology marker. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of the nuclear nano-morphology marker from histologically normal cells, extracted directly from the standard histology specimens, to detect early-stage carcinogenesis, assess cancer risk, and monitor the effect of chemopreventive treatment. We used a well-established mouse model of spontaneous carcinogenesis--ApcMin mice, which develop multiple intestinal adenomas (Min) due to a germline mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) gene. We found that the nuclear nano-morphology marker quantified by OPL detects the development of carcinogenesis from histologically normal intestinal epithelial cells, even at an early pre-adenomatous stage (six weeks). It also exhibits a good temporal correlation with the small intestine that parallels the development of carcinogenesis and cancer risk. To further assess its ability to monitor the efficacy of chemopreventive agents, we used an established chemopreventive agent, sulindac. The nuclear nano-morphology marker is reversed toward normal after a prolonged treatment. Therefore, our proof-of-concept study establishes the feasibility of the SL-QPM derived nuclear nano-morphology marker OPL as a promising, simple and clinically applicable biomarker for cancer risk assessment and

  18. Inhibition of STAT3 activity delays obesity-induced thyroid carcinogenesis in a mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jeong Won; Han, Cho Rong; Zhao, Li; Willingham, Mark C.; Cheng, Sheue-yann

    2015-01-01

    Compelling epidemiologic studies indicate that obesity is a risk factor for many human cancers, including thyroid cancer. In recent decades, the incidence of thyroid cancer has dramatically increased along with a marked rise in obesity prevalence. We previously demonstrated that a high fat diet (HFD) effectively induced the obese phenotype in a mouse model of thyroid cancer (ThrbPV/PVPten+/− mice). Moreover, HFD activates the STAT3 signal pathway to promote more aggressive tumor phenotypes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of S3I-201, a specific inhibitor of STAT3 activity, on HFD-induced aggressive cancer progression in the mouse model of thyroid cancer. Wild type and ThrbPV/PVPten+/− mice were treated with HFD together with S3I-201 or vehicle-only as controls. We assessed the effects of S3I-201 on HFD-induced thyroid cancer progression, the leptin-JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway, and key regulators of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. S3I-201 effectively inhibited HFD-induced aberrant activation of STAT3 and its downstream targets to markedly inhibit thyroid tumor growth and to prolong survival. Decreased protein levels of cyclins D1 and B1, cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 4, CDK 6, and phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein led to the inhibition of tumor cell proliferation in S3I-201-treated ThrbPV/PVPten+/− mice. Reduced occurrence of vascular invasion and blocking of anaplasia and lung metastasis in thyroid tumors of S3I-201-treated ThrbPV/PVPten+/− mice were mediated via decreased expression of vimentin and matrix metalloproteinases, two key effectors of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The present findings suggest that inhibition of the STAT3 activity would be a novel treatment strategy for obesity-induced thyroid cancer. PMID:26552408

  19. Cross-species analysis of genetically engineered mouse models of MAPK-driven colorectal cancer identifies hallmarks of the human disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Belmont

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Effective treatment options for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC are limited, survival rates are poor and this disease continues to be a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite being a highly heterogeneous disease, a large subset of individuals with sporadic CRC typically harbor relatively few established ‘driver’ lesions. Here, we describe a collection of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs of sporadic CRC that combine lesions frequently altered in human patients, including well-characterized tumor suppressors and activators of MAPK signaling. Primary tumors from these models were profiled, and individual GEMM tumors segregated into groups based on their genotypes. Unique allelic and genotypic expression signatures were generated from these GEMMs and applied to clinically annotated human CRC patient samples. We provide evidence that a Kras signature derived from these GEMMs is capable of distinguishing human tumors harboring KRAS mutation, and tracks with poor prognosis in two independent human patient cohorts. Furthermore, the analysis of a panel of human CRC cell lines suggests that high expression of the GEMM Kras signature correlates with sensitivity to targeted pathway inhibitors. Together, these findings implicate GEMMs as powerful preclinical tools with the capacity to recapitulate relevant human disease biology, and support the use of genetic signatures generated in these models to facilitate future drug discovery and validation efforts.

  20. Lessons learned using different mouse models during space radiation-induced lung tumorigenesis experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jian; Zhang, Xiangming; Wang, Ping; Wang, Xiang; Farris, Alton B; Wang, Ya

    2016-06-01

    Unlike terrestrial ionizing radiation, space radiation, especially galactic cosmic rays (GCR), contains high energy charged (HZE) particles with high linear energy transfer (LET). Due to a lack of epidemiologic data for high-LET radiation exposure, it is highly uncertain how high the carcinogenesis risk is for astronauts following exposure to space radiation during space missions. Therefore, using mouse models is necessary to evaluate the risk of space radiation-induced tumorigenesis; however, which mouse model is better for these studies remains uncertain. Since lung tumorigenesis is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, and low-LET radiation exposure increases human lung carcinogenesis, evaluating space radiation-induced lung tumorigenesis is critical to enable safe Mars missions. Here, by comparing lung tumorigenesis obtained from different mouse strains, as well as miR-21 in lung tissue/tumors and serum, we believe that wild type mice with a low spontaneous tumorigenesis background are ideal for evaluating the risk of space radiation-induced lung tumorigenesis, and circulating miR-21 from such mice model might be used as a biomarker for predicting the risk. Copyright © 2016 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Transgenic overexpression of NanogP8 in the mouse prostate is insufficient to initiate tumorigenesis but weakly promotes tumor development in the Hi-Myc mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bigang; Gong, Shuai; Li, Qiuhui; Chen, Xin; Moore, John; Suraneni, Mahipal V; Badeaux, Mark D; Jeter, Collene R; Shen, Jianjun; Mehmood, Rashid; Fan, Qingxia; Tang, Dean G

    2017-08-08

    This project was undertaken to address a critical cancer biology question: Is overexpression of the pluripotency molecule Nanog sufficient to initiate tumor development in a somatic tissue? Nanog1 is critical for the self-renewal and pluripotency of ES cells, and its retrotransposed homolog, NanogP8 is preferentially expressed in somatic cancer cells. Our work has shown that shRNA-mediated knockdown of NanogP8 in prostate, breast, and colon cancer cells inhibits tumor regeneration whereas inducible overexpression of NanogP8 promotes cancer stem cell phenotypes and properties. To address the key unanswered question whether tissue-specific overexpression of NanogP8 is sufficient to promote tumor development in vivo , we generated a NanogP8 transgenic mouse model, in which the ARR 2 PB promoter was used to drive NanogP8 cDNA. Surprisingly, the ARR 2 PB-NanogP8 transgenic mice were viable, developed normally, and did not form spontaneous tumors in >2 years. Also, both wild type and ARR 2 PB-NanogP8 transgenic mice responded similarly to castration and regeneration and castrated ARR 2 PB-NanogP8 transgenic mice also did not develop tumors. By crossing the ARR 2 PB-NanogP8 transgenic mice with ARR 2 PB-Myc (i.e., Hi-Myc) mice, we found that the double transgenic (i.e., ARR 2 PB-NanogP8; Hi-Myc) mice showed similar tumor incidence and histology to the Hi-Myc mice. Interestingly, however, we observed white dots in the ventral lobes of the double transgenic prostates, which were characterized as overgrown ductules/buds featured by crowded atypical Nanog-expressing luminal cells. Taken together, our present work demonstrates that transgenic overexpression of NanogP8 in the mouse prostate is insufficient to initiate tumorigenesis but weakly promotes tumor development in the Hi-Myc mouse model.

  2. RAS signaling and anti-RAS therapy: lessons learned from genetically engineered mouse models, human cancer cells, and patient-related studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Bingliang

    2016-01-01

    Activating mutations of oncogenic RAS genes are frequently detected in human cancers. The studies in genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) reveal that Kras-activating mutations predispose mice to early onset tumors in the lung, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract. Nevertheless, most of these tumors do not have metastatic phenotypes. Metastasis occurs when tumors acquire additional genetic changes in other cancer driver genes. Studies on clinical specimens also demonstrated that KRAS mutations are present in premalignant tissues and that most of KRAS mutant human cancers have co-mutations in other cancer driver genes, including TP53, STK11, CDKN2A, and KMT2C in lung cancer; APC, TP53, and PIK3CA in colon cancer; and TP53, CDKN2A, SMAD4, and MED12 in pancreatic cancer. Extensive efforts have been devoted to develop therapeutic agents that target enzymes involved in RAS posttranslational modifications, that inhibit downstream effectors of RAS signaling pathways, and that kill RAS mutant cancer cells through synthetic lethality. Recent clinical studies have revealed that sorafenib, a pan-RAF and VEGFR inhibitor, has impressive benefits for KRAS mutant lung cancer patients. Combination therapy of MEK inhibitors with either docetaxel, AKT inhibitors, or PI3K inhibitors also led to improved clinical responses in some KRAS mutant cancer patients. This review discusses knowledge gained from GEMMs, human cancer cells, and patient-related studies on RAS-mediated tumorigenesis and anti-RAS therapy. Emerging evidence demonstrates that RAS mutant cancers are heterogeneous because of the presence of different mutant alleles and/or co-mutations in other cancer driver genes. Effective subclassifications of RAS mutant cancers may be necessary to improve patients' outcomes through personalized precision medicine. © The Author 2015. Published by ABBS Editorial Office in association with Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

  3. Pulsatilla saponin A, an active molecule from Pulsatilla chinensis, induces cancer cell death and inhibits tumor growth in mouse xenograft models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Qiang; Chen, Weichang; Jiao, Yang; Hou, Jianquan; Wu, Qingyu; Liu, Yanli; Qi, Xiaofei

    2014-05-15

    Many natural compounds possess antitumor growth activities. Pulsatilla chinensis is an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat infectious diseases. More recently, extracts from P chinensis have been shown to contain antitumor activities. In this study, we isolated Pulsatilla saponin A as an active compound from P chinensis extracts and tested its anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. In cell culture, Pulsatilla saponin A significantly inhibited the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma SMCC-7721 cells and pancreatic BXPC3 and SW1990 cancer cells. Similar inhibitory activities were observed when the compound was tested in mouse xenograft tumor models using human hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 and pancreatic cancer SW1990 cells. In Comet assay and flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle distribution and annexin V expression, DNA damage, G2 arrest, and apoptosis were identified in Pulsatilla saponin A-treated cancer cells. Based on the results of Western blotting, p53 and cyclin B protein levels were higher, whereas Bcl-2 protein levels were lower in Pulsatilla saponin A-treated cancer cells than in vehicle-treated cells. Pulsatilla saponin A may exert its antitumor effect by inducing DNA damage and causing G2 arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells. Pulsatilla saponin A and its derivatives may be developed as a new class of anticancer agents. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Development of Mouse Models of Ovarian Cancer for Studying Tumor Biology and Testing Novel Molecularly Targeted Therapeutic Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-01

    obtained from the response of cancer cells in culture or implanted (xenografted) into immuno- compromised mice. Although there are many new drugs and...validation of constructs in vitro (completed, year 1 - Rehemtulla laboratory) Task 3: Plasmid DNA purification for injection, microinjection of mouse...ApoptosisLSL-Luc and Rosa26LSL-Luc reporters, Rehemtulla and Cho laboratories) Task 5: Determine transgene copy number, verify expression of tomato by

  5. CINcere Modelling : What Have Mouse Models for Chromosome Instability Taught Us?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Simon, Judith E; Bakker, Bjorn; Foijer, Floris

    2015-01-01

    Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a process leading to errors in chromosome segregation and results in aneuploidy, a state in which cells have an abnormal number of chromosomes. CIN is a hallmark of cancer, and furthermore linked to ageing and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's. Various mouse

  6. Melatonin receptors: latest insights from mouse models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosini, Gianluca; Owino, Sharon; Guillame, Jean-Luc; Jockers, Ralf

    2014-01-01

    Summary Melatonin, the neuro-hormone synthesized during the night, has recently seen an unexpected extension of its functional implications towards type 2 diabetes development, visual functions, sleep disturbances and depression. Transgenic mouse models were instrumental for the establishment of the link between melatonin and these major human diseases. Most of the actions of melatonin are mediated by two types of G protein-coupled receptors, named MT1 and MT2, which are expressed in many different organs and tissues. Understanding the pharmacology and function of mouse MT1 and MT2 receptors, including MT1/MT2 heteromers, will be of crucial importance to evaluate the relevance of these mouse models for future therapeutic developments. This review will critically discuss these aspects, and give some perspectives including the generation of new mouse models. PMID:24903552

  7. Hybrid light transport model based bioluminescence tomography reconstruction for early gastric cancer detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xueli; Liang, Jimin; Hu, Hao; Qu, Xiaochao; Yang, Defu; Chen, Duofang; Zhu, Shouping; Tian, Jie

    2012-03-01

    Gastric cancer is the second cause of cancer-related death in the world, and it remains difficult to cure because it has been in late-stage once that is found. Early gastric cancer detection becomes an effective approach to decrease the gastric cancer mortality. Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) has been applied to detect early liver cancer and prostate cancer metastasis. However, the gastric cancer commonly originates from the gastric mucosa and grows outwards. The bioluminescent light will pass through a non-scattering region constructed by gastric pouch when it transports in tissues. Thus, the current BLT reconstruction algorithms based on the approximation model of radiative transfer equation are not optimal to handle this problem. To address the gastric cancer specific problem, this paper presents a novel reconstruction algorithm that uses a hybrid light transport model to describe the bioluminescent light propagation in tissues. The radiosity theory integrated with the diffusion equation to form the hybrid light transport model is utilized to describe light propagation in the non-scattering region. After the finite element discretization, the hybrid light transport model is converted into a minimization problem which fuses an l1 norm based regularization term to reveal the sparsity of bioluminescent source distribution. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm is first demonstrated with a digital mouse based simulation with the reconstruction error less than 1mm. An in situ gastric cancer-bearing nude mouse based experiment is then conducted. The primary result reveals the ability of the novel BLT reconstruction algorithm in early gastric cancer detection.

  8. MUC1 enhances tumor progression and contributes toward immunosuppression in a mouse model of spontaneous pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinder, Teresa L; Subramani, Durai B; Basu, Gargi D; Bradley, Judy M; Schettini, Jorge; Million, Arefayene; Skaar, Todd; Mukherjee, Pinku

    2008-09-01

    MUC1, a membrane tethered mucin glycoprotein, is overexpressed and aberrantly glycosylated in >80% of human ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, the role of MUC1 in pancreatic cancer has been elusive, partly due to the lack of an appropriate model. We report the characterization of a novel mouse model that expresses human MUC1 as a self molecule (PDA.MUC1 mice). Pancreatic tumors arise in an appropriate MUC1-tolerant background within an immune-competent host. Significant enhancement in the development of pancreatic intraepithelial preneoplastic lesions and progression to adenocarcinoma is observed in PDA.MUC1 mice, possibly due to increased proliferation. Tumors from PDA.MUC1 mice express higher levels of cyclooxygenase-2 and IDO compared with PDA mice lacking MUC1, especially during early stages of tumor development. The increased proinflammatory milieu correlates with an increased percentage of regulatory T cells and myeloid suppressor cells in the pancreatic tumor and tumor draining lymph nodes. Data shows that during pancreatic cancer progression, MUC1-mediated mechanisms enhance the onset and progression of the disease, which in turn regulate the immune responses. Thus, the mouse model is ideally suited for testing novel chemopreventive and therapeutic strategies against pancreatic cancer.

  9. MUC1 enhances tumor progression and contributes towards immunosuppression in a mouse model of spontaneous pancreatic adenocarcinoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinder, Teresa L.; Subramani, Durai B.; Basu, Gargi D.; Bradley, Judy M.; Schettini, Jorge; Million, Arefayene; Skaar, Todd

    2008-01-01

    MUC1, a membrane tethered mucin glycoprotein, is overexpressed and aberrantly glycosylated in >80% of human ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, the role of MUC1 in pancreatic cancer has been elusive, partly due to the lack of an appropriate model. We report the characterization of a novel mouse model that expresses human MUC1 as a self molecule (PDA.MUC1 mice). Pancreatic tumors arise in an appropriate MUC1-tolerant background within an immune competent host. Significant enhancement in the development of pancreatic intraepithelial pre-neoplastic lesions (PanINs) and progression to adenocarcinoma is observed in PDA.MUC1 mice, possibly due to increased proliferation. Tumors from PDA.MUC1 mice express higher levels of cyclooxygenase-2 and indoleamine 2,3, dioxygenase compared to PDA mice lacking MUC1, especially during early stages of tumor development. The increased pro-inflammatory milieu correlates with an increased percentage of regulatory T cells and myeloid suppressor cells in the pancreatic tumor and tumor draining lymph nodes. Data shows that during pancreatic cancer progression, MUC1-mediated mechanisms enhance the onset and progression of the disease which in turn regulate the immune responses. Thus, the mouse model is ideally-suited for testing novel chemopreventive and therapeutic strategies against pancreatic cancer. PMID:18713982

  10. Examination of diagnostic features in multiphoton microscopy and optical coherence tomography images of ovarian tumorigenesis in a mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Jennifer M.

    Ovarian cancer is a deadly disease owing to the non-specific symptoms and suspected rapid progression, leading to frequent late stage detection and poor prognosis. Medical imaging methods such as CT, MRI and ultrasound as well as serum testing for cancer markers have had extremely poor performance for early disease detection. Due to the poor performance of available screening methods, and the impracticality and ineffectiveness of taking tissue biopsies from the ovary, women at high risk for developing ovarian cancer are often advised to undergo prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy. This surgery results in many side effects and is most often unnecessary since only a fraction of high risk women go on to develop ovarian cancer. Better understanding of the early development of ovarian cancer and characterization of morphological changes associated with early disease could lead to the development of an effective screening test for women at high risk. Optical imaging methods including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and multiphoton microscopy (MPM) are excellent tools for studying disease progression owing to the high resolution and depth sectioning capabilities. Further, these techniques are excellent for optical biopsy because they can image in situ non-destructively. In the studies described in this dissertation OCT and MPM are used to identify cellular and tissue morphological changes associated with early tumor development in a mouse model of ovarian cancer. This work is organized into three specific aims. The first aim is to use the images from the MPM phenomenon of second harmonic generation to quantitatively examine the morphological differences in collagen structure in normal mouse ovarian tissue and mouse ovarian tumors. The second aim is to examine the differences in endogenous two-photon excited fluorescence in normal mouse ovarian tissue and mouse ovarian tumors. The third and final aim is to identify changes in ovarian microstructure resulting from early

  11. Histoculture and the immunodeficient mouse come to the cancer clinic - rational approaches to individualizing cancer-therapy and new drug-evaluation (review).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, R

    1992-09-01

    histoculture with the MTT end point. The data reviewed and analyzed here thus indicate that three-dimensional culture systems offer much more realistic model systems for evaluating potential new cancer agents and individualized treatment such as predictive drug-response testing. The 'MetaMouse' model developed in our laboratory allows direct 'onplantation' of intact patient surgical cancer specimens orthotopically to athymic 'nude' mice with high-level expression of local growth on the target organ and high metastatic potential. Eight MetaMouse human cancer models are reviewed including those for the colon, bladder, lung, stomach, prostate, ovary, pancreas and head and neck. The human tumors growing and metastasizing in the mice reflect the clinical situation and should be useful for new drug evaluation and development of strategies for individual treatment. The combined technologies of histoculture and MetaMouse thus offer an integrated in vitro-in vivo system for preclinical evaluation of experimental and standard cancer therapy.

  12. Analysis of the effects of exposure to acute hypoxia on oxidative lesions and tumour progression in a transgenic mouse breast cancer model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lunt Sarah

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Tumour hypoxia is known to be a poor prognostic indicator, predictive of increased risk of metastatic disease and reduced survival. Genomic instability has been proposed as one of the potential mechanisms for hypoxic tumour progression. Both of these features are commonly found in many cancer types, but their relationship and association with tumour progression has not been examined in the same model. Methods To address this issue, we determined the effects of 6 week in vivo acute hypoxic exposure on the levels of mutagenic lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde, and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine DNA (8-oxo-dG lesions in the transgenic polyomavirus middle T (PyMT breast cancer mouse model. Results We observed significantly increased plasma lipid peroxidation and 8-oxo-dG lesion levels in the hypoxia-exposed mice. Consumption of malondialdehyde also induced a significant increase in the PyMT tumour DNA lesion levels, however, these increases did not translate into enhanced tumour progression. We further showed that the in vivo exposure to acute hypoxia induced accumulation of F4/80 positive tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs, demonstrating a relationship between hypoxia and macrophages in an experimental model. Conclusion These data suggest that although exposure to acute hypoxia causes an increase in 8-oxo-dG lesions and TAMs in the PyMT tumours, these increases do not translate into significant changes in tumour progression at the primary or metastatic levels in this strong viral oncogene-driven breast cancer model.

  13. A Mouse Tumor Model of Surgical Stress to Explore the Mechanisms of Postoperative Immunosuppression and Evaluate Novel Perioperative Immunotherapies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, Lee-Hwa; Tanese de Souza, Christiano; Sahi, Shalini; Zhang, Jiqing; Alkayyal, Almohanad A; Ananth, Abhirami Anu; Auer, Rebecca A.C.

    2014-01-01

    Surgical resection is an essential treatment for most cancer patients, but surgery induces dysfunction in the immune system and this has been linked to the development of metastatic disease in animal models and in cancer patients. Preclinical work from our group and others has demonstrated a profound suppression of innate immune function, specifically NK cells in the postoperative period and this plays a major role in the enhanced development of metastases following surgery. Relatively few animal studies and clinical trials have focused on characterizing and reversing the detrimental effects of cancer surgery. Using a rigorous animal model of spontaneously metastasizing tumors and surgical stress, the enhancement of cancer surgery on the development of lung metastases was demonstrated. In this model, 4T1 breast cancer cells are implanted in the mouse mammary fat pad. At day 14 post tumor implantation, a complete resection of the primary mammary tumor is performed in all animals. A subset of animals receives additional surgical stress in the form of an abdominal nephrectomy. At day 28, lung tumor nodules are quantified. When immunotherapy was given immediately preoperatively, a profound activation of immune cells which prevented the development of metastases following surgery was detected. While the 4T1 breast tumor surgery model allows for the simulation of the effects of abdominal surgical stress on tumor metastases, its applicability to other tumor types needs to be tested. The current challenge is to identify safe and promising immunotherapies in preclinical mouse models and to translate them into viable perioperative therapies to be given to cancer surgery patients to prevent the recurrence of metastatic disease. PMID:24686980

  14. Mouse models of Fanconi anemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parmar, Kalindi; D'Andrea, Alan; Niedernhofer, Laura J.

    2009-01-01

    Fanconi anemia is a rare inherited disease characterized by congenital anomalies, growth retardation, aplastic anemia and an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia and squamous cell carcinomas. The disease is caused by mutation in genes encoding proteins required for the Fanconi anemia pathway, a response mechanism to replicative stress, including that caused by genotoxins that cause DNA interstrand crosslinks. Defects in the Fanconi anemia pathway lead to genomic instability and apoptosis of proliferating cells. To date, 13 complementation groups of Fanconi anemia were identified. Five of these genes have been deleted or mutated in the mouse, as well as a sixth key regulatory gene, to create mouse models of Fanconi anemia. This review summarizes the phenotype of each of the Fanconi anemia mouse models and highlights how genetic and interventional studies using the strains have yielded novel insight into therapeutic strategies for Fanconi anemia and into how the Fanconi anemia pathway protects against genomic instability.

  15. Mouse models of Fanconi anemia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parmar, Kalindi; D' Andrea, Alan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Niedernhofer, Laura J., E-mail: niedernhoferl@upmc.edu [Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cancer Institute, 5117 Centre Avenue, Hillman Cancer Center, Research Pavilion 2.6, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1863 (United States)

    2009-07-31

    Fanconi anemia is a rare inherited disease characterized by congenital anomalies, growth retardation, aplastic anemia and an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia and squamous cell carcinomas. The disease is caused by mutation in genes encoding proteins required for the Fanconi anemia pathway, a response mechanism to replicative stress, including that caused by genotoxins that cause DNA interstrand crosslinks. Defects in the Fanconi anemia pathway lead to genomic instability and apoptosis of proliferating cells. To date, 13 complementation groups of Fanconi anemia were identified. Five of these genes have been deleted or mutated in the mouse, as well as a sixth key regulatory gene, to create mouse models of Fanconi anemia. This review summarizes the phenotype of each of the Fanconi anemia mouse models and highlights how genetic and interventional studies using the strains have yielded novel insight into therapeutic strategies for Fanconi anemia and into how the Fanconi anemia pathway protects against genomic instability.

  16. Mutational landscape of EGFR-, MYC-, and Kras-driven genetically engineered mouse models of lung adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, David G; Politi, Katerina; Bhutkar, Arjun; Chen, Frances K; Song, Xiaoling; Pirun, Mono; Santiago, Philip M; Kim-Kiselak, Caroline; Platt, James T; Lee, Emily; Hodges, Emily; Rosebrock, Adam P; Bronson, Roderick T; Socci, Nicholas D; Hannon, Gregory J; Jacks, Tyler; Varmus, Harold

    2016-10-18

    Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of cancer are increasingly being used to assess putative driver mutations identified by large-scale sequencing of human cancer genomes. To accurately interpret experiments that introduce additional mutations, an understanding of the somatic genetic profile and evolution of GEMM tumors is necessary. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing of tumors from three GEMMs of lung adenocarcinoma driven by mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), mutant Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (Kras), or overexpression of MYC proto-oncogene. Tumors from EGFR- and Kras-driven models exhibited, respectively, 0.02 and 0.07 nonsynonymous mutations per megabase, a dramatically lower average mutational frequency than observed in human lung adenocarcinomas. Tumors from models driven by strong cancer drivers (mutant EGFR and Kras) harbored few mutations in known cancer genes, whereas tumors driven by MYC, a weaker initiating oncogene in the murine lung, acquired recurrent clonal oncogenic Kras mutations. In addition, although EGFR- and Kras-driven models both exhibited recurrent whole-chromosome DNA copy number alterations, the specific chromosomes altered by gain or loss were different in each model. These data demonstrate that GEMM tumors exhibit relatively simple somatic genotypes compared with human cancers of a similar type, making these autochthonous model systems useful for additive engineering approaches to assess the potential of novel mutations on tumorigenesis, cancer progression, and drug sensitivity.

  17. Mutational landscape of EGFR-, MYC-, and Kras-driven genetically engineered mouse models of lung adenocarcinoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, David G.; Politi, Katerina; Bhutkar, Arjun; Chen, Frances K.; Song, Xiaoling; Pirun, Mono; Santiago, Philip M.; Kim-Kiselak, Caroline; Platt, James T.; Lee, Emily; Hodges, Emily; Rosebrock, Adam P.; Bronson, Roderick T.; Socci, Nicholas D.; Hannon, Gregory J.; Jacks, Tyler; Varmus, Harold

    2016-01-01

    Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of cancer are increasingly being used to assess putative driver mutations identified by large-scale sequencing of human cancer genomes. To accurately interpret experiments that introduce additional mutations, an understanding of the somatic genetic profile and evolution of GEMM tumors is necessary. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing of tumors from three GEMMs of lung adenocarcinoma driven by mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), mutant Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (Kras), or overexpression of MYC proto-oncogene. Tumors from EGFR- and Kras-driven models exhibited, respectively, 0.02 and 0.07 nonsynonymous mutations per megabase, a dramatically lower average mutational frequency than observed in human lung adenocarcinomas. Tumors from models driven by strong cancer drivers (mutant EGFR and Kras) harbored few mutations in known cancer genes, whereas tumors driven by MYC, a weaker initiating oncogene in the murine lung, acquired recurrent clonal oncogenic Kras mutations. In addition, although EGFR- and Kras-driven models both exhibited recurrent whole-chromosome DNA copy number alterations, the specific chromosomes altered by gain or loss were different in each model. These data demonstrate that GEMM tumors exhibit relatively simple somatic genotypes compared with human cancers of a similar type, making these autochthonous model systems useful for additive engineering approaches to assess the potential of novel mutations on tumorigenesis, cancer progression, and drug sensitivity. PMID:27702896

  18. Patient-Derived Xenografts of Non Small Cell Lung Cancer: Resurgence of an Old Model for Investigation of Modern Concepts of Tailored Therapy and Cancer Stem Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimo Moro

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Current chemotherapy regimens have unsatisfactory results in most advanced solid tumors. It is therefore imperative to devise novel therapeutic strategies and to optimize selection of patients, identifying early those who could benefit from available treatments. Mouse models are the most valuable tool for preclinical evaluation of novel therapeutic strategies in cancer and, among them, patient-derived xenografts models (PDX have made a recent comeback in popularity. These models, obtained by direct implants of tissue fragments in immunocompromised mice, have great potential in drug development studies because they faithfully reproduce the patient’s original tumor for both immunohistochemical markers and genetic alterations as well as in terms of response to common therapeutics They also maintain the original tumor heterogeneity, allowing studies of specific cellular subpopulations, including their modulation after drug treatment. Moreover PDXs maintain at least some aspects of the human microenvironment for weeks with the complete substitution with murine stroma occurring only after 2-3 passages in mouse and represent therefore a promising model for studies of tumor-microenvironment interaction. This review summarizes our present knowledge on mouse preclinical cancer models, with a particular attention on patient-derived xenografts of non small cell lung cancer and their relevance for preclinical and biological studies.

  19. Evaluation of (89Zr-labeled human anti-CD147 monoclonal antibody as a positron emission tomography probe in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aya Sugyo

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive cancer and its prognosis remains poor. Therefore, additional effective therapy is required to augment and/or complement current therapy. CD147, high expression in pancreatic cancer, is involved in the metastatic process and is considered a good candidate for targeted therapy. CD147-specfic imaging could be useful for selection of appropriate patients. Therefore, we evaluated the potential of a fully human anti-CD147 monoclonal antibody 059-053 as a new positron emission tomography (PET probe for pancreatic cancer. METHODS: CD147 expression was evaluated in four pancreatic cancer cell lines (MIA Paca-2, PANC-1, BxPC-3, and AsPC-1 and a mouse cell line A4 as a negative control. Cell binding, competitive inhibition and internalization assays were conducted with (125I-, (67Ga-, or (89Zr-labeled 059-053. In vivo biodistribution of (125I- or (89Zr-labeled 059-053 was conducted in mice bearing MIA Paca-2 and A4 tumors. PET imaging with [(89Zr]059-053 was conducted in subcutaneous and orthotopic tumor mouse models. RESULTS: Among four pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA Paca-2 cells showed the highest expression of CD147, while A4 cells had no expression. Immunohistochemical staining showed that MIA Paca-2 xenografts also highly expressed CD147 in vivo. Radiolabeled 059-053 specifically bound to MIA Paca-2 cells with high affinity, but not to A4. [(89Zr]059-053 uptake in MIA Paca-2 tumors increased with time from 11.0±1.3% injected dose per gram (ID/g at day 1 to 16.9±3.2% ID/g at day 6, while [(125I]059-053 uptake was relatively low and decreased with time, suggesting that 059-053 was internalized into tumor cells in vivo and (125I was released from the cells. PET with [(89Zr]059-053 clearly visualized subcutaneous and orthotopic tumors. CONCLUSION: [(89Zr]059-053 is a promising PET probe for imaging CD147 expression in pancreatic cancer and has the potential to select appropriate patients with CD147

  20. Multi-Modal Imaging in a Mouse Model of Orthotopic Lung Cancer

    OpenAIRE

    Patel, Priya; Kato, Tatsuya; Ujiie, Hideki; Wada, Hironobu; Lee, Daiyoon; Hu, Hsin-pei; Hirohashi, Kentaro; Ahn, Jin Young; Zheng, Jinzi; Yasufuku, Kazuhiro

    2016-01-01

    Background Investigation of CF800, a novel PEGylated nano-liposomal imaging agent containing indocyanine green (ICG) and iohexol, for real-time near infrared (NIR) fluorescence and computed tomography (CT) image-guided surgery in an orthotopic lung cancer model in nude mice. Methods CF800 was intravenously administered into 13 mice bearing the H460 orthotopic human lung cancer. At 48 h post-injection (peak imaging agent accumulation time point), ex vivo NIR and CT imaging was performed. A cli...

  1. The common parasite Toxoplasma gondii induces prostatic inflammation and microglandular hyperplasia in a mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colinot, Darrelle L; Garbuz, Tamila; Bosland, Maarten C; Wang, Liang; Rice, Susan E; Sullivan, William J; Arrizabalaga, Gustavo; Jerde, Travis J

    2017-07-01

    Inflammation is the most prevalent and widespread histological finding in the human prostate, and associates with the development and progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Several factors have been hypothesized to cause inflammation, yet the role each may play in the etiology of prostatic inflammation remains unclear. This study examined the possibility that the common protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii induces prostatic inflammation and reactive hyperplasia in a mouse model. Male mice were infected systemically with T. gondii parasites and prostatic inflammation was scored based on severity and focality of infiltrating leukocytes and epithelial hyperplasia. We characterized inflammatory cells with flow cytometry and the resulting epithelial proliferation with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. We found that T. gondii infects the mouse prostate within the first 14 days of infection and can establish parasite cysts that persist for at least 60 days. T. gondii infection induces a substantial and chronic inflammatory reaction in the mouse prostate characterized by monocytic and lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate. T. gondii-induced inflammation results in reactive hyperplasia, involving basal and luminal epithelial proliferation, and the exhibition of proliferative inflammatory microglandular hyperplasia in inflamed mouse prostates. This study identifies the common parasite T. gondii as a new trigger of prostatic inflammation, which we used to develop a novel mouse model of prostatic inflammation. This is the first report that T. gondii chronically encysts and induces chronic inflammation within the prostate of any species. Furthermore, T. gondii-induced prostatic inflammation persists and progresses without genetic manipulation in mice, offering a powerful new mouse model for the study of chronic prostatic inflammation and microglandular hyperplasia. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Ovarian function's role during cancer cachexia progression in the female mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetzler, Kimbell L; Hardee, Justin P; LaVoie, Holly A; Murphy, E Angela; Carson, James A

    2017-05-01

    Cachexia is a debilitating condition that occurs with chronic disease, including cancer; our research has shown that some regulation of cancer cachexia progression is affected by sex differences. The Apc Min/+ mouse is genetically predisposed to develop intestinal tumors; IL-6 signaling and hypogonadism are associated with cachexia severity in the male. This relationship in the female warrants further investigation, as we have shown that the ability of IL-6 to induce cachexia differs between the sexes. Since ovarian reproductive function relies on a complex system of endocrine signaling to affect whole body homeostasis, we examined the relationship between ovarian reproductive function and progression of cancer cachexia in the female Apc Min/+ mouse. Our study of ovarian reproductive function in female Apc Min/+ mice showed disease-related cessation of estrous cycling (acyclicity) in 38% of mice. Acyclicity, including morphological and functional losses and enhanced muscle inflammatory gene expression, was associated with severe cachexia. Interestingly, ovariectomy rescued body weight and muscle mass and function but increased muscle sensitivity to systemic IL-6 overexpression. In conclusion, our results provide evidence for a relationship between ovarian reproductive function and cachexia progression in female Apc Min/+ mice. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  3. A novel rabbit anti-hepatocyte growth factor monoclonal neutralizing antibody inhibits tumor growth in prostate cancer cells and mouse xenografts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Yanlan; Chen, Yicheng; Ding, Guoqing; Wang, Mingchao; Wu, Haiyang; Xu, Liwei; Rui, Xuefang; Zhang, Zhigen

    2015-01-01

    The hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor c-Met are correlated with castration-resistance in prostate cancer. Although HGF has been considered as an attractive target for therapeutic antibodies, the lack of cross-reactivity of monoclonal antibodies with human/mouse HGFs is a major obstacle in preclinical developments. We generated a panel of anti-HGF RabMAbs either blocking HGF/c-Met interaction or inhibiting c-Met phosphorylation. We selected one RabMAb with mouse cross-reactivity and demonstrated that it blocked HGF-stimulated downstream activation in PC-3 and DU145 cells. Anti-HGF RabMAb inhibited not only the growth of PC-3 cells but also HGF-dependent proliferation in HUVECs. We further demonstrated the efficacy and potency of the anti-HGF RabMAb in tumor xenograft mice models. Through these in vitro and in vivo experiments, we explored a novel therapeutic antibody for advanced prostate cancer. - Highlights: • HGF is an attractive target for castration-refractory prostate cancer. • We generated and characterized a panel of anti-HGF rabbit monoclonal antibodies. • More than half of these anti-HGF RabMAbs was cross-reactive with mouse HGF. • Anti-HGF RabMAb blocks HGF-stimulated phosphorylation and cell growth in vitro. • Anti-HGF RabMAb inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis in xenograft mice

  4. A novel rabbit anti-hepatocyte growth factor monoclonal neutralizing antibody inhibits tumor growth in prostate cancer cells and mouse xenografts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Yanlan; Chen, Yicheng; Ding, Guoqing; Wang, Mingchao; Wu, Haiyang; Xu, Liwei; Rui, Xuefang; Zhang, Zhigen, E-mail: srrshurology@163.com

    2015-08-14

    The hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor c-Met are correlated with castration-resistance in prostate cancer. Although HGF has been considered as an attractive target for therapeutic antibodies, the lack of cross-reactivity of monoclonal antibodies with human/mouse HGFs is a major obstacle in preclinical developments. We generated a panel of anti-HGF RabMAbs either blocking HGF/c-Met interaction or inhibiting c-Met phosphorylation. We selected one RabMAb with mouse cross-reactivity and demonstrated that it blocked HGF-stimulated downstream activation in PC-3 and DU145 cells. Anti-HGF RabMAb inhibited not only the growth of PC-3 cells but also HGF-dependent proliferation in HUVECs. We further demonstrated the efficacy and potency of the anti-HGF RabMAb in tumor xenograft mice models. Through these in vitro and in vivo experiments, we explored a novel therapeutic antibody for advanced prostate cancer. - Highlights: • HGF is an attractive target for castration-refractory prostate cancer. • We generated and characterized a panel of anti-HGF rabbit monoclonal antibodies. • More than half of these anti-HGF RabMAbs was cross-reactive with mouse HGF. • Anti-HGF RabMAb blocks HGF-stimulated phosphorylation and cell growth in vitro. • Anti-HGF RabMAb inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis in xenograft mice.

  5. The Mouse Genome Database (MGD): facilitating mouse as a model for human biology and disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eppig, Janan T; Blake, Judith A; Bult, Carol J; Kadin, James A; Richardson, Joel E

    2015-01-01

    The Mouse Genome Database (MGD, http://www.informatics.jax.org) serves the international biomedical research community as the central resource for integrated genomic, genetic and biological data on the laboratory mouse. To facilitate use of mouse as a model in translational studies, MGD maintains a core of high-quality curated data and integrates experimentally and computationally generated data sets. MGD maintains a unified catalog of genes and genome features, including functional RNAs, QTL and phenotypic loci. MGD curates and provides functional and phenotype annotations for mouse genes using the Gene Ontology and Mammalian Phenotype Ontology. MGD integrates phenotype data and associates mouse genotypes to human diseases, providing critical mouse-human relationships and access to repositories holding mouse models. MGD is the authoritative source of nomenclature for genes, genome features, alleles and strains following guidelines of the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice. A new addition to MGD, the Human-Mouse: Disease Connection, allows users to explore gene-phenotype-disease relationships between human and mouse. MGD has also updated search paradigms for phenotypic allele attributes, incorporated incidental mutation data, added a module for display and exploration of genes and microRNA interactions and adopted the JBrowse genome browser. MGD resources are freely available to the scientific community. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  6. Mouse ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporters Conferring Multi-Drug Resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuaizhang, L I; Zhang, Wen; Yin, Xuejiao; Xing, Shilai; Xie, Qunhui; Cao, Zhengyu; Zhao, Bin

    2015-04-28

    The ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporter is one of the largest and most ancient protein families with members functioning from protozoa to human. The resistance of cancer and tumor cells to anticancer drugs is due to the over-expression of some ABC transporters, which may finally lead to chemotherapy failure. The mouse ABC transporters are classified into seven subfamilies by phylogenetic analysis. The mouse ABC transporter gene, alias, chromosomal location and function have been determined. Within the ABC super-family, the MDR transporters (Abcb1, Abcc1, Abcg2) in mouse models have been proved to be valuable to investigate the biochemistry and physiological functions. This review concentrates on the multidrug resistance of mouse ABC transporters in cancer and tumor cells.

  7. Cyclophosphamide augments antitumor immunity: studies in an autochthonous prostate cancer model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wada, Satoshi; Yoshimura, Kiyoshi; Hipkiss, Edward L; Harris, Tim J; Yen, Hung-Rong; Goldberg, Monica V; Grosso, Joseph F; Getnet, Derese; Demarzo, Angelo M; Netto, George J; Anders, Robert; Pardoll, Drew M; Drake, Charles G

    2009-05-15

    To study the immune response to prostate cancer, we developed an autochthonous animal model based on the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mouse in which spontaneously developing tumors express influenza hemagglutinin as a unique, tumor-associated antigen. Our prior studies in these animals showed immunologic tolerance to hemagglutinin, mirroring the clinical situation in patients with cancer who are generally nonresponsive to their disease. We used this physiologically relevant animal model to assess the immunomodulatory effects of cyclophosphamide when administered in combination with an allogeneic, cell-based granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-secreting cancer immunotherapy. Through adoptive transfer of prostate/prostate cancer-specific CD8 T cells as well as through studies of the endogenous T-cell repertoire, we found that cyclophosphamide induced a marked augmentation of the antitumor immune response. This effect was strongly dependent on both the dose and the timing of cyclophosphamide administration. Mechanistic studies showed that immune augmentation by cyclophosphamide was associated with a transient depletion of regulatory T cells in the tumor draining lymph nodes but not in the peripheral circulation. Interestingly, we also noted effects on dendritic cell phenotype; low-dose cyclophosphamide was associated with increased expression of dendritic cell maturation markers. Taken together, these data clarify the dose, timing, and mechanism of action by which immunomodulatory cyclophosphamide can be translated to a clinical setting in a combinatorial cancer treatment strategy.

  8. Ovarian function’s role during cancer cachexia progression in the female mouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetzler, Kimbell L.; Hardee, Justin P.; LaVoie, Holly A.; Murphy, E. Angela

    2017-01-01

    Cachexia is a debilitating condition that occurs with chronic disease, including cancer; our research has shown that some regulation of cancer cachexia progression is affected by sex differences. The ApcMin/+ mouse is genetically predisposed to develop intestinal tumors; IL-6 signaling and hypogonadism are associated with cachexia severity in the male. This relationship in the female warrants further investigation, as we have shown that the ability of IL-6 to induce cachexia differs between the sexes. Since ovarian reproductive function relies on a complex system of endocrine signaling to affect whole body homeostasis, we examined the relationship between ovarian reproductive function and progression of cancer cachexia in the female ApcMin/+ mouse. Our study of ovarian reproductive function in female ApcMin/+ mice showed disease-related cessation of estrous cycling (acyclicity) in 38% of mice. Acyclicity, including morphological and functional losses and enhanced muscle inflammatory gene expression, was associated with severe cachexia. Interestingly, ovariectomy rescued body weight and muscle mass and function but increased muscle sensitivity to systemic IL-6 overexpression. In conclusion, our results provide evidence for a relationship between ovarian reproductive function and cachexia progression in female ApcMin/+ mice. PMID:28292759

  9. Proteomic profiling of the hypothalamus in a mouse model of cancer-induced anorexia-cachexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihnatko, R; Post, C; Blomqvist, A

    2013-10-01

    Anorexia-cachexia is a common and severe cancer-related complication but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, using a mouse model for tumour-induced anorexia-cachexia, we screened for proteins that are differentially expressed in the hypothalamus, the brain's metabolic control centre. The hypothalamus of tumour-bearing mice with implanted methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma (MCG 101) displaying anorexia and their sham-implanted pair-fed or free-fed littermates was examined using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE)-based comparative proteomics. Differentially expressed proteins were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The 2-DE data showed an increased expression of dynamin 1, hexokinase, pyruvate carboxylase, oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, and N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor in tumour-bearing mice, whereas heat-shock 70 kDa cognate protein, selenium-binding protein 1, and guanine nucleotide-binding protein Gα0 were downregulated. The expression of several of the identified proteins was similarly altered also in the caloric-restricted pair-fed mice, suggesting an involvement of these proteins in brain metabolic adaptation to restricted nutrient availability. However, the expression of dynamin 1, which is required for receptor internalisation, and of hexokinase, and pyruvate carboxylase were specifically changed in tumour-bearing mice with anorexia. The identified differentially expressed proteins may be new candidate molecules involved in the pathophysiology of tumour-induced anorexia-cachexia.

  10. Anti-VEGF Therapy in Breast and Lung Mouse Models of Cancers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Di Domenico Marina

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world after cardiovascular diseases. Some types of cancer cells often travel to other parts of the body through blood circulation or lymph vessels, where they begin to grow. This process is recognized as metastasis. Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels from existing vessel. Normally angiogenesis is a healthy process, that helps the body to heal wounds and repair damaged body tissues, whereas in cancerous condition this process supports new blood vessels formation that provide a tumor with its own blood supply, nutrients and allow it to grow. The most important proximal factor for angiogenesis is the vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF. Angioinhibition is a form of targeted therapy that uses drugs to stop tumors from making new blood vessels. Therefore, in this paper we analyse the importance of VEGF as target of cancer therapy, analysing murine models.

  11. Fluoxetine prevents the development of depressive-like behavior in a mouse model of cancer related fatigue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norden, Diana M; Devine, Raymond; Bicer, Sabahattin; Jing, Runfeng; Reiser, Peter J; Wold, Loren E; Godbout, Jonathan P; McCarthy, Donna O

    2015-03-01

    Cancer patients frequently suffer from fatigue, a complex syndrome associated with tiredness and depressed mood. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) can be present at the time of diagnosis, escalates during treatment, and can persist for years after treatment. CRF negatively influences quality of life, limits functional independence, and is associated with decreased survival in patients with incurable disease. We have previously shown that increased pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the brain contributes to depressive- and fatigue-like behaviors in a mouse model of CRF. Inflammatory cytokines increase the activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), which competitively reduce serotonin synthesis. Reduced serotonin availability in the brain and increased production of alternative neuroactive metabolites of tryptophan are thought to contribute to the development of depression and fatigue. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), on brain cytokines and behavioral measures of fatigue and depression in tumor-bearing mice. Here we show that tumor growth increased brain expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and KMO. Treatment with fluoxetine had no effect on tumor growth, muscle wasting, fatigue behavior, or cytokine expression in the brain. Fluoxetine, however, reduced depressive-like behaviors in tumor bearing mice. In conclusion, our data confirm that increased brain expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines is associated with tumor-induced fatigue- and depressive-like behaviors. However, it is possible to separate the effects of tumor growth on mood and fatigue-like behaviors using SSRIs such as fluoxetine. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Improved Resection and Outcome of Colon-Cancer Liver Metastasis with Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Using In Situ GFP Labeling with a Telomerase-Dependent Adenovirus in an Orthotopic Mouse Model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuya Yano

    Full Text Available Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS of cancer is an area of intense development. In the present report, we demonstrate that the telomerase-dependent green fluorescent protein (GFP-containing adenovirus OBP-401 could label colon-cancer liver metastasis in situ in an orthotopic mouse model enabling successful FGS. OBP-401-GFP-labeled liver metastasis resulted in complete resection with FGS, in contrast, conventional bright-light surgery (BLS did not result in complete resection of the metastasis. OBP-401-FGS reduced the recurrence rate and prolonged over-all survival compared with BLS. In conclusion, adenovirus OBP-401 is a powerful tool to label liver metastasis in situ with GFP which enables its complete resection, not possible with conventional BLS.

  13. The wobbler mouse, an ALS animal model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moser, Jakob Maximilian; Bigini, Paolo; Schmitt-John, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    This review article is focused on the research progress made utilizing the wobbler mouse as animal model for human motor neuron diseases, especially the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The wobbler mouse develops progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons and shows striking...

  14. Development of a Method to Implement Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing of cfDNA from Cancer Patients and a Mouse Tumor Model

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    Elaine C. Maggi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was to develop a method for whole genome cell-free DNA (cfDNA methylation analysis in humans and mice with the ultimate goal to facilitate the identification of tumor derived DNA methylation changes in the blood. Plasma or serum from patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or lung cancer, and plasma from a murine model of pancreatic adenocarcinoma was used to develop a protocol for cfDNA isolation, library preparation and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of ultra low quantities of cfDNA, including tumor-specific DNA. The protocol developed produced high quality libraries consistently generating a conversion rate >98% that will be applicable for the analysis of human and mouse plasma or serum to detect tumor-derived changes in DNA methylation.

  15. The adaptive immune system promotes initiation of prostate carcinogenesis in a human c-Myc transgenic mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melis, Monique H M; Nevedomskaya, Ekaterina; van Burgsteden, Johan; Cioni, Bianca; van Zeeburg, Hester J T; Song, Ji-Ying; Zevenhoven, John; Hawinkels, Lukas J A C; de Visser, Karin E; Bergman, Andries M

    2017-11-07

    Increasing evidence from epidemiological and pathological studies suggests a role of the immune system in the initiation and progression of multiple cancers, including prostate cancer. Reports on the contribution of the adaptive immune system are contradictive, since both suppression and acceleration of disease development have been reported. This study addresses the functional role of lymphocytes in prostate cancer development using a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of human c-Myc driven prostate cancer (Hi-Myc mice) combined with B and T cell deficiency (RAG1 -/- mice). From a pre-cancerous stage on, Hi-Myc mice showed higher accumulation of immune cells in their prostates then wild-type mice, of which macrophages were the most abundant. The onset of invasive adenocarcinoma was delayed in Hi-MycRAG1 -/- compared to Hi-Myc mice and associated with decreased infiltration of leukocytes into the prostate. In addition, lower levels of the cytokines CXCL2, CCL5 and TGF-β1 were detected in Hi-MycRAG1 -/- compared to Hi-Myc mouse prostates. These results from a GEMM of prostate cancer provide new insights into the promoting role of the adaptive immune system in prostate cancer development. Our findings indicate that the endogenous adaptive immune system does not protect against de novo prostate carcinogenesis in Hi-Myc transgenic mice, but rather accelerates the formation of invasive adenocarcinomas. This may have implications for the development of novel treatment strategies.

  16. Validation of a mouse xenograft model system for gene expression analysis of human acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis Richard W

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pre-clinical models that effectively recapitulate human disease are critical for expanding our knowledge of cancer biology and drug resistance mechanisms. For haematological malignancies, the non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID mouse is one of the most successful models to study paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL. However, for this model to be effective for studying engraftment and therapy responses at the whole genome level, careful molecular characterisation is essential. Results Here, we sought to validate species-specific gene expression profiling in the high engraftment continuous ALL NOD/SCID xenograft. Using the human Affymetrix whole transcript platform we analysed transcriptional profiles from engrafted tissues without prior cell separation of mouse cells and found it to return highly reproducible profiles in xenografts from individual mice. The model was further tested with experimental mixtures of human and mouse cells, demonstrating that the presence of mouse cells does not significantly skew expression profiles when xenografts contain 90% or more human cells. In addition, we present a novel in silico and experimental masking approach to identify probes and transcript clusters susceptible to cross-species hybridisation. Conclusions We demonstrate species-specific transcriptional profiles can be obtained from xenografts when high levels of engraftment are achieved or with the application of transcript cluster masks. Importantly, this masking approach can be applied and adapted to other xenograft models where human tissue infiltration is lower. This model provides a powerful platform for identifying genes and pathways associated with ALL disease progression and response to therapy in vivo.

  17. A Humanized Mouse Model Generated Using Surplus Neonatal Tissue

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    Matthew E. Brown

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Here, we describe the NeoThy humanized mouse model created using non-fetal human tissue sources, cryopreserved neonatal thymus and umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs. Conventional humanized mouse models are made by engrafting human fetal thymus and HSCs into immunocompromised mice. These mice harbor functional human T cells that have matured in the presence of human self-peptides and human leukocyte antigen molecules. Neonatal thymus tissue is more abundant and developmentally mature and allows for creation of up to ∼50-fold more mice per donor compared with fetal tissue models. The NeoThy has equivalent frequencies of engrafted human immune cells compared with fetal tissue humanized mice and exhibits T cell function in assays of ex vivo cell proliferation, interferon γ secretion, and in vivo graft infiltration. The NeoThy model may provide significant advantages for induced pluripotent stem cell immunogenicity studies, while bypassing the requirement for fetal tissue. : Corresponding author William Burlingham and colleagues created a humanized mouse model called the NeoThy. The NeoThy uses human neonatal, rather than fetal, tissue sources for generating a human immune system within immunocompromised mouse hosts. NeoThy mice are an attractive alternative to conventional humanized mouse models, as they enable robust and reproducible iPSC immunogenicity experiments in vivo. Keywords: NeoThy, humanized mouse, iPSC, PSC, immunogenicity, transplantation, immunology, hematopoietic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, thymus

  18. Dissection of the Mouse Pancreas for Histological Analysis and Metabolic Profiling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veite-Schmahl, Michelle J; Regan, Daniel P; Rivers, Adam C; Nowatzke, Joseph F; Kennedy, Michael A

    2017-08-19

    We have been investigating the pancreas specific transcription factor, 1a cre-recombinase; lox-stop-lox- Kristen rat sarcoma, glycine to aspartic acid at the 12 codon (Ptf1a cre/+ ;LSL-Kras G12D/+ ) mouse strain as a model of human pancreatic cancer. The goal of our current studies is to identify novel metabolic biomarkers of pancreatic cancer progression. We have performed metabolic profiling of urine, feces, blood, and pancreas tissue extracts, as well as histological analyses of the pancreas to stage the cancer progression. The mouse pancreas is not a well-defined solid organ like in humans, but rather is a diffusely distributed soft tissue that is not easily identified by individuals unfamiliar with mouse internal anatomy or by individuals that have little or no experience performing mouse organ dissections. The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed step-wise visual demonstration to guide novices in the removal of the mouse pancreas by dissection. This article should be especially valuable to students and investigators new to research that requires harvesting of the mouse pancreas by dissection for metabolic profiling or histological analyses.

  19. High Frequency of Interactions between Lung Cancer Susceptibility Genes in the Mouse : Mapping of Sluc5 to Sluc14

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fijneman, Remond J.A.; Jansen, Ritsert C.; Valk, Martin A. van der; Demant, Peter

    1998-01-01

    Although several genes that cause monogenic familial cancer syndromes have been identified, susceptibility to sporadic cancer remains unresolved. Animal experiments have demonstrated multigenic control of tumor susceptibility. Recently, we described four mouse lung cancer susceptibility (Sluc) loci,

  20. Maternal obesogenic diet induces endometrial hyperplasia, an early hallmark of endometrial cancer, in a diethylstilbestrol mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owuor, Theresa O; Reid, Michaela; Reschke, Lauren; Hagemann, Ian; Greco, Suellen; Modi, Zeel; Moley, Kelle H

    2018-01-01

    Thirty-eight percent of US adult women are obese, meaning that more children are now born of overweight and obese mothers, leading to an increase in predisposition to several adult onset diseases. To explore this phenomenon, we developed a maternal obesity animal model by feeding mice a diet composed of high fat/ high sugar (HF/HS) and assessed both maternal diet and offspring diet on the development of endometrial cancer (ECa). We show that maternal diet by itself did not lead to ECa initiation in wildtype offspring of the C57Bl/6J mouse strain. While offspring fed a HF/HS post-weaning diet resulted in poor metabolic health and decreased uterine weight (regardless of maternal diet), it did not lead to ECa. We also investigated the effects of the maternal obesogenic diet on ECa development in a Diethylstilbestrol (DES) carcinogenesis mouse model. All mice injected with DES had reproductive tract lesions including decreased number of glands, condensed and hyalinized endometrial stroma, and fibrosis and increased collagen deposition that in some mice extended into the myometrium resulting in extensive disruption and loss of the inner and outer muscular layers. Fifty percent of DES mice that were exposed to maternal HF/HS diet developed several features indicative of the initial stages of carcinogenesis including focal glandular and atypical endometrial hyperplasia versus 0% of their Chow counterparts. There was an increase in phospho-Akt expression in DES mice exposed to maternal HF/HS diet, a regulator of persistent proliferation in the endometrium, and no difference in total Akt, phospho-PTEN and total PTEN expression. In summary, maternal HF/HS diet exposure induces endometrial hyperplasia and other precancerous phenotypes in mice treated with DES. This study suggests that maternal obesity alone is not sufficient for the development of ECa, but has an additive effect in the presence of a secondary insult such as DES.

  1. Radiation-induced intestinal neoplasia in a genetically-predisposed mouse (Min)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellender, M.; Larder, S.M.; Harrison, J.D.; Cox, R.; Silver, A.R.J.

    1997-01-01

    A mouse lineage with inherited predisposition to multiple intestinal neoplasia (min) has been proposed as a model to study human colorectal cancer. Min mice are heterozygous for the adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) gene implicated in human familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). There is an increased risk of intestinal cancer in humans following radiation exposure and the min mouse model may be used to further our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved. The present study showed a 2 Gy dose of x-rays doubles the tumour numbers in the murine gastrointestinal tract of F1 min heterozygotes. The distribution of tumours through the gut was also recorded. (authors)

  2. Using a Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study c-Myc Oncogenic Pathway in Castration Resistance and Chemoresistance of Prostate Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-13-1-0162 TITLE: Using a Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study c -Myc Oncogenic Pathway in Castration Resistance and...DATES COVERED 15Sept2013 - 14Sept2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Using a Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study c -Myc Oncogenic...ABSTRACT We previously made a PB-Cre4/Ai-Myc model for Cre-induced and androgen-independent expression of c -Myc and Luc2 in prostate. This is designed

  3. Vascular endothelial growth factor-D over-expressing tumor cells induce differential effects on uterine vasculature in a mouse model of endometrial cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stacker Steven A

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It has been hypothesised that increased VEGF-D expression may be an independent prognostic factor for endometrial cancer progression and lymph node metastasis; however, the mechanism by which VEGF-D may promote disease progression in women with endometrial cancer has not been investigated. Our aim was to describe the distribution of lymphatic vessels in mouse uterus and to examine the effect of VEGF-D over-expression on these vessels in a model of endometrial cancer. We hypothesised that VEGF-D over-expression would stimulate growth of new lymphatic vessels into the endometrium, thereby contributing to cancer progression. Methods We initially described the distribution of lymphatic vessels (Lyve-1, podoplanin, VEGFR-3 and VEGF-D expression in the mouse uterus during the estrous cycle, early pregnancy and in response to estradiol-17beta and progesterone using immunohistochemistry. We also examined the effects of VEGF-D over-expression on uterine vasculature by inoculating uterine horns in NOD SCID mice with control or VEGF-D-expressing 293EBNA tumor cells. Results Lymphatic vessels positive for the lymphatic endothelial cell markers Lyve-1, podoplanin and VEGFR-3 profiles were largely restricted to the connective tissue between the myometrial circular and longitudinal muscle layers; very few lymphatic vessel profiles were observed in the endometrium. VEGF-D immunostaining was present in all uterine compartments (epithelium, stroma, myometrium, although expression was generally low. VEGF-D immunoexpression was slightly but significantly higher in estrus relative to diestrus; and in estradiol-17beta treated mice relative to vehicle or progesterone treated mice. The presence of VEGF-D over-expressing tumor cells did not induce endometrial lymphangiogenesis, although changes were observed in existing vessel profiles. For myometrial lymphatic and endometrial blood vessels, the percentage of profiles containing proliferating

  4. Behavioral phenotypes of genetic mouse models of autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazdoba, T M; Leach, P T; Crawley, J N

    2016-01-01

    More than a hundred de novo single gene mutations and copy-number variants have been implicated in autism, each occurring in a small subset of cases. Mutant mouse models with syntenic mutations offer research tools to gain an understanding of the role of each gene in modulating biological and behavioral phenotypes relevant to autism. Knockout, knockin and transgenic mice incorporating risk gene mutations detected in autism spectrum disorder and comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders are now widely available. At present, autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed solely by behavioral criteria. We developed a constellation of mouse behavioral assays designed to maximize face validity to the types of social deficits and repetitive behaviors that are central to an autism diagnosis. Mouse behavioral assays for associated symptoms of autism, which include cognitive inflexibility, anxiety, hyperactivity, and unusual reactivity to sensory stimuli, are frequently included in the phenotypic analyses. Over the past 10 years, we and many other laboratories around the world have employed these and additional behavioral tests to phenotype a large number of mutant mouse models of autism. In this review, we highlight mouse models with mutations in genes that have been identified as risk genes for autism, which work through synaptic mechanisms and through the mTOR signaling pathway. Robust, replicated autism-relevant behavioral outcomes in a genetic mouse model lend credence to a causal role for specific gene contributions and downstream biological mechanisms in the etiology of autism. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

  5. Transcriptome and DNA Methylome Analysis in a Mouse Model of Diet-Induced Obesity Predicts Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer

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    Ruifang Li

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Colorectal cancer (CRC tends to occur at older age; however, CRC incidence rates have been rising sharply among young age groups. The increasing prevalence of obesity is recognized as a major risk, yet the mechanistic underpinnings remain poorly understood. Using a diet-induced obesity mouse model, we identified obesity-associated molecular changes in the colonic epithelium of young and aged mice, and we further investigated whether the changes were reversed after weight loss. Transcriptome analysis indicated that obesity-related colonic cellular metabolic switch favoring long-chain fatty acid oxidation happened in young mice, while obesity-associated downregulation of negative feedback regulators of pro-proliferative signaling pathways occurred in older mice. Strikingly, colonic DNA methylome was pre-programmed by obesity at young age, priming for a tumor-prone gene signature after aging. Furthermore, obesity-related changes were substantially preserved after short-term weight loss, but they were largely reversed after long-term weight loss. We provided mechanistic insights into increased CRC risk in obesity.

  6. Characterization of 7A7, an anti-mouse EGFR monoclonal antibody proposed to be the mouse equivalent of cetuximab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xuzhi; Cruz, Jazmina L; Joseph, Shannon; Pett, Nicola; Chew, Hui Yi; Tuong, Zewen K; Okano, Satomi; Kelly, Gabrielle; Veitch, Margaret; Simpson, Fiona; Wells, James W

    2018-02-23

    The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is selectively expressed on the surface of numerous tumours, such as non-small cell lung, ovarian, colorectal and head and neck carcinomas. EGFR has therefore become a target for cancer therapy. Cetuximab is a chimeric human/mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to EGFR, where it both inhibits signaling and induces cell death by antibody-dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Cetuximab has been approved for clinical use in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and colorectal cancer. However, only 15-20% patients benefit from this drug, thus new strategies to improve cetuximab efficiency are required. We aimed to develop a reliable and easy preclinical mouse model to evaluate the efficacy of EGFR-targeted antibodies and examine the immune mechanisms involved in tumour regression. We selected an anti-mouse EGFR mAb, 7A7, which has been reported to be "mouse cetuximab" and to exhibit similar properties to its human counterpart. Unfortunately, we were unable to reproduce previous results obtained with the 7A7 mAb. In our hands, 7A7 failed to recognize mouse EGFR, both in native and reducing conditions. Moreover, in vivo administration of 7A7 in an EGFR-expressing HPV38 tumour model did not have any impact on tumour regression or animal survival. We conclude that 7A7 does not recognize mouse EGFR and therefore cannot be used as the mouse equivalent of cetuximab use in humans. As a number of groups have spent effort and resources with similar issues we feel that publication is a responsible approach.

  7. Molecular dynamics study of lipid bilayers modeling the plasma membranes of mouse hepatocytes and hepatomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andoh, Yoshimichi; Aoki, Noriyuki; Okazaki, Susumu

    2016-02-28

    Molecular dynamics (MD) calculations of lipid bilayers modeling the plasma membranes of normal mouse hepatocytes and hepatomas in water have been performed under physiological isothermal-isobaric conditions (310.15 K and 1 atm). The changes in the membrane properties induced by hepatic canceration were investigated and were compared with previous MD calculations included in our previous study of the changes in membrane properties induced by murine thymic canceration. The calculated model membranes for normal hepatocytes and hepatomas comprised 23 and 24 kinds of lipids, respectively. These included phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophospholipids, and cholesterol. We referred to previously published experimental values for the mole fraction of the lipids adopted in the present calculations. The calculated structural and dynamic properties of the membranes such as lateral structure, order parameters, lateral self-diffusion constants, and rotational correlation times all showed that hepatic canceration causes plasma membranes to become more ordered laterally and less fluid. Interestingly, this finding contrasts with the less ordered structure and increased fluidity of plasma membranes induced by thymic canceration observed in our previous MD study.

  8. ChLpMab-23: Cancer-Specific Human-Mouse Chimeric Anti-Podoplanin Antibody Exhibits Antitumor Activity via Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaneko, Mika K; Nakamura, Takuro; Kunita, Akiko; Fukayama, Masashi; Abe, Shinji; Nishioka, Yasuhiko; Yamada, Shinji; Yanaka, Miyuki; Saidoh, Noriko; Yoshida, Kanae; Fujii, Yuki; Ogasawara, Satoshi; Kato, Yukinari

    2017-06-01

    Podoplanin is expressed in many cancers, including oral cancers and brain tumors. The interaction between podoplanin and its receptor C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2) has been reported to be involved in cancer metastasis and tumor malignancy. We previously established many monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human podoplanin using the cancer-specific mAb (CasMab) technology. LpMab-23 (IgG 1 , kappa), one of the mouse anti-podoplanin mAbs, was shown to be a CasMab. However, we have not shown the usefulness of LpMab-23 for antibody therapy against podoplanin-expressing cancers. In this study, we first determined the minimum epitope of LpMab-23 and revealed that Gly54-Leu64 peptide, especially Gly54, Thr55, Ser56, Glu57, Asp58, Arg59, Tyr60, and Leu64 of podoplanin, is a critical epitope of LpMab-23. We further produced human-mouse chimeric LpMab-23 (chLpMab-23) and investigated whether chLpMab-23 exerts antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antitumor activity. In flow cytometry, chLpMab-23 showed high sensitivity against a podoplanin-expressing glioblastoma cell line, LN319, and an oral cancer cell line, HSC-2. chLpMab-23 also showed ADCC activity against podoplanin-expressing CHO cells (CHO/podoplanin). In xenograft models with HSC-2 and CHO/podoplanin, chLpMab-23 exerts antitumor activity using human natural killer cells, indicating that chLpMab-23 could be useful for antibody therapy against podoplanin-expressing cancers.

  9. Computational Modeling of Micrometastatic Breast Cancer Radiation Dose Response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Daniel L.; Debeb, Bisrat G. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Thames, Howard D. [Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Woodward, Wendy A., E-mail: wwoodward@mdanderson.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States)

    2016-09-01

    Purpose: Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) involves giving radiation to the entire brain with the goals of reducing the incidence of brain metastasis and improving overall survival. Experimentally, we have demonstrated that PCI prevents brain metastases in a breast cancer mouse model. We developed a computational model to expand on and aid in the interpretation of our experimental results. Methods and Materials: MATLAB was used to develop a computational model of brain metastasis and PCI in mice. Model input parameters were optimized such that the model output would match the experimental number of metastases per mouse from the unirradiated group. An independent in vivo–limiting dilution experiment was performed to validate the model. The effect of whole brain irradiation at different measurement points after tumor cells were injected was evaluated in terms of the incidence, number of metastases, and tumor burden and was then compared with the corresponding experimental data. Results: In the optimized model, the correlation between the number of metastases per mouse and the experimental fits was >95. Our attempt to validate the model with a limiting dilution assay produced 99.9% correlation with respect to the incidence of metastases. The model accurately predicted the effect of whole-brain irradiation given 3 weeks after cell injection but substantially underestimated its effect when delivered 5 days after cell injection. The model further demonstrated that delaying whole-brain irradiation until the development of gross disease introduces a dose threshold that must be reached before a reduction in incidence can be realized. Conclusions: Our computational model of mouse brain metastasis and PCI correlated strongly with our experiments with unirradiated mice. The results further suggest that early treatment of subclinical disease is more effective than irradiating established disease.

  10. Tissue distribution of crizotinib and gemcitabine combination in a patient-derived orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard J. Honeywell

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Pharmacokinetics focuses on the question whether a drug actually reaches its target in therapeutic concentrations or accumulates elsewhere, potentially causing toxicological or unpredictable side effects. We determined tissue distribution of gemcitabine, an antimetabolite, and crizotinib, a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor targeted against the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK and mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met receptors, in a validated orthotopic mouse model for pancreatic cancer. Mice with pancreatic cancer were treated with either oral crizotinib at 25 mg/kg, gemcitabine at 100 mg/kg or with their combination. Two hours after the last gemcitabine dose mice were sacrificed and all available blood/organs/tissues were sampled. Tissue was subsequently analyzed for drug concentrations using a validated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS technique. In whole blood gemcitabine was about 1.0 µM and crizotinib 2.4 µM in the single treatment, whereas in the combination crizotinib increased the levels of gemcitabine. Crizotinib was found in all major tissues, being highest in the intestine. Comparison of crizotinib alone to the gemcitabine-crizotinib combination showed that crizotinib tissue concentrations were 3-6 fold lower in liver, lung, kidney and spleen, 30-fold lower in the skin, heart and pancreas and 200-fold lower in the brain. Tissue gemcitabine was highest in spleen and skin, being about 5-10 fold higher than in the other tissues, including brain, which still had a relatively high accumulation. In conclusion, both gemcitabine and crizotinib accumulate at clinically active but variable levels in tissues, possibly relating to the effects exerted by these drugs.

  11. Analgesic effects of lappaconitine in leukemia bone pain in a mouse model

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    Xiao-Cui Zhu

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Bone pain is a common and severe symptom in cancer patients. The present study employed a mouse model of leukemia bone pain by injection K562 cells into tibia of mouse to evaluate the analgesic effects of lappacontine. Our results showed that the lappaconitine treatment at day 15, 17 and 19 could effectively reduce the spontaneous pain scoring values, restore reduced degree in the inclined-plate test induced by injection of K562 cells, as well as restore paw mechanical withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal thermal latency induced by injection of K562 cells to the normal levels. Additionally, the molecular mechanisms of lappaconitine’s analgesic effects may be related to affect the expression levels of endogenous opioid system genes (POMC, PENK and MOR, as well as apoptosis-related genes (Xiap, Smac, Bim, NF-κB and p53. Our present results indicated that lappaconitine may become a new analgesic agent for leukemia bone pain management.

  12. ATF1 and RAS in exosomes are potential clinical diagnostic markers for cervical cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yanhua; Wang, Wei; Yang, Baozhi; Tian, Hongge

    2017-10-01

    Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide. It is highly lethal yet can be treated when found in early stage. Thus, early detection is of significant important for early diagnosis of cervical cancer. Exosomes have been used as biomarkers in clinical diagnosis. It is unknown that whether blood exosomes associated with cervical cancer can be detected and if these exosomes can accurately represent the developmental stage of cervical cancer. Mouse models were made out of a relapsed cervical cancer patient's tumour sample for original and recurrent cervical cancer, and gene analysis in both tumours and exosomes in these mouse models were performed. We found that activating transcription factor 1 (ATF1) and RAS genes were significantly up-regulated in tumours of both primary and recurrent cervical cancer mouse model, and they can also be detected in the blood exosomes of the mouse model. Our results indicated that ATF1 and RAS could be potential candidate biomarkers for cervical cancer in early diagnosis. ATF1 and RAS genes were found significantly elevated in tumours of primary and recurrent cervical cancer mouse model, and they were also detected in the blood exosomes. Therefore, ATF1 and RAS could be used as a diagnostic marker for cervical cancer in the future. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Cytokine gene expression in a mouse model: The first instillations with viable bacillus Calmette-Guerin determine the succeeding Th1 response

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Boer, Elizabeth C.; Rooijakkers, Sietske J.; Schamhart, Denis H.; Kurth, Karl-Heinz

    2003-01-01

    Purpose: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy for superficial bladder cancer is immune dependent and activation of a Th1 immune response is probably required for clinical efficacy. Given the empirical approach to improving BCG therapy we investigated in a mouse model the consequences of

  14. Immuno-therapy with anti-CTLA4 antibodies in tolerized and non-tolerized mouse tumor models.

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    Jonas Persson

    Full Text Available Monoclonal antibodies specific for cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (anti-CTLA4 are a novel form of cancer immunotherapy. While preclinical studies in mouse tumor models have shown anti-tumor efficacy of anti-CTLA4 injection or expression, anti-CTLA4 treatment in patients with advanced cancers had disappointing therapeutic benefit. These discrepancies have to be addressed in more adequate pre-clinical models. We employed two tumor models. The first model is based on C57Bl/6 mice and syngeneic TC-1 tumors expressing HPV16 E6/E7. In this model, the HPV antigens are neo-antigens, against which no central tolerance exists. The second model involves mice transgenic for the proto-oncogen neu and syngeneic mouse mammary carcinoma (MMC cells. In this model tolerance to Neu involves both central and peripheral mechanisms. Anti-CTLA4 delivery as a protein or expression from gene-modified tumor cells were therapeutically efficacious in the non-tolerized TC-1 tumor model, but had no effect in the MMC-model. We also used the two tumor models to test an immuno-gene therapy approach for anti-CTLA4. Recently, we used an approach based on hematopoietic stem cells (HSC to deliver the relaxin gene to tumors and showed that this approach facilitates pre-existing anti-tumor T-cells to control tumor growth in the MMC tumor model. However, unexpectedly, when used for anti-CTLA4 gene delivery in this study, the HSC-based approach was therapeutically detrimental in both the TC-1 and MMC models. Anti-CTLA4 expression in these models resulted in an increase in the number of intratumoral CD1d+ NKT cells and in the expression of TGF-β1. At the same time, levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which potentially can support anti-tumor T-cell responses, were lower in tumors of mice that received anti-CTLA4-HSC therapy. The differences in outcomes between the tolerized and non-tolerized models also provide a potential explanation for the low efficacy

  15. Mouse infection models for space flight immunology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapes, Stephen Keith; Ganta, Roman Reddy; Chapers, S. K. (Principal Investigator)

    2005-01-01

    Several immunological processes can be affected by space flight. However, there is little evidence to suggest that flight-induced immunological deficits lead to illness. Therefore, one of our goals has been to define models to examine host resistance during space flight. Our working hypothesis is that space flight crews will come from a heterogeneous population; the immune response gene make-up will be quite varied. It is unknown how much the immune response gene variation contributes to the potential threat from infectious organisms, allergic responses or other long term health problems (e.g. cancer). This article details recent efforts of the Kansas State University gravitational immunology group to assess how population heterogeneity impacts host health, either in laboratory experimental situations and/or using the skeletal unloading model of space-flight stress. This paper details our use of several mouse strains with several different genotypes. In particular, mice with varying MHCII allotypes and mice on the C57BL background with different genetic defects have been particularly useful tools with which to study infections by Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Pasteurella pneumotropica and Ehrlichia chaffeensis. We propose that some of these experimental challenge models will be useful to assess the effects of space flight on host resistance to infection.

  16. uPAR as anti-cancer target

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Ida K; Illemann, Martin; Thurison, Tine

    2011-01-01

    , and a potential diagnostic and predictive impact of the different uPAR forms has been reported. Hence, pericellular proteolysis seems to be a suitable target for anti-cancer therapy and numerous approaches have been pursued. Targeting of this process may be achieved by preventing the binding of uPA to u...... using mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against mouse uPA or uPAR. These reagents will target uPA and uPAR in both stromal cells and cancer cells, and their therapeutic potential can now be assessed in syngenic mouse cancer models....

  17. A New Model to Study the Role of Arachidonic Acid in Colon Cancer Pathophysiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Yang-Yi; Callaway, Evelyn; M Monk, Jennifer; S Goldsby, Jennifer; Yang, Peiying; Vincent, Logan; S Chapkin, Robert

    2016-09-01

    A significant increase in cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) gene expression has been shown to promote cylcooxygenase-dependent colon cancer development. Controversy associated with the role of COX2 inhibitors indicates that additional work is needed to elucidate the effects of arachidonic acid (AA)-derived (cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase) eicosanoids in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. We have recently developed a novel Fads1 knockout mouse model that allows for the investigation of AA-dependent eicosanoid deficiency without the complication of essential fatty acid deficiency. Interestingly, the survival rate of Fads1-null mice is severely compromised after 2 months on a semi-purified AA-free diet, which precludes long-term chemoprevention studies. Therefore, in this study, dietary AA levels were titrated to determine the minimal level required for survival, while maintaining a distinct AA-deficient phenotype. Null mice supplemented with AA (0.1%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 2.0%, w/w) in the diet exhibited a dose-dependent increase (P sibling littermate control mice. These data indicate that (i) basal/minimal dietary AA supplementation (0.6%) expands the utility of the Fads1-null mouse model for long-term cancer prevention studies and (ii) that AA content in the colonic epithelium modulates colon cancer risk. Cancer Prev Res; 9(9); 750-7. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

  18. Mouse Model of Burn Wound and Infection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calum, Henrik; Høiby, Niels; Moser, Claus

    2017-01-01

    The immunosuppression induced by thermal injury renders the burned victim susceptible to infection. A mouse model was developed to examine the immunosuppression, which was possible to induce even at a minor thermal insult of 6% total body surface area. After induction of the burn (48 hr) a depres......The immunosuppression induced by thermal injury renders the burned victim susceptible to infection. A mouse model was developed to examine the immunosuppression, which was possible to induce even at a minor thermal insult of 6% total body surface area. After induction of the burn (48 hr...

  19. Profound Chemopreventative Effects of a Hydrogen Sulfide-Releasing NSAID in the APCMin/+ Mouse Model of Intestinal Tumorigenesis.

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    Mark Paul-Clark

    Full Text Available Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal cancers, but the propensity of these drugs to cause ulcers and bleeding limits their use. H2S has been shown to be a powerful cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory substance in the digestive system. This study explored the possibility that a H2S-releasing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (ATB-346 would be effective in a murine model of hereditary intestinal cancer (APCMin+ mouse and investigated potential mechanisms of action via transcriptomics analysis. Daily treatment with ATB-346 was significantly more effective at preventing intestinal polyp formation than naproxen. Significant beneficial effects were seen with a treatment period of only 3-7 days, and reversal of existing polyps was observed in the colon. ATB-346, but not naproxen, significantly decreased expression of intestinal cancer-associated signaling molecules (cMyc, β-catenin. Transcriptomic analysis identified 20 genes that were up-regulated in APCMin+ mice, 18 of which were reduced to wild-type levels by one week of treatment with ATB-346. ATB-346 is a novel, gastrointestinal-sparing anti-inflammatory drug that potently and rapidly prevents and reverses the development of pre-cancerous lesions in a mouse model of hereditary intestinal tumorigenesis. These effects may be related to the combined effects of suppression of cyclooxygenase and release of H2S, and correction of most of the APCMin+-associated alterations in the transcriptome. ATB-346 may represent a promising agent for chemoprevention of tumorigenesis in the GI tract and elsewhere.

  20. PEGylated liposome IHL-305 markedly improved the survival of ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis in mouse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konishi, Hiroaki; Takagi, Akimitsu; Kurita, Akinobu; Kaneda, Norimasa; Matsuzaki, Takeshi

    2012-01-01

    Advanced ovarian cancer is characterized by peritoneal metastasis and the accumulation of ascites. Peritoneal metastasis of ovarian cancer is a major cause of the negative treatment outcome, as these metastases are resistant to most chemotherapy regimens. The aim of this study was to clarify aggressive pathology of peritoneal metastasis and examine the therapeutic efficacy of a liposomal agent in the model. A human cancer cell line ES-2 of ovarian clear cell carcinoma, known as a chemotherapy-resistant cancer, was cultured in nonadherent plate to form spheroid and single cell suspension was transplanted into mouse peritoneal cavity. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways in the cellular aggregates were analyzed both spheroid and ascites. The pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy of CPT-11 (45 mg/kg) and IHL-305 (45 mg/kg), an irinotecan-encapsulated liposome, were examined by intravenous administration. Established peritoneal metastasis model showed an accumulation of ascites. The activation of EGFR and Akt was demonstrated in cellular aggregates both in the spheroid and ascites. In ascites samples, the area under the curve of SN-38, the activated form of CPT-11, was 3.8 times higher from IHL-305-treated mice than from CPT-11-treated mice. IHL-305 prolonged the survival time and decreased the accumulation of ascites and tumor metastasis. The median survival time were 22, 37 and 54 days in the control, CPT-11-treated, and IHL-305-treated mice, respectively. EGFR/Akt pathway contributes to the aggressive progression in ES-2 peritoneal metastasis model and effective delivery into ascites of IHL-305 was thought to useful treatment for ovarian cancer with peritoneal metastasis

  1. Isolation and characterization of a new cell line from spontaneous mouse mammary tumour, MBL-6, for in vivo cancer studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladan Langroudi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In search for treatments against breast cancer, cell lines are one of the basic resources, particularly as in vitro models. Additionally, animal models of cancer are used as the successive step in therapeutics research. In this regard, human breast cancer cell lines provide fundamental models in vitro. However, in vivo studies require immunodeficient mice, which lack the influence of other in vivo factors such as the native microenvironment and the immune system. There are few standard models to study the pathogenic mechanism at molecular level and cell signaling pathway of breast cancer. In this study, a new mouse breast cancer cell line, MBL-6, was successfully established and characterized from tissues of a spontaneous mammary tumor. The cell line had epithelial morphology, formed adherent monolayer, maintained continuously in vitro and was able to form new tumors when injected subcutaneously in syngeneic mice. The growth pattern and metastasis evaluations revealed a considerable in situ duration before invading distant organs. Real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR analysis showed the expression of ER-, PR- and Her-2 receptors. The chromosome analysis showed numerous chromosomal abnormalities. Aggressive tumorigenecity in tumorigenesis test and the IC50 to cyclophosphamide (CTX, celecoxib (CLX and cisplatin (CPN was also evaluated. The numerous tests performed on the new MBL-6 cell line suggest that it is in good quality and may be used in animal models of breast cancer studies.

  2. Multimodality pH imaging in a mouse dorsal skin fold window chamber model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Hui Min; Schafer, Rachel; Pagel, Mark M.; Robey, Ian F.; Gmitro, Arthur F.

    2013-03-01

    Upregulate levels of expression and activity of membrane H+ ion pumps in cancer cells drives the extracellular pH (pHe,) to values lower than normal. Furthermore, disregulated pH is indicative of the changes in glycolytic metabolism in tumor cells and has been shown to facilitate extracellular tissue remodeling during metastasis Therefore, measurement of pHe could be a useful cancer biomarker for diagnostic and therapy monitoring evaluation. Multimodality in-vivo imaging of pHe in tumorous tissue in a mouse dorsal skin fold window chamber (DSFWC) model is described. A custom-made plastic window chamber structure was developed that is compatible with both imaging optical and MR imaging modalities and provides a model system for continuous study of the same tissue microenvironment on multiple imaging platforms over a 3-week period. For optical imaging of pHe, SNARF-1 carboxylic acid is injected intravenously into a SCID mouse with an implanted tumor. A ratiometric measurement of the fluorescence signal captured on a confocal microscope reveals the pHe of the tissue visible within the window chamber. This imaging method was used in a preliminary study to evaluate sodium bicarbonate as a potential drug treatment to reverse tissue acidosis. For MR imaging of pHe the chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) was used as an alternative way of measuring pHe in a DSFWC model. ULTRAVIST®, a FDA approved x-ray/CT contrast agent has been shown to have a CEST effect that is pH dependent. A ratiometric analysis of water saturation at 5.6 and 4.2 ppm chemical shift provides a means to estimate the local pHe.

  3. Technical challenges and limitations of current mouse models of ovarian cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garson Kenneth

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The development of genetically engineered models (GEM of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC has been very successful, with well validated models representing high grade and low grade serous adenocarcinomas and endometrioid carcinoma (EC. Most of these models were developed using technologies intended to target the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE, the cell type long believed to be the origin of EOC. More recent evidence has highlighted what is likely a more prevalent role of the secretory cell of the fallopian tube in the ontogeny of EOC, however none of the GEM of EOC have demonstrated successful targeting of this important cell type. The precise technologies exploited to develop the existing GEM of EOC are varied and carry with them advantages and disadvantages. The use of tissue specific promoters to model disease has been very successful, but the lack of any truly specific OSE or oviductal secretory cell promoters makes the outcomes of these models quite unpredictable. Effecting genetic change by the administration of adenoviral vectors expressing Cre recombinase may alleviate the perceived need for tissue specific promoters, however the efficiencies of infection of different cell types is subject to numerous biological parameters that may lead to preferential targeting of certain cell populations. One important future avenue of GEM of EOC is the evaluation of the role of genetic modifiers. We have found that genetic background can lead to contrasting phenotypes in one model of ovarian cancer, and data from other laboratories have also hinted that the exact genetic background of the model may influence the resulting phenotype. The different genetic backgrounds may modify the biology of the tumors in a manner that will be relevant to human disease, but they may also be modifying parameters which impact the response of the host to the technologies employed to develop the model.

  4. A Mouse Model of Chronic West Nile Virus Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica B Graham

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Infection with West Nile virus (WNV leads to a range of disease outcomes, including chronic infection, though lack of a robust mouse model of chronic WNV infection has precluded identification of the immune events contributing to persistent infection. Using the Collaborative Cross, a population of recombinant inbred mouse strains with high levels of standing genetic variation, we have identified a mouse model of persistent WNV disease, with persistence of viral loads within the brain. Compared to lines exhibiting no disease or marked disease, the F1 cross CC(032x013F1 displays a strong immunoregulatory signature upon infection that correlates with restraint of the WNV-directed cytolytic response. We hypothesize that this regulatory T cell response sufficiently restrains the immune response such that a chronic infection can be maintained in the CNS. Use of this new mouse model of chronic neuroinvasive virus will be critical in developing improved strategies to prevent prolonged disease in humans.

  5. Korean Solar Salt Ameliorates Colon Carcinogenesis in an AOM/DSS-Induced C57BL/6 Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Jaehyun; Kim, Yeung-Ju; Park, Eui Seong; Park, Kun-Young

    2017-06-01

    The effects of Korean solar salt on an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colon cancer C57BL/6 mouse model were studied. Korean solar salt samples (SS-S, solar salt from S salt field; SS-Yb, solar salt from Yb salt field), nine-time-baked bamboo salt (BS-9x, made from SS-Yb), purified salt (PS), and SS-G (solar salt from Guérande, France) were orally administered at a concentration of 1% during AOM/DSS colon cancer induction, and compared for their protective effects during colon carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice. SS-S and SS-Yb suppressed colon length shortening and tumor counts in mouse colons. Histological evaluation by hematoxylin and eosin staining also revealed suppression of tumorigenesis by SS-S. Conversely, PS and SS-G did not show a similar suppressive efficacy as Korean solar salt. SS-S and SS-Yb promoted colon mRNA expression of an apoptosis-related factor and cell-cycle-related gene and suppressed pro-inflammatory factor. SS-Yb baked into BS-9x further promoted these anti-carcinogenic efficacies. Taken together, the results indicate that Korean solar salt, especially SS-S and SS-Yb, exhibited anti-cancer activity by modulating apoptosis- and inflammation-related gene expression during colon carcinogenesis in mice, and bamboo salt baked from SS-Yb showed enhanced anti-cancer functionality.

  6. Using the mouse to model human disease: increasing validity and reproducibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica J. Justice

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Experiments that use the mouse as a model for disease have recently come under scrutiny because of the repeated failure of data, particularly derived from preclinical studies, to be replicated or translated to humans. The usefulness of mouse models has been questioned because of irreproducibility and poor recapitulation of human conditions. Newer studies, however, point to bias in reporting results and improper data analysis as key factors that limit reproducibility and validity of preclinical mouse research. Inaccurate and incomplete descriptions of experimental conditions also contribute. Here, we provide guidance on best practice in mouse experimentation, focusing on appropriate selection and validation of the model, sources of variation and their influence on phenotypic outcomes, minimum requirements for control sets, and the importance of rigorous statistics. Our goal is to raise the standards in mouse disease modeling to enhance reproducibility, reliability and clinical translation of findings.

  7. Cationized dextran nanoparticle-encapsulated CXCR4-siRNA enhanced correlation between CXCR4 expression and serum alkaline phosphatase in a mouse model of colorectal cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abedini F

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Fatemeh Abedini,1 Hossein Hosseinkhani,2 Maznah Ismail,1,3 Abraham J Domb,4 Abdul Rahman Omar,1,5 Pei Pei Chong,1,2 Po-Da Hong,3 Dah-Shyong Yu,6 Ira-Yudovin Farber41Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, 2Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, 3Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, 4Institute of Drug Research, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy-Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel, 5Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, 6Nanomedicine Research Center, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, TaiwanPurpose: The failure of colorectal cancer treatments is partly due to overexpression of CXCR4 by tumor cells, which plays a critical role in cell metastasis. Moreover, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP levels are frequently elevated in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. A polysaccharide, dextran, was chosen as the vector of siRNA. Spermine was conjugated to oxidized dextran by reductive amination process to obtain cationized dextran, so-called dextran-spermine, in order to prepare CXCR4-siRNAs/dextran-spermine nanoparticles. The fabricated nanoparticles were used in order to investigate whether downregulation of CXCR4 expression could affect serum ALP in mouse models of colorectal cancer.Methods: Colorectal cancer was established in BALB/C mice following injection of mouse colon carcinoma cells CT.26WT through the tail vein. CXCR4 siRNA for two sites of the target gene was administered following injection of naked siRNA or siRNA encapsulated into nanoparticles.Results: In vivo animal data revealed that CXCR4 silencing by dextran-spermine nanoparticles significantly downregulated CXCR4 expression compared with naked CXCR4 siRNA. Furthermore, there was

  8. Creatine supplementation with methylglyoxal: a potent therapy for cancer in experimental models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pal, Aparajita; Roy, Anirban; Ray, Manju

    2016-08-01

    The anti-cancer effect of methylglyoxal (MG) is now well established in the literature. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of creatine as a supplement in combination with MG both in vitro and in vivo. In case of the in vitro studies, two different cell lines, namely MCF-7 (human breast cancer cell line) and C2C12 (mouse myoblast cell line) were chosen. MG in combination with creatine showed enhanced apoptosis as well as higher cytotoxicity in the breast cancer MCF-7 cell line, compared to MG alone. Pre-treatment of well-differentiated C2C12 myotubes with cancerogenic 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) induced a dedifferentiation of these myotubes towards cancerous cells (that mimic the effect of 3MC observed in solid fibro-sarcoma animal models) and subsequent exposure of these induced cancer cells with MG proved to be cytotoxic. Thus, creatine plus ascorbic acid enhanced the anti-cancer effects of MG. In contrast, when normal C2C12 muscle cells or myotubes (mouse normal myoblast cell line) were treated with MG or MG plus creatine and ascorbic acid, no detrimental effects were seen. This indicated that cytotoxic effects of MG are specifically limited towards cancer cells and are further enhanced when MG is used in combination with creatine and ascorbic acid. For the in vivo studies, tumors were induced by injecting Sarcoma-180 cells (2 × 10(6) cells/mouse) in the left hind leg. After 7 days of tumor inoculation, treatments were started with MG (20 mg/kg body wt/day, via the intravenous route), with or without creatine (150 mg/kg body wt/day, fed orally) and ascorbic acid (50 mg/kg body wt/day, fed orally) and continued for 10 consecutive days. Significant regression of tumor size was observed when Sarcoma-180 tumor-bearing mice were treated with MG and even more so with the aforesaid combination. The creatine-supplemented group demonstrated better overall survival in comparison with tumor-bearing mice without creatine. In conclusion, it may be

  9. Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells in an in vivo model of spontaneous metastatic breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basu, Gargi D; Pathangey, Latha B; Tinder, Teresa L; Lagioia, Michelle; Gendler, Sandra J; Mukherjee, Pinku

    2004-11-01

    Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors are rapidly emerging as a new generation of therapeutic drug in combination with chemotherapy or radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. The mechanisms underlying its antitumor effects are not fully understood and more thorough preclinical trials are needed to determine if COX-2 inhibition represents a useful approach for prevention and/or treatment of breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth inhibitory mechanism of a highly selective COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib, in an in vivo oncogenic mouse model of spontaneous breast cancer that resembles human disease. The oncogenic mice carry the polyoma middle T antigen driven by the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter and develop primary adenocarcinomas of the breast. Results show that oral administration of celecoxib caused significant reduction in mammary tumor burden associated with increased tumor cell apoptosis and decreased proliferation in vivo. In vivo apoptosis correlated with significant decrease in activation of protein kinase B/Akt, a cell survival signaling kinase, with increased expression of the proapoptotic protein Bax and decreased expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. In addition, celecoxib treatment reduced levels of proangiogenic factor (vascular endothelial growth factor), suggesting a role of celecoxib in suppression of angiogenesis in this model. Results from these preclinical studies will form the basis for assessing the feasibility of celecoxib therapy alone or in combination with conventional therapies for treatment and/or prevention of breast cancer.

  10. Organoid Models of Human and Mouse Ductal Pancreatic Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boj, Sylvia F.; Hwang, Chang-Il; Baker, Lindsey A.; Chio, Iok In Christine; Engle, Dannielle D.; Corbo, Vincenzo; Jager, Myrthe; Ponz-Sarvise, Mariano; Tiriac, Hervé; Spector, Mona S.; Gracanin, Ana; Oni, Tobiloba; Yu, Kenneth H.; van Boxtel, Ruben; Huch, Meritxell; Rivera, Keith D.; Wilson, John P.; Feigin, Michael E.; Öhlund, Daniel; Handly-Santana, Abram; Ardito-Abraham, Christine M.; Ludwig, Michael; Elyada, Ela; Alagesan, Brinda; Biffi, Giulia; Yordanov, Georgi N.; Delcuze, Bethany; Creighton, Brianna; Wright, Kevin; Park, Youngkyu; Morsink, Folkert H.M.; Molenaar, I. Quintus; Borel Rinkes, Inne H.; Cuppen, Edwin; Hao, Yuan; Jin, Ying; Nijman, Isaac J.; Iacobuzio-Donahue, Christine; Leach, Steven D.; Pappin, Darryl J.; Hammell, Molly; Klimstra, David S.; Basturk, Olca; Hruban, Ralph H.; Offerhaus, George Johan; Vries, Robert G.J.; Clevers, Hans; Tuveson, David A.

    2015-01-01

    SUMMARY Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies due to its late diagnosis and limited response to treatment. Tractable methods to identify and interrogate pathways involved in pancreatic tumorigenesis are urgently needed. We established organoid models from normal and neoplastic murine and human pancreas tissues. Pancreatic organoids can be rapidly generated from resected tumors and biopsies, survive cryopreservation and exhibit ductal- and disease stage-specific characteristics. Orthotopically transplanted neoplastic organoids recapitulate the full spectrum of tumor development by forming early-grade neoplasms that progress to locally invasive and metastatic carcinomas. Due to their ability to be genetically manipulated, organoids are a platform to probe genetic cooperation. Comprehensive transcriptional and proteomic analyses of murine pancreatic organoids revealed genes and pathways altered during disease progression. The confirmation of many of these protein changes in human tissues demonstrates that organoids are a facile model system to discover characteristics of this deadly malignancy. PMID:25557080

  11. Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Small T Antigen Induces Cancer and Embryonic Merkel Cell Proliferation in a Transgenic Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuda, Masahiro; Guastafierro, Anna; Geng, Xuehui; Shuda, Yoko; Ostrowski, Stephen M; Lukianov, Stefan; Jenkins, Frank J; Honda, Kord; Maricich, Stephen M; Moore, Patrick S; Chang, Yuan

    2015-01-01

    Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) causes the majority of human Merkel cell carcinomas (MCC) and encodes a small T (sT) antigen that transforms immortalized rodent fibroblasts in vitro. To develop a mouse model for MCV sT-induced carcinogenesis, we generated transgenic mice with a flox-stop-flox MCV sT sequence homologously recombined at the ROSA locus (ROSAsT), allowing Cre-mediated, conditional MCV sT expression. Standard tamoxifen (TMX) administration to adult UbcCreERT2; ROSAsT mice, in which Cre is ubiquitously expressed, resulted in MCV sT expression in multiple organs that was uniformly lethal within 5 days. Conversely, most adult UbcCreERT2; ROSAsT mice survived low-dose tamoxifen administration but developed ear lobe dermal hyperkeratosis and hypergranulosis. Simultaneous MCV sT expression and conditional homozygous p53 deletion generated multi-focal, poorly-differentiated, highly anaplastic tumors in the spleens and livers of mice after 60 days of TMX treatment. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts from these mice induced to express MCV sT exhibited anchorage-independent cell growth. To examine Merkel cell pathology, MCV sT expression was also induced during mid-embryogenesis in Merkel cells of Atoh1CreERT2/+; ROSAsT mice, which lead to significantly increased Merkel cell numbers in touch domes at late embryonic ages that normalized postnatally. Tamoxifen administration to adult Atoh1CreERT2/+; ROSAsT and Atoh1CreERT2/+; ROSAsT; p53flox/flox mice had no effects on Merkel cell numbers and did not induce tumor formation. Taken together, these results show that MCV sT stimulates progenitor Merkel cell proliferation in embryonic mice and is a bona fide viral oncoprotein that induces full cancer cell transformation in the p53-null setting.

  12. Methods in Molecular Biology Mouse Genetics: Methods and Protocols | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mouse Genetics: Methods and Protocols provides selected mouse genetic techniques and their application in modeling varieties of human diseases. The chapters are mainly focused on the generation of different transgenic mice to accomplish the manipulation of genes of interest, tracing cell lineages, and modeling human diseases.

  13. A new model to study the role of arachidonic acid in colon cancer pathophysiology

    OpenAIRE

    Fan, Yang-Yi; Callaway, Evelyn; Monk, Jennifer M.; Goldsby, Jennifer S.; Yang, Peiying; Vincent, Logan; Chapkin, Robert S.

    2016-01-01

    A significant increase in cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) gene expression has been shown to promote cylcooxygenase-dependent colon cancer development. Controversy associated with the role of COX2 inhibitors indicates that additional work is needed to elucidate the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) derived (cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase) eicosanoids in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. We have recently developed a novel Fads1 knockout mouse model, which allows for the investigation of AA...

  14. Therapeutic application of injectable thermosensitive hydrogel in preventing local breast cancer recurrence and improving incision wound healing in a mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Na; Gong, Changyang; Qian, Zhiyong; Luo, Feng; Wang, Cheng; Wang, Helan; Wei, Yuquan

    2012-08-01

    Many drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been investigated for local targeting of malignant disease with the intention of increasing anti-tumor activity and minimizing systemic toxicity. An injectable thermosensitive hydrogel was applied to prevent locoregional recurrence of 4T1 breast cancer in a mouse model. The presented hydrogel, which is based on poly(ethyleneglycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL-PEG, PECE), flows freely at normal temperature, forms a gel within seconds in situ at body temperature, and eventually releases the drug in a consistent and sustained fashion as it gradually biodegrades. Locoregional recurrence after primary tumor removal was significantly inhibited in mice treated with the paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded PECE hydrogel subcutaneously (9.1%) administered, compared with the blank hydrogel (80.0%), systemic (77.8%) and locally (75.0%) administered PTX, and the control group (100%) (P 0.05), in agreement with histopathological examinations. This novel DDSs represents a promising approach for local adjuvant therapy in malignant disease.

  15. A small molecule inhibitor of ETV1, YK-4-279, prevents prostate cancer growth and metastasis in a mouse xenograft model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Said Rahim

    Full Text Available The erythroblastosis virus E26 transforming sequences (ETS family of transcription factors consists of a highly conserved group of genes that play important roles in cellular proliferation, differentiation, migration and invasion. Chromosomal translocations fusing ETS factors to promoters of androgen responsive genes have been found in prostate cancers, including the most clinically aggressive forms. ERG and ETV1 are the most commonly translocated ETS proteins. Over-expression of these proteins in prostate cancer cells results in a more invasive phenotype. Inhibition of ETS activity by small molecule inhibitors may provide a novel method for the treatment of prostate cancer.We recently demonstrated that the small molecule YK-4-279 inhibits biological activity of ETV1 in fusion-positive prostate cancer cells leading to decreased motility and invasion in-vitro. Here, we present data from an in-vivo mouse xenograft model. SCID-beige mice were subcutaneously implanted with fusion-positive LNCaP-luc-M6 and fusion-negative PC-3M-luc-C6 tumors. Animals were treated with YK-4-279, and its effects on primary tumor growth and lung metastasis were evaluated. YK-4-279 treatment resulted in decreased growth of the primary tumor only in LNCaP-luc-M6 cohort. When primary tumors were grown to comparable sizes, YK-4-279 inhibited tumor metastasis to the lungs. Expression of ETV1 target genes MMP7, FKBP10 and GLYATL2 were reduced in YK-4-279 treated animals. ETS fusion-negative PC-3M-luc-C6 xenografts were unresponsive to the compound. Furthermore, YK-4-279 is a chiral molecule that exists as a racemic mixture of R and S enantiomers. We established that (S-YK-4-279 is the active enantiomer in prostate cancer cells.Our results demonstrate that YK-4-279 is a potent inhibitor of ETV1 and inhibits both the primary tumor growth and metastasis of fusion positive prostate cancer xenografts. Therefore, YK-4-279 or similar compounds may be evaluated as a potential

  16. Developing better mouse models to study cisplatin-induced kidney injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, Cierra N; Siskind, Leah J

    2017-10-01

    Cisplatin is a potent chemotherapeutic used for the treatment of many types of cancer. However, its dose-limiting side effect is nephrotoxicity leading to acute kidney injury (AKI). Patients who develop AKI have an increased risk of mortality and are more likely to develop chronic kidney disease (CKD). Unfortunately, there are no therapeutic interventions for the treatment of AKI. It has been suggested that the lack of therapies is due in part to the fact that the established mouse model used to study cisplatin-induced AKI does not recapitulate the cisplatin dosing regimen patients receive. In recent years, work has been done to develop more clinically relevant models of cisplatin-induced kidney injury, with much work focusing on incorporation of multiple low doses of cisplatin administered over a period of weeks. These models can be used to recapitulate the development of CKD after AKI and, by doing so, increase the likelihood of identifying novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of cisplatin-induced kidney injury. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  17. Development of a Tumour Growth Inhibition Model to Elucidate the Effects of Ritonavir on Intratumoural Metabolism and Anti-tumour Effect of Docetaxel in a Mouse Model for Hereditary Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Huixin; Hendrikx, Jeroen J M A; Rottenberg, Sven; Schellens, Jan H M; Beijnen, Jos H; Huitema, Alwin D R

    2016-03-01

    In a mouse tumour model for hereditary breast cancer, we previously explored the anti-cancer effects of docetaxel, ritonavir and the combination of both and studied the effect of ritonavir on the intratumoural concentration of docetaxel. The objective of the current study was to apply pharmacokinetic (PK)-pharmacodynamic (PD) modelling on this previous study to further elucidate and quantify the effects of docetaxel when co-administered with ritonavir. PK models of docetaxel and ritonavir in plasma and in tumour were developed. The effect of ritonavir on docetaxel concentration in the systemic circulation of Cyp3a knock-out mice and in the implanted tumour (with inherent Cyp3a expression) was studied, respectively. Subsequently, we designed a tumour growth inhibition model that included the inhibitory effects of both docetaxel and ritonavir. Ritonavir decreased docetaxel systemic clearance with 8% (relative standard error 0.4%) in the co-treated group compared to that in the docetaxel only-treated group. The docetaxel concentration in tumour tissues was significantly increased by ritonavir with mean area under the concentration-time curve 2.5-fold higher when combined with ritonavir. Observed tumour volume profiles in mice could be properly described by the PK/PD model. In the co-treated group, the enhanced anti-tumour effect was mainly due to increased docetaxel tumour concentration; however, we demonstrated a small but significant anti-tumour effect of ritonavir addition (p value effect observed when docetaxel is combined with ritonavir is mainly caused by enhanced docetaxel tumour concentration and to a minor extent by a direct anti-tumour effect of ritonavir.

  18. A dual role for the immune response in a mouse model of inflammation-associated lung cancer

    OpenAIRE

    Dougan, Michael; Li, Danan; Neuberg, Donna; Mihm, Martin; Googe, Paul; Wong, Kwok-Kin; Dranoff, Glenn

    2011-01-01

    Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Both principal factors known to cause lung cancer, cigarette smoke and asbestos, induce pulmonary inflammation, and pulmonary inflammation has recently been implicated in several murine models of lung cancer. To further investigate the role of inflammation in the development of lung cancer, we generated mice with combined loss of IFN-γ and the β-common cytokines GM-CSF and IL-3. These immunodeficient mice develop chronic pulmonary in...

  19. Effects of hemin and nitrite on intestinal tumorigenesis in the A/J Min/+ mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianne Sødring

    Full Text Available Red and processed meats are considered risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC; however, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. One cause for the potential link between CRC and meat is the heme iron in red meat. Two pathways by which heme and CRC promotion may be linked have been suggested: fat peroxidation and N-nitrosation. In the present work we have used the novel A/J Min/+ mouse model to test the effects of dietary hemin (a model of red meat, and hemin in combination with nitrite (a model of processed meat on intestinal tumorigenesis. Mice were fed a low Ca2+ and vitamin D semi-synthetic diet with added hemin and/or nitrite for 8 weeks post weaning, before termination followed by excision and examination of the intestinal tract. Our results indicate that dietary hemin decreased the number of colonic lesions in the A/J Min/+ mouse. However, our results also showed that the opposite occurred in the small intestine, where dietary hemin appeared to stimulate tumor growth. Furthermore, we find that nitrite, which did not have an effect in the colon, appeared to have a suppressive effect on tumor growth in the small intestine.

  20. Pathophysiological Responses in Rat and Mouse Models of Radiation-Induced Brain Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lianhong; Yang, Jianhua; Li, Guoqian; Li, Yi; Wu, Rong; Cheng, Jinping; Tang, Yamei

    2017-03-01

    The brain is the major dose-limiting organ in patients undergoing radiotherapy for assorted conditions. Radiation-induced brain injury is common and mainly occurs in patients receiving radiotherapy for malignant head and neck tumors, arteriovenous malformations, or lung cancer-derived brain metastases. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms of radiation-induced brain injury are largely unknown. Although many treatment strategies are employed for affected individuals, the effects remain suboptimal. Accordingly, animal models are extremely important for elucidating pathogenic radiation-associated mechanisms and for developing more efficacious therapies. So far, models employing various animal species with different radiation dosages and fractions have been introduced to investigate the prevention, mechanisms, early detection, and management of radiation-induced brain injury. However, these models all have limitations, and none are widely accepted. This review summarizes the animal models currently set forth for studies of radiation-induced brain injury, especially rat and mouse, as well as radiation dosages, dose fractionation, and secondary pathophysiological responses.

  1. Experimental photoallergic contact dermatitis: a mouse model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maguire, H.C. Jr.; Kaidbey, K.

    1982-01-01

    We have induced photoallergic contact dermatitis in mice to 3,3',4',5 tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCSA), chlorpromazine and 6-methylcoumarin. These compounds are known to produce photoallergic contact dermatitis in humans. The photoallergic contact dermatitis reaction in the mouse is immunologically specific viz. mice photosensitized to TCSA react, by photochallenge, to that compound and not to chlorpromazine, and conversely. The reaction requires UVA at both sensitization and challenge. It appears to be T-cell mediated in that it can be passively transferred to syngeneic mice by lymph node cells from actively sensitized mice, the histology of the reactions resembles that of classic allergic contact dermatitis in mice, challenge reactions are seen at 24 but not at 4 hr, and photoallergic contact dermatitis can be induced in B-cell deficient mice. The availability of a mouse model for the study of photo-ACD will facilitate the identification of pertinent control mechanisms and may aid in the management of the disease. It is likely that a bioassay for photoallergens of humans can be based on this mouse model

  2. Activation of cellular immunity and marked inhibition of liver cancer in a mouse model following gene therapy and tumor expression of GM-SCF, IL-21, and Rae-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Mingrong; Zhi, Kangkang; Gao, Xiaoyan; He, Bing; Li, Yingchun; Han, Jiang; Zhang, Zhiping; Wu, Yan

    2013-12-18

    Cancer is both a systemic and a genetic disease. The pathogenesis of cancer might be related to dampened immunity. Host immunity recognizes nascent malignant cells - a process referred to as immune surveillance. Augmenting immune surveillance and suppressing immune escape are crucial in tumor immunotherapy. A recombinant plasmid capable of co-expressing granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor (GM-SCF), interleukin-21 (IL-21), and retinoic acid early transcription factor-1 (Rae-1) was constructed, and its effects determined in a mouse model of subcutaneous liver cancer. Serum specimens were assayed for IL-2 and INF-γ by ELISA. Liver cancer specimens were isolated for Rae-1 expression by RT-PCR and Western blot, and splenocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry. The recombinant plasmid inhibited the growth of liver cancer and prolonged survival of tumor-loaded mice. Activation of host immunity might have contributed to this effect by promoting increased numbers and cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) following expression of GM-SCF, IL-21, and Rae-1. By contrast, the frequency of regulatory T cells was decreased, Consequently, activated CTL and NK cells enhanced their secretion of INF-γ, which promoted cytotoxicity of NK cells and CTL. Moreover, active CTL showed dramatic secretion of IL-2, which stimulates CTL. The recombinant expression plasmid also augmented Rae-1 expression by liver cancer cells. Rae-1 receptor expressing CTL and NK cells removed liver cancer. The recombinant expression plasmid inhibited liver cancer by a mechanism that involved activation of cell-mediated immunity and Rae-1 in liver cancer.

  3. New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches to Eradicating Recurrent Breast Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-01

    barcode vectors, which allows for PCR amplification of barcodes from genomic DNA . To identify and quantify relative abundance of each clonal population...Define tumor cell hallmarks that predict risk of breast cancer recurrence a. Identify human breast cancer barcoded DTCs that convert to malignancy in...xenograft mouse models of metastasis – 100% complete in one model; 40% complete for bone metastasis model b. Identify mouse Her2+ barcoded DTCs that

  4. Mel-18 controls the enrichment of tumor-initiating cells in SP fraction in mouse breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janakiraman, Harinarayanan; Nobukiyo, Asako; Inoue, Hiroko; Kanno, Masamoto

    2011-06-01

    Side population (SP) cell analysis has been used to identify and isolate a minor population of cells with stem cell properties in normal tissues and in many cancers including breast cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanisms that operate in tumor-initiating cells (TICs) in SP fraction remain unclear. The Polycomb group genes, including Bmi1 and Mel-18, have been implicated in the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and suggested to be oncogenic and tumor suppressive, respectively, in breast cancer. In this study, we determined the critical role of Mel-18 in the enrichment mechanisms of TICs with the SP phenotype in a mouse breast cancer cell line, MMK3, that was established from a breast cancer developed spontaneously in Mel-18+/- mice. The Mel-18 protein expression level significantly correlates to the percentage of SP fraction in the mouse breast cancer cell line MMK3 series. The comparison between MMK3V3 (V3) cells containing one copy of the Mel-18 gene and MMK3S2 (S2) cells having twice the amount of Mel-18 expression clearly demonstrates the above relationship. Similar results obtained with the percentage of ALDH+ cells in V3 and S2 further confirmed the correlation between protein expression level of Mel-18 and the TICs. More importantly, transplantation of SP and non-SP cells of V3 and S2 cells into the NOD/SCID mice clearly showed that the heterozygous level of Mel-18 leads to the disappearance of enrichment of TICs into SP fraction in vivo. Stem cell pathway focused gene expression profiling of V3 and S2 cells revealed that the genes Abcg2, Aldh1a1 and Dhh were highly down-regulated in V3 compared to S2. These results indicate that the precise Mel-18 expression level controls TIC enrichment mechanisms through the regulation of channel molecule of Abcg2 and functional TIC marker of Aldhlal. In conclusion, our findings revealed the significance of fine-tuning mechanisms for Mel-18 protein expression level in the maintenance of TIC into SP

  5. A Mouse Model That Reproduces the Developmental Pathways and Site Specificity of the Cancers Associated With the Human BRCA1 Mutation Carrier State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Liu

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Predisposition to breast and extrauterine Müllerian carcinomas in BRCA1 mutation carriers is due to a combination of cell-autonomous consequences of BRCA1 inactivation on cell cycle homeostasis superimposed on cell-nonautonomous hormonal factors magnified by the effects of BRCA1 mutations on hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle. We used the Müllerian inhibiting substance type 2 receptor (Mis2r promoter and a truncated form of the Follicle stimulating hormone receptor (Fshr promoter to introduce conditional knockouts of Brca1 and p53 not only in mouse mammary and Müllerian epithelia, but also in organs that control the estrous cycle. Sixty percent of the double mutant mice developed invasive Müllerian and mammary carcinomas. Mice carrying heterozygous mutations in Brca1 and p53 also developed invasive tumors, albeit at a lesser (30% rate, in which the wild type alleles were no longer present due to loss of heterozygosity. While mice carrying heterozygous mutations in both genes developed mammary tumors, none of the mice carrying only a heterozygous p53 mutation developed such tumors (P < 0.0001, attesting to a role for Brca1 mutations in tumor development. This mouse model is attractive to investigate cell-nonautonomous mechanisms associated with cancer predisposition in BRCA1 mutation carriers and to investigate the merit of chemo-preventive drugs targeting such mechanisms.

  6. A new model to study the role of arachidonic acid in colon cancer pathophysiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Yang-Yi; Callaway, Evelyn; Monk, Jennifer M.; Goldsby, Jennifer S.; Yang, Peiying; Vincent, Logan; Chapkin, Robert S.

    2016-01-01

    A significant increase in cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) gene expression has been shown to promote cylcooxygenase-dependent colon cancer development. Controversy associated with the role of COX2 inhibitors indicates that additional work is needed to elucidate the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) derived (cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase) eicosanoids in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. We have recently developed a novel Fads1 knockout mouse model, which allows for the investigation of AA-dependent eicosanoid deficiency without the complication of essential fatty acid deficiency. Interestingly, the survival rate of Fads1 null mice is severely compromised after 2 months on a semi-purified AA-free diet, which precludes long-term chemoprevention studies. Therefore, in this study, dietary AA levels were titrated to determine the minimal level required for survival, while maintaining a distinct AA-deficient phenotype. Null mice supplemented with AA (0.1, 0.4, 0.6, 2.0%, w/w) in the diet exhibited a dose-dependent increase (P diet were injected with a colon-specific carcinogen (azoxymethane) in order to assess cancer susceptibility. Null mice exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) reduced levels/multiplicity of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) as compared to wild type sibling littermate control mice. These data indicate that (i) basal/minimal dietary AA supplementation (0.6%) expands the utility of the Fads1 Null mouse model for long-term cancer prevention studies, and (ii) that AA content in the colonic epithelium modulates colon cancer risk. PMID:27339171

  7. PDX-1 Is a Therapeutic Target for Pancreatic Cancer, Insulinoma and Islet Neoplasia Using a Novel RNA Interference Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shi-He; Rao, Donald D.; Nemunaitis, John; Senzer, Neil; Zhou, Guisheng; Dawson, David; Gingras, Marie-Claude; Wang, Zhaohui; Gibbs, Richard; Norman, Michael; Templeton, Nancy S.; DeMayo, Francesco J.; O'Malley, Bert; Sanchez, Robbi; Fisher, William E.; Brunicardi, F. Charles

    2012-01-01

    Pancreatic and duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1) is a transcription factor that regulates insulin expression and islet maintenance in the adult pancreas. Our recent studies demonstrate that PDX-1 is an oncogene for pancreatic cancer and is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that PDX-1 is a therapeutic target for both hormonal symptoms and tumor volume in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, insulinoma and islet neoplasia. Immunohistochemistry of human pancreatic and islet neoplasia specimens revealed marked PDX-1 overexpression, suggesting PDX-1 as a “drugable” target within these diseases. To do so, a novel RNA interference effector platform, bifunctional shRNAPDX-1, was developed and studied in mouse and human cell lines as well as in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, insulinoma and islet neoplasia. Systemic delivery of bi-shRNAhumanPDX-1 lipoplexes resulted in marked reduction of tumor volume and improved survival in a human pancreatic cancer xenograft mouse model. bi-shRNAmousePDX-1 lipoplexes prevented death from hyperinsulinemia and hypoglycemia in an insulinoma mouse model. shRNAmousePDX-1 lipoplexes reversed hyperinsulinemia and hypoglycemia in an immune-competent mouse model of islet neoplasia. PDX-1 was overexpressed in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and nesidioblastosis. These data demonstrate that PDX-1 RNAi therapy controls hormonal symptoms and tumor volume in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, insulinoma and islet neoplasia, therefore, PDX-1 is a potential therapeutic target for these pancreatic diseases. PMID:22905092

  8. A novel technique of serial biopsy in mouse brain tumour models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sasha Rogers

    Full Text Available Biopsy is often used to investigate brain tumour-specific abnormalities so that treatments can be appropriately tailored. Dacomitinib (PF-00299804 is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI, which is predicted to only be effective in cancers where the targets of this drug (EGFR, ERBB2, ERBB4 are abnormally active. Here we describe a method by which serial biopsy can be used to validate response to dacomitinib treatment in vivo using a mouse glioblastoma model. In order to determine the feasibility of conducting serial brain biopsies in mouse models with minimal morbidity, and if successful, investigate whether this can facilitate evaluation of chemotherapeutic response, an orthotopic model of glioblastoma was used. Immunodeficient mice received cortical implants of the human glioblastoma cell line, U87MG, modified to express the constitutively-active EGFR mutant, EGFRvIII, GFP and luciferase. Tumour growth was monitored using bioluminescence imaging. Upon attainment of a moderate tumour size, free-hand biopsy was performed on a subgroup of animals. Animal monitoring using a neurological severity score (NSS showed that all mice survived the procedure with minimal perioperative morbidity and recovered to similar levels as controls over a period of five days. The technique was used to evaluate dacomitinib-mediated inhibition of EGFRvIII two hours after drug administration. We show that serial tissue samples can be obtained, that the samples retain histological features of the tumour, and are of sufficient quality to determine response to treatment. This approach represents a significant advance in murine brain surgery that may be applicable to other brain tumour models. Importantly, the methodology has the potential to accelerate the preclinical in vivo drug screening process.

  9. Mucin 1-specific immunotherapy in a mouse model of spontaneous breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Pinku; Madsen, Cathy S; Ginardi, Amelia R; Tinder, Teresa L; Jacobs, Fred; Parker, Joanne; Agrawal, Babita; Longenecker, B Michael; Gendler, Sandra J

    2003-01-01

    Human mucin 1 (MUC1) is an epithelial mucin glycoprotein that is overexpressed in 90% of all adenocarcinomas including breast, lung, pancreas, prostate, stomach, colon, and ovary. MUC1 is a target for immune intervention, because, in patients with solid adenocarcinomas, low-level cellular and humoral immune responses to MUC1 have been observed, which are not sufficiently strong to eradicate the growing tumor. The hypothesis for this study is that enhancing MUC1-specific immunity will result in antitumor immunity. To test this, the authors have developed a clinically relevant breast cancer model that demonstrates peripheral and central tolerance to MUC1 and develops spontaneous tumors of the mammary gland. In these mice, the authors tested a vaccine formulation comprised of liposomal-MUC1 lipopeptide and human recombinant interleukin-2. Results indicate that when compared with untreated mice, immunized mice develop T cells that express intracellular IFN-gamma, are reactive with MHC class I H-2Db/MUC1 tetramer, and are cytotoxic against MUC1-expressing tumor cells in vitro. The presence of MUC1-specific CTL did not translate into a clinical response as measured by time of tumor onset, tumor burden, and survival. The authors demonstrate that some of the immune-evasion mechanisms used by the tumor cells include downregulation of MHC-class I molecule, expression of TGF-beta2, and decrease in IFN-gamma -expressing effector T cells as tumors progress. Finally, utilizing an injectable breast cancer model, the authors show that targeting a single tumor antigen may not be an effective antitumor treatment, but that immunization with dendritic cells fed with whole tumor lysate is effective in breaking tolerance and protecting mice from subsequent tumor challenge. A physiologically relevant spontaneous breast cancer model has been developed to test improved immunotherapeutic approaches.

  10. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the Sdccag8Tn(sb-Tyr2161B.CA1C2Ove mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katie Weihbrecht

    Full Text Available Nephronophthisis-related ciliopathies (NPHP-RC are a group of disorders that present with end-stage renal failure in childhood/adolescence, kidney cysts, retinal degeneration, and cerebellar hypoplasia. One disorder that shares clinical features with NPHP-RC is Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS. Serologically defined colon cancer antigen 8 (SDCCAG8; also known as NPHP10 and BBS16 is an NPHP gene that is also associated with BBS. To better understand the patho-mechanisms of NPHP and BBS caused by loss of SDCCAG8 function, we characterized an SDCCAG8 mouse model (Sdccag8Tn(sb-Tyr2161B.CA1C2Ove generated by Sleeping Beauty Transposon (SBT-mediated insertion mutagenesis. Consistent with the previously reported, independent SDCCAG8 mouse models, our mutant mice display pre-axial polydactyly in their hind limbs. In addition, we report patterning defects in the secondary palate, brain abnormalities, as well as neonatal lethality associated with developmental defects in the lung in our mouse model. The neonatal lethality phenotype is genetic background dependent and rescued by introducing 129S6/SvEvTac background. Genetic modifier(s responsible for this effect were mapped to a region between SNPs rs3714172 and rs3141832 on chromosome 11. While determining the precise genetic lesion in our mouse model, we found that SBT insertion resulted in a deletion of multiple exons from both Sdccag8 and its neighboring gene Akt3. We ascribe the patterning defects in the limb and the secondary palate as well as lung abnormalities to loss of SDCCAG8, while the developmental defects in the brain are likely due to the loss of AKT3. This mouse model may be useful to study features not observed in other SDCCAG8 models but cautions are needed in interpreting data.

  11. A metabolomic comparison of mouse models of the Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salek, Reza M.; Pears, Michael R. [University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry and Cambridge Systems Biology Centre (United Kingdom); Cooper, Jonathan D. [King' s College London, Pediatric Storage Disorders Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry (United Kingdom); Mitchison, Hannah M. [Royal Free and University College Medical School, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health (United Kingdom); Pearce, David A. [Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota, Department of Pediatrics (United States); Mortishire-Smith, Russell J. [Johnson and Johnson PR and D (Belgium); Griffin, Julian L., E-mail: jlg40@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk [University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry and the Cambridge Systems Biology Centre (United Kingdom)

    2011-04-15

    The Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCL) are a group of fatal inherited neurodegenerative diseases in humans distinguished by a common clinical pathology, characterized by the accumulation of storage body material in cells and gross brain atrophy. In this study, metabolic changes in three NCL mouse models were examined looking for pathways correlated with neurodegeneration. Two mouse models; motor neuron degeneration (mnd) mouse and a variant model of late infantile NCL, termed the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (nclf) mouse were investigated experimentally. Both models exhibit a characteristic accumulation of autofluorescent lipopigment in neuronal and non neuronal cells. The NMR profiles derived from extracts of the cortex and cerebellum from mnd and nclf mice were distinguished according to disease/wildtype status. In particular, a perturbation in glutamine and glutamate metabolism, and a decrease in {gamma}-amino butyric acid (GABA) in the cerebellum and cortices of mnd (adolescent mice) and nclf mice relative to wildtype at all ages were detected. Our results were compared to the Cln3 mouse model of NCL. The metabolism of mnd mice resembled older (6 month) Cln3 mice, where the disease is relatively advanced, while the metabolism of nclf mice was more akin to younger (1-2 months) Cln3 mice, where the disease is in its early stages of progression. Overall, our results allowed the identification of metabolic traits common to all NCL subtypes for the three animal models.

  12. A metabolomic comparison of mouse models of the Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salek, Reza M.; Pears, Michael R.; Cooper, Jonathan D.; Mitchison, Hannah M.; Pearce, David A.; Mortishire-Smith, Russell J.; Griffin, Julian L.

    2011-01-01

    The Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCL) are a group of fatal inherited neurodegenerative diseases in humans distinguished by a common clinical pathology, characterized by the accumulation of storage body material in cells and gross brain atrophy. In this study, metabolic changes in three NCL mouse models were examined looking for pathways correlated with neurodegeneration. Two mouse models; motor neuron degeneration (mnd) mouse and a variant model of late infantile NCL, termed the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (nclf) mouse were investigated experimentally. Both models exhibit a characteristic accumulation of autofluorescent lipopigment in neuronal and non neuronal cells. The NMR profiles derived from extracts of the cortex and cerebellum from mnd and nclf mice were distinguished according to disease/wildtype status. In particular, a perturbation in glutamine and glutamate metabolism, and a decrease in γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) in the cerebellum and cortices of mnd (adolescent mice) and nclf mice relative to wildtype at all ages were detected. Our results were compared to the Cln3 mouse model of NCL. The metabolism of mnd mice resembled older (6 month) Cln3 mice, where the disease is relatively advanced, while the metabolism of nclf mice was more akin to younger (1-2 months) Cln3 mice, where the disease is in its early stages of progression. Overall, our results allowed the identification of metabolic traits common to all NCL subtypes for the three animal models.

  13. Postdoctoral Fellow | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dr. St. Croix’s laboratory at the Mouse Cancer Genetics Program (MCGP), National Cancer Institute, USA has an open postdoctoral position. We seek a highly motivated, creative and bright individual to participate in a collaborative project that involves the targeting of tumor-associated stroma using T-cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). The laboratory focuses on the characterization and exploitation of molecules associated with tumor angiogenesis. The successful candidate would be involved in developing, producing and characterizing new therapeutic antibodies and CARs that recognize cancer cells or its associated stroma, and preclinical testing of these agents using mouse tumor models. The tumor angiogenesis lab is located at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick with access to state-of-the-art facilities for antibody engineering, genomic analysis, pathology, and small animal imaging, among others. Detailed information about Dr. St. Croix’s research and publications can be accessed at https://ccr.cancer.gov/Mouse-Cancer-Genetics-Program/brad-st-croix.

  14. Effect of radiation combined with p53 gene therapy and endostatin on mouse prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Min; Ren Jun; Xu Bo; Gao Xianshu; He Zhisong; He Xiaoming; Zhang Ming; Liu Chaoxing; He Xinyong; Cao Guangming; Zhang Shaolong

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To test the hypothesis that p53 gene therapy combined with endostatin can enhance tumor response to radiation therapy of RM-1 mouse xenograft prostate cancer and to investigate its mechanism. Methods: A mouse prostate cancer model was established. Then mice with xenograft tumor were randomly divided into group A (control), B (radiation), C (radiation and rAdp53), D (radiation and rh-endostatin) and E (radiation and rAdp53 and rhendostatin). On day 1, rAdp53 was injected intra-tumorously with 1 x 10 10 vp per animal to group C and E. From day 1 to 14, rh-endostatin was given 15 mg/kg intraperitoneally daily to group D and E. On day 4 single fraction of 15 Gy was given to tumors in groups B, C, D and E. Normal saline was injected intra-tumorously or intraperitoneaUy accordingly as control. No treatment was done to group A. Tumor volume was measured daily. Samples were collected on Days 5, 10 and 15. Ki67, CD31, p53 and VEGF were detected by means of immunohistochemistry. Results: (1) Radiation alone, radiation combined with intra-tumorous injection of Adp53 and/or intraperitoneal injection of rhendostatin resulted in tumor growth arrest of RM-1 cells in vivo (P = 0.000). Radiation combined with both rAdp53 and rhendostatin was the most effective treatment (P < 0.05). (2) All the four treatment groups had a decreased expression of mutant type P53 (P = 0.000). The expression of Ki67 in groups B and C were equal (P 0.05) and increasing (P = 0.000), respectively. Group D had a up-down-up curve (P < 0.05), but group E had a up-down one. On day 5 the expresion of VEGF in group E was the lowest (P < 0.05). An increased expression of MVD compared with the control was shown, and MVD in groups C, D and E were always higher than that in the control (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The limitation of radiotherapy could be overcome by combination with beth p53 gene therapy and endostatin on the growth of mouse prostate cancer cell. Radiation, rAdp53 and endostatin have their

  15. Hypothalamus transcriptome profile suggests an anorexia-cachexia syndrome in the anx/anx mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercader, Josep Maria; Lozano, Juan José; Sumoy, Lauro; Dierssen, Mara; Visa, Joana; Gratacòs, Mònica; Estivill, Xavier

    2008-11-12

    The anx/anx mouse displays poor appetite and lean appearance and is considered a good model for the study of anorexia nervosa. To identify new genes involved in feeding behavior and body weight regulation we performed an expression profiling in the hypothalamus of the anx/anx mice. Using commercial microarrays we detected 156 differentially expressed genes and validated 92 of those using TaqMan low-density arrays. The expression of a set of 87 candidate genes selected based on literature evidences was also quantified by TaqMan low-density arrays. Our results showed enrichment in deregulated genes involved in cell death, cell morphology, and cancer, as well as an alteration of several signaling circuits involved in energy balance including neuropeptide Y and melanocortin signaling. The expression profile along with the phenotype led us to conclude that anx/anx mice resemble the anorexia-cachexia syndrome typically observed in cancer, infection with human immunodeficiency virus or chronic diseases, rather than starvation, and that anx/anx mice could be considered a good model for the treatment and investigation of this condition.

  16. Novel LIMK2 Inhibitor Blocks Panc-1 Tumor Growth in a mouse xenograft model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rak, Roni; Haklai, Roni; Elad-Tzfadia, Galit; Wolfson, Haim J; Carmeli, Shmuel; Kloog, Yoel

    2014-01-01

    LIM kinases (LIMKs) are important cell cytoskeleton regulators that play a prominent role in cancer manifestation and neuronal diseases. The LIMK family consists of two homologues, LIMK1 and LIMK2, which differ from one another in expression profile, intercellular localization, and function. The main substrate of LIMK is cofilin, a member of the actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF) protein family. When phosphorylated by LIMK, cofilin is inactive. LIMKs play a contributory role in several neurodevelopmental disorders and in cancer growth and metastasis. We recently reported the development and validation of a novel LIMK inhibitor, referred to here as T56-LIMKi, using a combination of computational methods and classical biochemistry techniques. Here we report that T56-LIMKi inhibits LIMK2 with high specificity, and shows little or no cross-reactivity with LIMK1. We found that T56-LIMKi decreases phosphorylated cofilin (p-cofilin) levels and thus inhibits growth of several cancerous cell lines, including those of pancreatic cancer, glioma and schwannoma. Because the most promising in-vitro effect of T56-LIMKi was observed in the pancreatic cancer cell line Panc-1, we tested the inhibitor on a nude mouse Panc-1 xenograft model. T56-LIMKi reduced tumor size and p-cofilin levels in the Panc-1 tumors, leading us to propose T56-LIMKi as a candidate drug for cancer therapy.

  17. Blockade of PI3Kgamma suppresses joint inflammation and damage in mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camps, Montserrat; Rückle, Thomas; Ji, Hong; Ardissone, Vittoria; Rintelen, Felix; Shaw, Jeffrey; Ferrandi, Chiara; Chabert, Christian; Gillieron, Corine; Françon, Bernard; Martin, Thierry; Gretener, Denise; Perrin, Dominique; Leroy, Didier; Vitte, Pierre-Alain; Hirsch, Emilio; Wymann, Matthias P; Cirillo, Rocco; Schwarz, Matthias K; Rommel, Christian

    2005-09-01

    Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) have long been considered promising drug targets for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders as well as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. But the lack of specificity, isoform selectivity and poor biopharmaceutical profile of PI3K inhibitors have so far hampered rigorous disease-relevant target validation. Here we describe the identification and development of specific, selective and orally active small-molecule inhibitors of PI3Kgamma (encoded by Pik3cg). We show that Pik3cg(-/-) mice are largely protected in mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis; this protection correlates with defective neutrophil migration, further validating PI3Kgamma as a therapeutic target. We also describe that oral treatment with a PI3Kgamma inhibitor suppresses the progression of joint inflammation and damage in two distinct mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis, reproducing the protective effects shown by Pik3cg(-/-) mice. Our results identify selective PI3Kgamma inhibitors as potential therapeutic molecules for the treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.

  18. Mouse models of long QT syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salama, Guy; London, Barry

    2007-01-01

    Congenital long QT syndrome is a rare inherited condition characterized by prolongation of action potential duration (APD) in cardiac myocytes, prolongation of the QT interval on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG), and an increased risk of syncope and sudden death due to ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Mutations of cardiac ion channel genes that affect repolarization cause the majority of the congenital cases. Despite detailed characterizations of the mutated ion channels at the molecular level, a complete understanding of the mechanisms by which individual mutations may lead to arrhythmias and sudden death requires study of the intact heart and its modulation by the autonomic nervous system. Here, we will review studies of molecularly engineered mice with mutations in the genes (a) known to cause long QT syndrome in humans and (b) specific to cardiac repolarization in the mouse. Our goal is to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of mouse models with long QT syndrome and to emphasize the advantages and limitations of these models. PMID:17038432

  19. Global Expression Profiling and Pathway Analysis of Mouse Mammary Tumor Reveals Strain and Stage Specific Dysregulated Pathways in Breast Cancer Progression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Yan; Yang, Jun-Ping; Lang, Yan-Hong; Peng, Li-Xia; Yang, Ming-Ming; Liu, Qin; Meng, Dong-Fang; Zheng, Li-Sheng; Qiang, Yuan-Yuan; Xu, Liang; Li, Chang-Zhi; Wei, Wen-Wen; Niu, Ting; Peng, Xing-Si; Yang, Qin; Lin, Fen; Hu, Hao; Xu, Hong-Fa; Huang, Bi-Jun; Wang, Li-Jing; Qian, Chao-Nan

    2018-05-01

    It is believed that the alteration of tissue microenvironment would affect cancer initiation and progression. However, little is known in terms of the underlying molecular mechanisms that would affect the initiation and progression of breast cancer. In the present study, we use two murine mammary tumor models with different speeds of tumor initiation and progression for whole genome expression profiling to reveal the involved genes and signaling pathways. The pathways regulating PI3K-Akt signaling and Ras signaling were activated in Fvb mice and promoted tumor progression. Contrastingly, the pathways regulating apoptosis and cellular senescence were activated in Fvb.B6 mice and suppressed tumor progression. We identified distinct patterns of oncogenic pathways activation at different stages of breast cancer, and uncovered five oncogenic pathways that were activated in both human and mouse breast cancers. The genes and pathways discovered in our study would be useful information for other researchers and drug development.

  20. Cancer testis antigen vaccination affords long-term protection in a murine model of ovarian cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio Chiriva-Internati

    Full Text Available Sperm protein (Sp17 is an attractive target for ovarian cancer (OC vaccines because of its over-expression in primary as well as in metastatic lesions, at all stages of the disease. Our studies suggest that a Sp17-based vaccine can induce an enduring defense against OC development in C57BL/6 mice with ID8 cells, following prophylactic and therapeutic treatments. This is the first time that a mouse counterpart of a cancer testis antigen (Sp17 was shown to be expressed in an OC mouse model, and that vaccination against this antigen significantly controlled tumor growth. Our study shows that the CpG-adjuvated Sp17 vaccine overcomes the issue of immunologic tolerance, the major barrier to the development of effective immunotherapy for OC. Furthermore, this study provides a better understanding of OC biology by showing that Th-17 cells activation and contemporary immunosuppressive T-reg cells inhibition is required for vaccine efficacy. Taken together, these results indicate that prophylactic and therapeutic vaccinations can induce long-standing protection against OC and delay tumor growth, suggesting that this strategy may provide additional treatments of human OC and the prevention of disease onset in women with a family history of OC.

  1. A Rapid Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Mouse Model for B-cell Lymphomas Driven by Epstein-Barr Virus Protein LMP1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ba, Zhaoqing; Meng, Fei-Long; Gostissa, Monica; Huang, Pei-Yi; Ke, Qiang; Wang, Zhe; Dao, Mai N; Fujiwara, Yuko; Rajewsky, Klaus; Zhang, Baochun; Alt, Frederick W

    2015-06-01

    The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) contributes to oncogenic human B-cell transformation. Mouse B cells conditionally expressing LMP1 are not predisposed to B-cell malignancies, as LMP1-expressing B cells are eliminated by T cells. However, mice with conditional B-cell LMP1 expression and genetic elimination of α/β and γ/δ T cells ("CLT" mice) die early in association with B-cell lymphoproliferation and lymphomagenesis. Generation of CLT mice involves in-breeding multiple independently segregating alleles. Thus, although introduction of additional activating or knockout mutations into the CLT model is desirable for further B-cell expansion and immunosurveillance studies, doing such experiments by germline breeding is time-consuming, expensive, and sometimes unfeasible. To generate a more tractable model, we generated clonal CLT embryonic stem (ES) cells from CLT embryos and injected them into RAG2-deficient blastocysts to generate chimeric mice, which, like germline CLT mice, harbor splenic CLT B cells and lack T cells. CLT chimeric mice generated by this RAG2-deficient blastocyst complementation ("RDBC") approach die rapidly in association with B-cell lymphoproliferation and lymphoma. Because CLT lymphomas routinely express the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) antibody diversifier, we tested potential AID roles by eliminating the AID gene in CLT ES cells and testing them via RDBC. We found that CLT and AID-deficient CLT ES chimeras had indistinguishable phenotypes, showing that AID is not essential for LMP1-induced lymphomagenesis. Beyond expanding accessibility and utility of CLT mice as a cancer immunotherapy model, our studies provide a new approach for facilitating generation of genetically complex mouse cancer models. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

  2. Mass spectrometry analysis of hepcidin peptides in experimental mouse models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harold Tjalsma

    Full Text Available The mouse is a valuable model for unravelling the role of hepcidin in iron homeostasis, however, such studies still report hepcidin mRNA levels as a surrogate marker for bioactive hepcidin in its pivotal function to block ferroportin-mediated iron transport. Here, we aimed to assess bioactive mouse Hepcidin-1 (Hep-1 and its paralogue Hepcidin-2 (Hep-2 at the peptide level. To this purpose, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR and tandem-MS was used for hepcidin identification, after which a time-of-flight (TOF MS-based methodology was exploited to routinely determine Hep-1 and -2 levels in mouse serum and urine. This method was biologically validated by hepcidin assessment in: i 3 mouse strains (C57Bl/6; DBA/2 and BABL/c upon stimulation with intravenous iron and LPS, ii homozygous Hfe knock out, homozygous transferrin receptor 2 (Y245X mutated mice and double affected mice, and iii mice treated with a sublethal hepatotoxic dose of paracetamol. The results showed that detection of Hep-1 was restricted to serum, whereas Hep-2 and its presumed isoforms were predominantly present in urine. Elevations in serum Hep-1 and urine Hep-2 upon intravenous iron or LPS were only moderate and varied considerably between mouse strains. Serum Hep-1 was decreased in all three hemochromatosis models, being lowest in the double affected mice. Serum Hep-1 levels correlated with liver hepcidin-1 gene expression, while acute liver damage by paracetamol depleted Hep-1 from serum. Furthermore, serum Hep-1 appeared to be an excellent indicator of splenic iron accumulation. In conclusion, Hep-1 and Hep-2 peptide responses in experimental mouse agree with the known biology of hepcidin mRNA regulators, and their measurement can now be implemented in experimental mouse models to provide novel insights in post-transcriptional regulation, hepcidin function, and kinetics.

  3. Evaluation of immunological escape mechanisms in a mouse model of colorectal liver metastases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grimm, Martin; Thalheimer, Andreas; Gasser, Martin; Bueter, Marco; Strehl, Johanna; Wang, Johann; Nichiporuk, Ekaterina; Meyer, Detlef; Germer, Christoph T; Waaga-Gasser, Ana M

    2010-01-01

    The local and systemic activation and regulation of the immune system by malignant cells during carcinogenesis is highly complex with involvement of the innate and acquired immune system. Despite the fact that malignant cells do have antigenic properties their immunogenic effects are minor suggesting tumor induced mechanisms to circumvent cancer immunosurveillance. The aim of this study is the analysis of tumor immune escape mechanisms in a colorectal liver metastases mouse model at different points in time during tumor growth. CT26.WT murine colon carcinoma cells were injected intraportally in Balb/c mice after median laparotomy using a standardized injection technique. Metastatic tumor growth in the liver was examined by standard histological procedures at defined points in time during metastatic growth. Liver tissue with metastases was additionally analyzed for cytokines, T cell markers and Fas/Fas-L expression using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. Comparisons were performed by analysis of variance or paired and unpaired t test when appropriate. Intraportal injection of colon carcinoma cells resulted in a gradual and time dependent metastatic growth. T cells of regulatory phenotype (CD4+CD25+Foxp3+) which might play a role in protumoral immune response were found to infiltrate peritumoral tissue increasingly during carcinogenesis. Expression of cytokines IL-10, TGF-β and TNF-α were increased during tumor growth whereas IFN-γ showed a decrease of the expression from day 10 on following an initial increase. Moreover, liver metastases of murine colon carcinoma show an up-regulation of FAS-L on tumor cell surface with a decreased expression of FAS from day 10 on. CD8+ T cells express FAS and show an increased rate of apoptosis at perimetastatic location. This study describes cellular and macromolecular changes contributing to immunological escape mechanisms during metastatic growth in a colorectal liver metastases mouse model simulating the

  4. Therapeutic Touch Has Significant Effects on Mouse Breast Cancer Metastasis and Immune Responses but Not Primary Tumor Size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronowicz, Gloria; Secor, Eric R; Flynn, John R; Jellison, Evan R; Kuhn, Liisa T

    2015-01-01

    Evidence-based integrative medicine therapies have been introduced to promote wellness and offset side-effects from cancer treatment. Energy medicine is an integrative medicine technique using the human biofield to promote well-being. The biofield therapy chosen for study was Therapeutic Touch (TT). Breast cancer tumors were initiated in mice by injection of metastatic 66cl4 mammary carcinoma cells. The control group received only vehicle. TT or mock treatments were performed twice a week for 10 minutes. Two experienced TT practitioners alternated treatments. At 26 days, metastasis to popliteal lymph nodes was determined by clonogenic assay. Changes in immune function were measured by analysis of serum cytokines and by fluorescent activated cells sorting (FACS) of immune cells from the spleen and lymph nodes. No significant differences were found in body weight gain or tumor size. Metastasis was significantly reduced in the TT-treated mice compared to mock-treated mice. Cancer significantly elevated eleven cytokines. TT significantly reduced IL-1-a, MIG, IL-1b, and MIP-2 to control/vehicle levels. FACS demonstrated that TT significantly reduced specific splenic lymphocyte subsets and macrophages were significantly elevated with cancer. Human biofield therapy had no significant effect on primary tumor but produced significant effects on metastasis and immune responses in a mouse breast cancer model.

  5. Combinatorial Effects of VEGFR Kinase Inhibitor Axitinib and Oncolytic Virotherapy in Mouse and Human Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cell Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Dipongkor; Wakimoto, Hiroaki; Peters, Cole W; Antoszczyk, Slawomir J; Rabkin, Samuel D; Martuza, Robert L

    2018-03-29

    Purpose: Glioblastoma (GBM), a fatal brain cancer, contains a subpopulation of GBM stem-like cells (GSCs) that contribute to resistance to current therapy. Angiogenesis also plays a key role in GBM progression. Therefore, we developed a strategy to target the complex GBM microenvironment, including GSCs and tumor vasculature. Experimental Design: We evaluated the cytotoxic effects of VEFGR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) axitinib in vitro and then tested antitumor efficacy of axitinib in combination with oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) expressing antiangiogenic cytokine murine IL12 (G47Δ-mIL12) in two orthotopic GSC-derived GBM models: patient-derived recurrent MGG123 GSCs, forming vascular xenografts in immunodeficient mice; and mouse 005 GSCs, forming syngeneic tumors in immunocompetent mice. Results: GSCs form endothelial-like tubes and were sensitive to axitinib. G47Δ-mIL12 significantly improved survival, as did axitinib, while dual combinations further extended survival significantly compared with single therapies alone in both models. In MGG123 tumors, axitinib was effective only at high doses (50 mg/kg), alone and in combination with G47Δ-mIL12, and this was associated with greatly decreased vascularity, increased macrophage infiltration, extensive tumor necrosis, and PDGFR/ERK pathway inhibition. In the mouse 005 model, antiglioma activity, after single and combination therapy, was only observed in immunocompetent mice and not the T-cell-deficient athymic mice. Interestingly, immune checkpoint inhibition did not improve efficacy. Conclusions: Systemic TKI (axitinib) beneficially combines with G47Δ-mIL12 to enhance antitumor efficacy in both immunodeficient and immunocompetent orthotopic GBM models. Our results support further investigation of TKIs in combination with oHSV for GBM treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 1-14. ©2018 AACR. ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  6. Mouse Models as Predictors of Human Responses: Evolutionary Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uhl, Elizabeth W; Warner, Natalie J

    Mice offer a number of advantages and are extensively used to model human diseases and drug responses. Selective breeding and genetic manipulation of mice have made many different genotypes and phenotypes available for research. However, in many cases, mouse models have failed to be predictive. Important sources of the prediction problem have been the failure to consider the evolutionary basis for species differences, especially in drug metabolism, and disease definitions that do not reflect the complexity of gene expression underlying disease phenotypes. Incorporating evolutionary insights into mouse models allow for unique opportunities to characterize the effects of diet, different gene expression profiles, and microbiomics underlying human drug responses and disease phenotypes.

  7. Fasting cycles potentiate the efficacy of gemcitabine treatment in in vitro and in vivo pancreatic cancer models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazza, Tommaso; Panebianco, Concetta; Saracino, Chiara; Pereira, Stephen P.; Graziano, Paolo; Pazienza, Valerio

    2015-01-01

    Background/aims Pancreatic cancer (PC) is ranked as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite recent advances in treatment options, a modest impact on the outcome of the disease is observed so far. Short-term fasting cycles have been shown to potentiate the efficacy of chemotherapy against glioma. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of fasting cycles on the efficacy of gemcitabine, a standard treatment for PC patients, in vitro and in an in vivo pancreatic cancer mouse xenograft model. Materials and Methods BxPC-3, MiaPaca-2 and Panc-1 cells were cultured in standard and fasting mimicking culturing condition to evaluate the effects of gemcitabine. Pancreatic cancer xenograft mice were subjected to 24h starvation prior to gemcitabine injection to assess the tumor volume and weight as compared to mice fed ad libitum. Results Fasted pancreatic cancer cells showed increased levels of equilibrative nucleoside transporter (hENT1), the transporter of gemcitabine across the cell membrane, and decreased ribonucleotide reductase M1 (RRM1) levels as compared to those cultured in standard medium. Gemcitabine was more effective in inducing cell death on fasted cells as compared to controls. Consistently, xenograft pancreatic cancer mice subjected to fasting cycles prior to gemcitabine injection displayed a decrease of more than 40% in tumor growth. Conclusion Fasting cycles enhance gemcitabine effect in vitro and in the in vivo PC xenograft mouse model. These results suggest that restrictive dietary interventions could enhance the efficacy of existing cancer treatments in pancreatic cancer patients. PMID:26176887

  8. Antitumor activity of chLpMab-2, a human-mouse chimeric cancer-specific antihuman podoplanin antibody, via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaneko, Mika K; Yamada, Shinji; Nakamura, Takuro; Abe, Shinji; Nishioka, Yasuhiko; Kunita, Akiko; Fukayama, Masashi; Fujii, Yuki; Ogasawara, Satoshi; Kato, Yukinari

    2017-04-01

    Human podoplanin (hPDPN), a platelet aggregation-inducing transmembrane glycoprotein, is expressed in different types of tumors, and it binds to C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2). The overexpression of hPDPN is involved in invasion and metastasis. Anti-hPDPN monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) such as NZ-1 have shown antitumor and antimetastatic activities by binding to the platelet aggregation-stimulating (PLAG) domain of hPDPN. Recently, we developed a novel mouse anti-hPDPN mAb, LpMab-2, using the cancer-specific mAb (CasMab) technology. In this study we developed chLpMab-2, a human-mouse chimeric anti-hPDPN antibody, derived from LpMab-2. chLpMab-2 was produced using fucosyltransferase 8-knockout (KO) Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-S cell lines. By flow cytometry, chLpMab-2 reacted with hPDPN-expressing cancer cell lines including glioblastomas, mesotheliomas, and lung cancers. However, it showed low reaction with normal cell lines such as lymphatic endothelial and renal epithelial cells. Moreover, chLpMab-2 exhibited high antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against PDPN-expressing cells, despite its low complement-dependent cytotoxicity. Furthermore, treatment with chLpMab-2 abolished tumor growth in xenograft models of CHO/hPDPN, indicating that chLpMab-2 suppressed tumor development via ADCC. In conclusion, chLpMab-2 could be useful as a novel antibody-based therapy against hPDPN-expressing tumors. © 2017 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. MRI ductography of contrast agent distribution and leakage in normal mouse mammary ducts and ducts with in situ cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markiewicz, Erica; Fan, Xiaobing; Mustafi, Devkumar; Zamora, Marta; Conzen, Suzanne D; Karczmar, Gregory S

    2017-07-01

    High resolution 3D MRI was used to study contrast agent distribution and leakage in normal mouse mammary glands and glands containing in situ cancer after intra-ductal injection. Five female FVB/N mice (~19weeks old) with no detectable mammary cancer and eight C3(1) SV40 Tag virgin female mice (~15weeks old) with extensive in situ cancer were studied. A 34G, 45° tip Hamilton needle with a 25μL Hamilton syringe was inserted into the tip of the nipple and approximately 15μL of a Gadodiamide was injected slowly over 1min into the nipple and throughout the duct on one side of the inguinal gland. Following injection, the mouse was placed in a 9.4T MRI scanner, and a series of high resolution 3D T1-weighted images was acquired with a temporal resolution of 9.1min to follow contrast agent leakage from the ducts. The first image was acquired at about 12min after injection. Ductal enhancement regions detected in images acquired between 12 and 21min after contrast agent injection was five times smaller in SV40 mouse mammary ducts (pcontrast agent from the SV40 ducts. The contrast agent washout rate measured between 12min and 90min after injection was ~20% faster (p<0.004) in SV40 mammary ducts than in FVB/N mammary ducts. These results may be due to higher permeability of the SV40 ducts, likely due to the presence of in situ cancers. Therefore, increased permeability of ducts may indicate early stage breast cancers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Benzyl Isothiocyanate Inhibits Prostate Cancer Development in the Transgenic Adenocarcinoma Mouse Prostate (TRAMP Model, Which Is Associated with the Induction of Cell Cycle G1 Arrest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han Jin Cho

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC is a hydrolysis product of glucotropaeolin, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, and has been shown to have anti-tumor properties. In the present study, we investigated whether BITC inhibits the development of prostate cancer in the transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP mice. Five-week old, male TRAMP mice and their nontransgenic littermates were gavage-fed with 0, 5, or 10 mg/kg of BITC every day for 19 weeks. The weight of the genitourinary tract increased markedly in TRAMP mice and this increase was suppressed significantly by BITC feeding. H and E staining of the dorsolateral lobes of the prostate demonstrated that well-differentiated carcinoma (WDC was a predominant feature in the TRAMP mice. The number of lobes with WDC was reduced by BITC feeding while that of lobes with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia was increased. BITC feeding reduced the number of cells expressing Ki67 (a proliferation marker, cyclin A, cyclin D1, and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK2 in the prostatic tissue. In vitro cell culture results revealed that BITC decreased DNA synthesis, as well as CDK2 and CDK4 activity in TRAMP-C2 mouse prostate cancer cells. These results indicate that inhibition of cell cycle progression contributes to the inhibition of prostate cancer development in TRAMP mice treated with BITC.

  11. Establishment of A Malignant Pleural Effusion Mouse Model with Lewis Lung 
Carcinoma Cell Lines Expressing Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein

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    Xingqun MA

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective Malignant pleural effusion (MPE is a poor prognosis factor in patients with advanced lung cancer. The aim of this study is to establish a mouse model of MPE using Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC cell lines expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP. Methods The mouse model was created by injecting LLC-EGFP cells directly into the pleural cavity of mice that were sacrificed periodically. The dynamic growth and metastasis of tumor cells were screened using in vivo fluorescence imaging. The remaining mice were subjected to transverse computed tomography (CT imaging periodically to analyze the formation rate of pleural effusion. The survival rate and tumor metastasis were also observed. Pleural fluid was gently aspirated using a 1 mL syringe and its volume was measured. When two or more mice bore pleural effusion at the same time, we calculated the average volume. The correlation of pleural effusion with the integrated optical density (IOD were analyzed. Results Four days after the inoculation of LLC-EGFP cells, green fluorescence was observed by opening the chest wall. The tumor formation rate was 100%, and the IOD gradually increased after inoculation. The metastasis sites were mediastinal, and the hilar lymph nodes were contralateral pleural as well as pericardial. The metastasis rates were 87%, 73% and 20%, respectively. The CT scan revealed that the formation rates of pleural effusion on days 7, 14 and 21 were 13%, 46% and 53%, respectively. The average volume of pleural effusion increased obviously on day 10 and peaked on day 16 with a value of 0.5 mL. The mean survival time of nude mice was 28.8 days. The volume of pleural effusion and IOD were significantly correlated (r=0.91, P<0.000,1. Conclusion A mouse model of lung cancer malignant pleural effusion was successfully established by injecting LLC lines expressing EGFP into the pleural cavity under a microscope. The model can enable dynamic observations of the

  12. Development of a Representative Mouse Model with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeek, Jef; Jacobs, Ans; Spincemaille, Pieter; Cassiman, David

    2016-06-01

    Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in the Western world. It represents a disease spectrum ranging from isolated steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In particular, NASH can evolve to fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. The development of novel treatment strategies is hampered by the lack of representative NASH mouse models. Here, we describe a NASH mouse model, which is based on feeding non-genetically manipulated C57BL6/J mice a 'Western style' high-fat/high-sucrose diet (HF-HSD). HF-HSD leads to early obesity, insulin resistance, and hypercholesterolemia. After 12 weeks of HF-HSD, all mice exhibit the complete spectrum of features of NASH, including steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and lobular inflammation, together with fibrosis in the majority of mice. Hence, this model closely mimics the human disease. Implementation of this mouse model will lead to a standardized setup for the evaluation of (i) underlying mechanisms that contribute to the progression of NAFLD to NASH, and (ii) therapeutic interventions for NASH. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  13. Transcriptome Analysis of Individual Stromal Cell Populations Identifies Stroma-Tumor Crosstalk in Mouse Lung Cancer Model

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    Hyejin Choi

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Emerging studies have begun to demonstrate that reprogrammed stromal cells play pivotal roles in tumor growth, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. However, the contribution of stromal cells to non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC has remained underexplored. We used an orthotopic model of Kras-driven NSCLC to systematically dissect the contribution of specific hematopoietic stromal cells in lung cancer. RNA deep-sequencing analysis of individually sorted myeloid lineage and tumor epithelial cells revealed cell-type-specific differentially regulated genes, indicative of activated stroma. We developed a computational model for crosstalk signaling discovery based on ligand-receptor interactions and downstream signaling networks and identified known and novel tumor-stroma paracrine and tumor autocrine crosstalk-signaling pathways in NSCLC. We provide cellular and molecular insights into components of the lung cancer microenvironment that contribute to carcinogenesis. This study has the potential for development of therapeutic strategies that target tumor-stroma interactions and may complement conventional anti-cancer treatments.

  14. An apple oligogalactan prevents against inflammation and carcinogenesis by targeting LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway in a mouse model of colitis-associated colon cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Li; Li, Yu H; Niu, Yin B; Sun, Yang; Guo, Zhen J; Li, Qian; Li, Chen; Feng, Juan; Cao, Shou S; Mei, Qi B

    2010-10-01

    Evidence strongly supported a link between inflammation and cancer. Patients with colitis have high risk for development of colon cancer. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), partially induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding to Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, is a vital molecule in supervising the transformation of colitis to colon cancer. It could be a good strategy to prevent colitis carcinogenesis for targeting LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway. In the present study, we obtained an oligogalactan composed of five galacturonic acids from apple pectin and evaluated its protective efficacy on intestinal toxicities and carcinogenesis in a mouse model of colitis-associated colon cancer induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). The apple oligogalactan (AOG) was highly effective against intestinal toxicities and carcinogenesis and decreased the elevated levels of TLR4 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induced by inflammation in vivo in this model system. In vitro studies, AOG alone only slightly increased the levels of protein expression and messenger RNA of TLR4, phosphorylation of IκBα and production of TNF-α in HT-29 cells. However, AOG significantly decreased the elevation of all the biomarkers induced by LPS when it was combined with LPS. The effect of AOG may be related to membrane internalization and redistribution of TLR4 from cell membrane to cytoplasm. AOG is active against inflammation and carcinogenesis through targeting LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Both AOG and LPS are agonists of TLR4 for sharing the same ligand but AOG has a much lower intrinsic activity than that of LPS. AOG may be useful for treatment of colitis and prevention of carcinogenesis in the clinics.

  15. Nanopulse Stimulation (NPS Induces Tumor Ablation and Immunity in Orthotopic 4T1 Mouse Breast Cancer: A Review

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    Stephen J. Beebe

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Nanopulse Stimulation (NPS eliminates mouse and rat tumor types in several different animal models. NPS induces protective, vaccine-like effects after ablation of orthotopic rat N1-S1 hepatocellular carcinoma. Here we review some general concepts of NPS in the context of studies with mouse metastatic 4T1 mammary cancer showing that the postablation, vaccine-like effect is initiated by dynamic, multilayered immune mechanisms. NPS eliminates primary 4T1 tumors by inducing immunogenic, caspase-independent programmed cell death (PCD. With lower electric fields, like those peripheral to the primary treatment zone, NPS can activate dendritic cells (DCs. The activation of DCs by dead/dying cells leads to increases in memory effector and central memory T-lymphocytes in the blood and spleen. NPS also eliminates immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment and blood. Finally, NPS treatment of 4T1 breast cancer exhibits an abscopal effect and largely prevents spontaneous metastases to distant organs. NPS with fast rise–fall times and pulse durations near the plasma membrane charging time constant, which exhibits transient, high-frequency components (1/time = Hz, induce responses from mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and nucleus. Such effects may be responsible for release of danger-associated molecular patterns, including ATP, calreticulin, and high mobility group box 1 (HMBG1 from 4T1-Luc cells to induce immunogenic cell death (ICD. This likely leads to immunity and the vaccine-like response. In this way, NPS acts as a unique onco-immunotherapy providing distinct therapeutic advantages showing possible clinical utility for breast cancers as well as for other malignancies.

  16. Anticonvulsant profile of a balanced ketogenic diet in acute mouse seizure models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samala, Ramakrishna; Willis, Sarah; Borges, Karin

    2008-10-01

    Anticonvulsant effects of the ketogenic diet (KD) have been reported in the mouse, although previous studies did not control for intake of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of balanced ketogenic and control diets in acute mouse seizure models. The behavior in four mouse seizure models, plasma d-beta-hydroxybutyrate (d-BHB) and glucose levels were determined after feeding control diet, 4:1 and 6:1 KDs with matched vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Feeding 4:1 and 6:1 KDs ad lib to 3-week-old (adolescent) mice resulted in 1.2-2.2mM d-BHB in plasma, but did not consistently change glucose levels. The 6:1 KD reproducibly elevated the CC50 (current that initiates seizures in 50% mice tested) in the 6-Hz model after 14 days of feeding to adolescent CD1 mice. Higher plasma d-BHB levels correlated with anticonvulsant effects. Despite ketosis, no consistent anticonvulsant effects of KDs were found in the fluorothyl or pentylenetetrazole CD1 mouse models. The 4:1 KD was neither anticonvulsant nor neuroprotective in hippocampus in the C3H mouse kainate model. Taken together, the KD's anticonvulsant effect was limited to the 6-Hz model, required chronic feeding with 6:1 fat content, and was independent from lowering plasma glucose.

  17. The STR/ort mouse model of spontaneous osteoarthritis - an update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staines, K A; Poulet, B; Wentworth, D N; Pitsillides, A A

    2017-06-01

    Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease and a world-wide healthcare burden. Characterized by cartilage degradation, subchondral bone thickening and osteophyte formation, osteoarthritis inflicts much pain and suffering, for which there are currently no disease-modifying treatments available. Mouse models of osteoarthritis are proving critical in advancing our understanding of the underpinning molecular mechanisms. The STR/ort mouse is a well-recognized model which develops a natural form of osteoarthritis very similar to the human disease. In this Review we discuss the use of the STR/ort mouse in understanding this multifactorial disease with an emphasis on recent advances in its genetics and its bone, endochondral and immune phenotypes. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  18. A Mouse Model of Enterovirus D68 Infection for Assessment of the Efficacy of Inactivated Vaccine

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    Chao Zhang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, enterovirus D68 (EVD68 has been reported increasingly to be associated with severe respiratory tract infections and acute flaccid myelitis (AFM in children all over the world. Yet, no effective vaccines or antiviral drugs are currently available for EVD68. Although several experimental animal models have been developed, immunogenicity and protective efficacy of inactivated EVD68 vaccines has not been fully evaluated. To promote the development of vaccines, we established an Institute of Cancer Research (ICR suckling mouse model of EVD68 infection in this study. The results showed that ICR neonatal mice up to about nine days of age were susceptible to infection with EVD68 clinical strain US/MO/14-18947 by intraperitoneal injection. The infected mice exhibited progressive limb paralysis prior to death and the mortality of mice was age- and virus dose-dependent. Tissue viral load analysis showed that limb muscle and spinal cord were the major sites of viral replication. Moreover, histopathologic examination revealed the severe necrosis of the limb and juxtaspinal muscles, suggesting that US/MO/14-18947 has a strong tropism toward muscle tissues. Additionally, β-propiolactone-inactivated EVD68 vaccine showed high purity and quality and induced robust EVD68-specific neutralizing antibody responses in adult mice. Importantly, results from both antisera transfer and maternal immunization experiments clearly showed that inactivated EVD68 vaccine was able to protect against lethal viral infection in the mouse model. In short, these results demonstrate the successful establishment of the mouse model of EVD68 infection for evaluating candidate vaccines against EVD68 and also provide important information for the development of inactivated virus-based EVD68 vaccines.

  19. Advanced computational biology methods identify molecular switches for malignancy in an EGF mouse model of liver cancer.

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    Philip Stegmaier

    Full Text Available The molecular causes by which the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase induces malignant transformation are largely unknown. To better understand EGFs' transforming capacity whole genome scans were applied to a transgenic mouse model of liver cancer and subjected to advanced methods of computational analysis to construct de novo gene regulatory networks based on a combination of sequence analysis and entrained graph-topological algorithms. Here we identified transcription factors, processes, key nodes and molecules to connect as yet unknown interacting partners at the level of protein-DNA interaction. Many of those could be confirmed by electromobility band shift assay at recognition sites of gene specific promoters and by western blotting of nuclear proteins. A novel cellular regulatory circuitry could therefore be proposed that connects cell cycle regulated genes with components of the EGF signaling pathway. Promoter analysis of differentially expressed genes suggested the majority of regulated transcription factors to display specificity to either the pre-tumor or the tumor state. Subsequent search for signal transduction key nodes upstream of the identified transcription factors and their targets suggested the insulin-like growth factor pathway to render the tumor cells independent of EGF receptor activity. Notably, expression of IGF2 in addition to many components of this pathway was highly upregulated in tumors. Together, we propose a switch in autocrine signaling to foster tumor growth that was initially triggered by EGF and demonstrate the knowledge gain form promoter analysis combined with upstream key node identification.

  20. Recombinant methioninase effectively targets a Ewing's sarcoma in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) nude-mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murakami, Takashi; Li, Shukuan; Han, Qinghong; Tan, Yuying; Kiyuna, Tasuku; Igarashi, Kentaro; Kawaguchi, Kei; Hwang, Ho Kyoung; Miyake, Kentaro; Singh, Arun S; Nelson, Scott D; Dry, Sarah M; Li, Yunfeng; Hiroshima, Yukihiko; Lwin, Thinzar M; DeLong, Jonathan C; Chishima, Takashi; Tanaka, Kuniya; Bouvet, Michael; Endo, Itaru; Eilber, Fritz C; Hoffman, Robert M

    2017-05-30

    Methionine dependence is due to the overuse of methionine for aberrant transmethylation reactions in cancer. Methionine dependence may be the only general metabolic defect in cancer. In order to exploit methionine dependence for therapy, our laboratory previously cloned L-methionine α-deamino-γ-mercaptomethane lyase [EC 4.4.1.11]). The cloned methioninase, termed recombinant methioninase, or rMETase, has been tested in mouse models of human cancer cell lines. Ewing's sarcoma is recalcitrant disease even though development of multimodal therapy has improved patients'outcome. Here we report efficacy of rMETase against Ewing's sarcoma in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model. The Ewing's sarcoma was implanted in the right chest wall of nude mice to establish a PDOX model. Eight Ewing's sarcoma PDOX mice were randomized into untreated control group (n = 4) and rMETase treatment group (n = 4). rMETase (100 units) was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) every 24 hours for 14 consecutive days. All mice were sacrificed on day-15, 24 hours after the last rMETase administration. rMETase effectively reduced tumor growth compared to untreated control. The methionine level both of plasma and supernatants derived from sonicated tumors was lower in the rMETase group. Body weight did not significantly differ at any time points between the 2 groups. The present study is the first demonstrating rMETase efficacy in a PDOX model, suggesting potential clinical development, especially in recalcitrant cancers such as Ewing's sarcoma.

  1. Decerebrate mouse model for studies of the spinal cord circuits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meehan, Claire Francesca; Mayr, Kyle A; Manuel, Marin

    2017-01-01

    The adult decerebrate mouse model (a mouse with the cerebrum removed) enables the study of sensory-motor integration and motor output from the spinal cord for several hours without compromising these functions with anesthesia. For example, the decerebrate mouse is ideal for examining locomotor be......, which is ample time to perform most short-term procedures. These protocols can be modified for those interested in cardiovascular or respiratory function in addition to motor function and can be performed by trainees with some previous experience in animal surgery....

  2. In Vivo SILAC-Based Proteomics Reveals Phosphoproteome Changes during Mouse Skin Carcinogenesis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zanivan, S.; Meves, A.; Behrendt, K.; Schoof, E.M.; Neilson, L.J.; Cox, J.; Tang, H.R.; Kalna, G.; Ree, J.H. van; Deursen, J.M.A. van; Trempus, C.S.; Machesky, L.M.; Linding, R.; Wickstrom, S.A.; Fassler, R.; Mann, M.

    2013-01-01

    Cancer progresses through distinct stages, and mouse models recapitulating traits of this progression are frequently used to explore genetic, morphological, and pharmacological aspects of tumor development. To complement genomic investigations of this process, we here quantify phosphoproteomic

  3. The Event Coordination Notation: Behaviour Modelling Beyond Mickey Mouse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Jesper; Kindler, Ekkart

    2015-01-01

    The Event Coordination Notation (ECNO) allows modelling the desired behaviour of a software system on top of any object-oriented software. Together with existing technologies from Model-based Software Engineering (MBSE) for automatically generating the software for the structural parts, ECNO allows...... special aspect of ECNO or another; and it would be fair to call them “Mickey Mouse examples”. In this paper, we give a concise overview of the motivation, ideas, and concepts of ECNO. More importantly, we discuss a larger system, which was completely generated from the underlying models: a workflow...... management system. This way, we demonstrate that ECNO can be used for modelling software beyond the typical Mickey Mouse examples. This example demonstrates that the essence of workflow management – including its behaviour – can be captured in ECNO: in a sense, it is a domain model of workflow management...

  4. Cell-autonomous progeroid changes in conditional mouse models for repair endonuclease XPG deficiency.

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    Sander Barnhoorn

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available As part of the Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER process, the endonuclease XPG is involved in repair of helix-distorting DNA lesions, but the protein has also been implicated in several other DNA repair systems, complicating genotype-phenotype relationship in XPG patients. Defects in XPG can cause either the cancer-prone condition xeroderma pigmentosum (XP alone, or XP combined with the severe neurodevelopmental disorder Cockayne Syndrome (CS, or the infantile lethal cerebro-oculo-facio-skeletal (COFS syndrome, characterized by dramatic growth failure, progressive neurodevelopmental abnormalities and greatly reduced life expectancy. Here, we present a novel (conditional Xpg-/- mouse model which -in a C57BL6/FVB F1 hybrid genetic background- displays many progeroid features, including cessation of growth, loss of subcutaneous fat, kyphosis, osteoporosis, retinal photoreceptor loss, liver aging, extensive neurodegeneration, and a short lifespan of 4-5 months. We show that deletion of XPG specifically in the liver reproduces the progeroid features in the liver, yet abolishes the effect on growth or lifespan. In addition, specific XPG deletion in neurons and glia of the forebrain creates a progressive neurodegenerative phenotype that shows many characteristics of human XPG deficiency. Our findings therefore exclude that both the liver as well as the neurological phenotype are a secondary consequence of derailment in other cell types, organs or tissues (e.g. vascular abnormalities and support a cell-autonomous origin caused by the DNA repair defect itself. In addition they allow the dissection of the complex aging process in tissue- and cell-type-specific components. Moreover, our data highlight the critical importance of genetic background in mouse aging studies, establish the Xpg-/- mouse as a valid model for the severe form of human XPG patients and segmental accelerated aging, and strengthen the link between DNA damage and aging.

  5. Development of hepatocellular cancer induced by long term low fat-high carbohydrate diet in a NAFLD/NASH mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tessitore, Alessandra; Mastroiaco, Valentina; Vetuschi, Antonella; Sferra, Roberta; Pompili, Simona; Cicciarelli, Germana; Barnabei, Remo; Capece, Daria; Zazzeroni, Francesca; Capalbo, Carlo; Alesse, Edoardo

    2017-08-08

    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease. It can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and, in a percentage of cases, to hepatocarcinogenesis. The strong incidence in western countries of obesity and metabolic syndrome, whose NAFLD is the hepatic expression, is thought to be correlated to consumption of diets characterized by processed food and sweet beverages. Previous studies described high-fat diet-induced liver tumors. Conversely, the involvement of low-fat/high-carbohydrate diet in the progression of liver disease or cancer initiation has not been described yet. Here we show for the first time hepatic cancer formation in low-fat/high-carbohydrate diet fed NAFLD/NASH mouse model. Animals were long term high-fat, low-fat/high-carbohydrate or standard diet fed. We observed progressive liver damage in low-fat/high-carbohydrate and high-fat animals after 12 and, more, 18 months. Tumors were detected in 20% and 50% of high-fat diet fed mice after 12 and 18 months and, interestingly, in 30% of low-fat/high-carbohydrate fed animals after 18 months. No tumors were detected in standard diet fed mice. Global increase of hepatic interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and hepatocyte growth factor was detected in low-fat/high-carbohydrate and high-fat with respect to standard diet fed mice as well as in tumor with respect to non-tumor bearing mice. A panel of 15 microRNAs was analyzed: some of them revealed differential expression in low-fat/high-carbohydrate with respect to high-fat diet fed groups and in tumors. Data here shown provide the first evidence of the involvement of low-fat/high-carbohydrate diet in hepatic damage leading to tumorigenesis.

  6. Cancer Pain Physiology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Falk, Sarah; Bannister, Kirsty; Dickenson, Anthony

    2014-01-01

    Mechanisms of inflammatory and neuropathic pains have been elucidated and translated to patient care by the use of animal models of these pain states. Cancer pain has lagged behind since early animal models of cancer-induced bone pain were based on the systemic injection of carcinoma cells....... This precluded systematic investigation of specific neuronal and pharmacological alterations that occur in cancer-induced bone pain. In 1999, Schwei et al. described a murine model of cancer-induced bone pain that paralleled the clinical condition in terms of pain development and bone destruction, confined...... to the mouse femur. This model prompted related approaches and we can now state that cancer pain may include elements of inflammatory and neuropathic pains but also unique changes in sensory processing. Cancer induced bone pain results in progressive bone destruction, elevated osteoclast activity...

  7. The mouse-human anatomy ontology mapping project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayamizu, Terry F; de Coronado, Sherri; Fragoso, Gilberto; Sioutos, Nicholas; Kadin, James A; Ringwald, Martin

    2012-01-01

    The overall objective of the Mouse-Human Anatomy Project (MHAP) was to facilitate the mapping and harmonization of anatomical terms used for mouse and human models by Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The anatomy resources designated for this study were the Adult Mouse Anatomy (MA) ontology and the set of anatomy concepts contained in the NCI Thesaurus (NCIt). Several methods and software tools were identified and evaluated, then used to conduct an in-depth comparative analysis of the anatomy ontologies. Matches between mouse and human anatomy terms were determined and validated, resulting in a highly curated set of mappings between the two ontologies that has been used by other resources. These mappings will enable linking of data from mouse and human. As the anatomy ontologies have been expanded and refined, the mappings have been updated accordingly. Insights are presented into the overall process of comparing and mapping between ontologies, which may prove useful for further comparative analyses and ontology mapping efforts, especially those involving anatomy ontologies. Finally, issues concerning further development of the ontologies, updates to the mapping files, and possible additional applications and significance were considered. DATABASE URL: http://obofoundry.org/cgi-bin/detail.cgi?id=ma2ncit.

  8. Changes in gene expression and cellular architecture in an ovarian cancer progression model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy L Creekmore

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Early stage disease often remains undetected due the lack of symptoms and reliable biomarkers. The identification of early genetic changes could provide insights into novel signaling pathways that may be exploited for early detection and treatment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Mouse ovarian surface epithelial (MOSE cells were used to identify stage-dependent changes in gene expression levels and signal transduction pathways by mouse whole genome microarray analyses and gene ontology. These cells have undergone spontaneous transformation in cell culture and transitioned from non-tumorigenic to intermediate and aggressive, malignant phenotypes. Significantly changed genes were overrepresented in a number of pathways, most notably the cytoskeleton functional category. Concurrent with gene expression changes, the cytoskeletal architecture became progressively disorganized, resulting in aberrant expression or subcellular distribution of key cytoskeletal regulatory proteins (focal adhesion kinase, α-actinin, and vinculin. The cytoskeletal disorganization was accompanied by altered patterns of serine and tyrosine phosphorylation as well as changed expression and subcellular localization of integral signaling intermediates APC and PKCβII. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our studies have identified genes that are aberrantly expressed during MOSE cell neoplastic progression. We show that early stage dysregulation of actin microfilaments is followed by progressive disorganization of microtubules and intermediate filaments at later stages. These stage-specific, step-wise changes provide further insights into the time and spatial sequence of events that lead to the fully transformed state since these changes are also observed in aggressive human ovarian cancer cell lines independent of their histological type. Moreover, our studies support a link between aberrant cytoskeleton

  9. Multi-Modal Imaging in a Mouse Model of Orthotopic Lung Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Priya; Kato, Tatsuya; Ujiie, Hideki; Wada, Hironobu; Lee, Daiyoon; Hu, Hsin-Pei; Hirohashi, Kentaro; Ahn, Jin Young; Zheng, Jinzi; Yasufuku, Kazuhiro

    2016-01-01

    Investigation of CF800, a novel PEGylated nano-liposomal imaging agent containing indocyanine green (ICG) and iohexol, for real-time near infrared (NIR) fluorescence and computed tomography (CT) image-guided surgery in an orthotopic lung cancer model in nude mice. CF800 was intravenously administered into 13 mice bearing the H460 orthotopic human lung cancer. At 48 h post-injection (peak imaging agent accumulation time point), ex vivo NIR and CT imaging was performed. A clinical NIR imaging system (SPY®, Novadaq) was used to measure fluorescence intensity of tumor and lung. Tumor-to-background-ratios (TBR) were calculated in inflated and deflated states. The mean Hounsfield unit (HU) of lung tumor was quantified using the CT data set and a semi-automated threshold-based method. Histological evaluation using H&E, the macrophage marker F4/80 and the endothelial cell marker CD31, was performed, and compared to the liposomal fluorescence signal obtained from adjacent tissue sections. The fluorescence TBR measured when the lung is in the inflated state (2.0 ± 0.58) was significantly greater than in the deflated state (1.42 ± 0.380 (n = 7, p<0.003). Mean fluorescent signal in tumor was highly variable across samples, (49.0 ± 18.8 AU). CT image analysis revealed greater contrast enhancement in lung tumors (a mean increase of 110 ± 57 HU) when CF800 is administered compared to the no contrast enhanced tumors (p = 0.0002). Preliminary data suggests that the high fluorescence TBR and CT tumor contrast enhancement provided by CF800 may have clinical utility in localization of lung cancer during CT and NIR image-guided surgery.

  10. Treatment with rhenium-188-perrhenate and iodine-131 of NIS-expressing mammary cancer in a mouse model remarkably inhibited tumor growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dadachova, Ekaterina; Nguyen, Andrew; Lin, Elaine Y.; Gnatovskiy, Leo; Lu, Ping; Pollard, Jeffrey W.

    2005-01-01

    Introduction: Novel therapeutic modalities are needed for breast cancer patients in whom standard treatments are not effective. Mammary gland sodium/iodide symporter has been identified as a molecular target in breast cancers in humans and in some transgenic mouse models. We report the results of a therapy study with 131 I - and 188 ReO 4 - of breast cancer in polyoma middle T oncoprotein (PyMT) transgenic mice endogenously expressing the Na + /I - symporter (NIS). Methods: PyMT mice (12-13 weeks old) with one palpable tumor of 0.5-0.8 cm in diameter were used. For the therapy studies, PyMT mice were (1) treated with two intraperitoneal injections of 1.5 mCi of 188 ReO 4 - 1 week apart, (2) pretreated for 1 week with 5 μg of triiodothyronine (T3) followed by two intraperitoneal injections of 1.5 mCi of 131 I - 1 week apart or (3) left untreated. The tumor and normal organ uptakes were assessed by scintigraphic imaging. The thyroid function of treated and control animals was evaluated at the completion of the study by measuring the T3/thyroxine (T4) ratio in their blood. Results: There was significant uptake of 131 I - and 188 ReO 4 - in the primary palpable tumors as well as in nonpalpable tumors, stomachs and thyroids. The tumor uptake after the second injection was 10 times lower in comparison with the first injection. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in both the 131 I - and 188 ReO 4 - groups in comparison with the control group, and tumors in the 188 ReO 4 - group increased in size significantly less than in the 131 I - group. The T3/T4 ratios were calculated to be 27 and 25 for the control group and the 188 ReO 4 - group, respectively; for 131 I - , both the T3 and T4 levels were below detection limit, demonstrating much less effect on the thyroids of treatment with 188 ReO 4 - than with 131 I - . Conclusions: These results prove that NIS expression in breast tumors in animal models allows specific, efficient and safe treatment with a variety of

  11. The Thrombospondin-1 Mimetic ABT-510 Increases the Uptake and Effectiveness of Cisplatin and Paclitaxel in a Mouse Model of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole E. Campbell

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC comprises approximately 90% of ovarian cancers and arises from the surface epithelium. Typical treatment of EOC involves cytoreductive surgery combined with chemotherapy. More recent therapies have targeted the tumor vasculature using antiangiogenic compounds such as thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1. TSP-1 mimetic peptides such as ABT-510 have been created and have been in various clinical trials. We have previously shown that ABT-510 reduces abnormal vasculature associated with tumor tissue and increases the presence of mature blood vessels. It has been hypothesized that treatment with antiangiogenic compounds would allow increased delivery of cytotoxic agents and enhance treatment. In this study, we evaluated the potential role of ABT-510 and various chemotherapeutics (cisplatin and paclitaxel on tumor progression, angiogenesis, and the benefits of combinational treatments on tissue uptake and perfusion using an orthotopic syngeneic mouse model of EOC. Animals were treated with ABT-510 (100 mg/kg per day alone or in combination with cisplatin (2 mg/kg per 3 days or paclitaxel (10 mg/kg per 2 days at 60 days after tumor induction. Radiolabeled and fluorescently labeled paclitaxel demonstrated a significant increase in tumor uptake after ABT-510 treatment. Combined treatment with ABT-510 and cisplatin or paclitaxel resulted in a significant increase in tumor cell and tumor endothelial cell apoptosis and a resultant decrease in ovarian tumor size. Combined treatment also regressed secondary lesions and eliminated the presence of abdominal ascites. The results from this study show that through vessel normalization, ABT-510 increases uptake of chemotherapy drugs and can induce regression of advanced ovarian cancer.

  12. Pathology of Mouse Models of Accelerated Aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Harkema, L.; Youssef, S. A.; de Bruin, A.

    Progeroid mouse models display phenotypes in multiple organ systems that suggest premature aging and resemble features of natural aging of both mice and humans. The prospect of a significant increase in the global elderly population within the next decades has led to the emergence of geroscience,

  13. Pathology of Mouse Models of Accelerated Aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Harkema, L; Youssef, S A; de Bruin, A

    2016-01-01

    Progeroid mouse models display phenotypes in multiple organ systems that suggest premature aging and resemble features of natural aging of both mice and humans. The prospect of a significant increase in the global elderly population within the next decades has led to the emergence of "geroscience,"

  14. Novel Antiangiogenic/Cytotoxic Therapies for Advanced Breast Cancer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Fett, James

    2000-01-01

    .... In order to evaluate whether these inhibitors may be useful for treating breast cancer, we have during the grant period developed mouse models for both primary and metastatic growth of human breast cancer cells...

  15. Genome-Wide Expression Profiling of Five Mouse Models Identifies Similarities and Differences with Human Psoriasis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swindell, William R.; Johnston, Andrew; Carbajal, Steve; Han, Gangwen; Wohn, Christian; Lu, Jun; Xing, Xianying; Nair, Rajan P.; Voorhees, John J.; Elder, James T.; Wang, Xiao-Jing; Sano, Shigetoshi; Prens, Errol P.; DiGiovanni, John; Pittelkow, Mark R.; Ward, Nicole L.; Gudjonsson, Johann E.

    2011-01-01

    Development of a suitable mouse model would facilitate the investigation of pathomechanisms underlying human psoriasis and would also assist in development of therapeutic treatments. However, while many psoriasis mouse models have been proposed, no single model recapitulates all features of the human disease, and standardized validation criteria for psoriasis mouse models have not been widely applied. In this study, whole-genome transcriptional profiling is used to compare gene expression patterns manifested by human psoriatic skin lesions with those that occur in five psoriasis mouse models (K5-Tie2, imiquimod, K14-AREG, K5-Stat3C and K5-TGFbeta1). While the cutaneous gene expression profiles associated with each mouse phenotype exhibited statistically significant similarity to the expression profile of psoriasis in humans, each model displayed distinctive sets of similarities and differences in comparison to human psoriasis. For all five models, correspondence to the human disease was strong with respect to genes involved in epidermal development and keratinization. Immune and inflammation-associated gene expression, in contrast, was more variable between models as compared to the human disease. These findings support the value of all five models as research tools, each with identifiable areas of convergence to and divergence from the human disease. Additionally, the approach used in this paper provides an objective and quantitative method for evaluation of proposed mouse models of psoriasis, which can be strategically applied in future studies to score strengths of mouse phenotypes relative to specific aspects of human psoriasis. PMID:21483750

  16. An inducible mouse model of late onset Tay-Sachs disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeyakumar, Mylvaganam; Smith, David; Eliott-Smith, Elena; Cortina-Borja, Mario; Reinkensmeier, Gabriele; Butters, Terry D; Lemm, Thorsten; Sandhoff, Konrad; Perry, V Hugh; Dwek, Raymond A; Platt, Frances M

    2002-08-01

    Mouse models of the G(M2) gangliosidoses, Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease, are null for the hexosaminidase alpha and beta subunits respectively. The Sandhoff (Hexb-/-) mouse has severe neurological disease and mimics the human infantile onset variant. However, the Tay-Sachs (Hexa-/-) mouse model lacks an overt phenotype as mice can partially bypass the blocked catabolic pathway and escape disease. We have investigated whether a subset of Tay-Sachs mice develop late onset disease. We have found that approximately 65% of the mice develop one or more clinical signs of the disease within their natural life span (n = 52, P disease at an earlier age (n = 21, P Tay-Sachs mice confirmed that pregnancy induces late onset Tay-Sachs disease. Onset of symptoms correlated with reduced up-regulation of hexosaminidase B, a component of the bypass pathway.

  17. Ultrastructural study of Rift Valley fever virus in the mouse model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reed, Christopher; Steele, Keith E.; Honko, Anna; Shamblin, Joshua; Hensley, Lisa E. [United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD (United States); Smith, Darci R., E-mail: darci.smith1@us.army.mil [United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD (United States)

    2012-09-15

    Detailed ultrastructural studies of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in the mouse model are needed to develop and characterize a small animal model of RVF for the evaluation of potential vaccines and therapeutics. In this study, the ultrastructural features of RVFV infection in the mouse model were analyzed. The main changes in the liver included the presence of viral particles in hepatocytes and hepatic stem cells accompanied by hepatocyte apoptosis. However, viral particles were observed rarely in the liver; in contrast, particles were extremely abundant in the CNS. Despite extensive lymphocytolysis, direct evidence of viral replication was not observed in the lymphoid tissue. These results correlate with the acute-onset hepatitis and delayed-onset encephalitis that are dominant features of severe human RVF, but suggest that host immune-mediated mechanisms contribute significantly to pathology. The results of this study expand our knowledge of RVFV-host interactions and further characterize the mouse model of RVF.

  18. Ultrastructural study of Rift Valley fever virus in the mouse model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reed, Christopher; Steele, Keith E.; Honko, Anna; Shamblin, Joshua; Hensley, Lisa E.; Smith, Darci R.

    2012-01-01

    Detailed ultrastructural studies of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in the mouse model are needed to develop and characterize a small animal model of RVF for the evaluation of potential vaccines and therapeutics. In this study, the ultrastructural features of RVFV infection in the mouse model were analyzed. The main changes in the liver included the presence of viral particles in hepatocytes and hepatic stem cells accompanied by hepatocyte apoptosis. However, viral particles were observed rarely in the liver; in contrast, particles were extremely abundant in the CNS. Despite extensive lymphocytolysis, direct evidence of viral replication was not observed in the lymphoid tissue. These results correlate with the acute-onset hepatitis and delayed-onset encephalitis that are dominant features of severe human RVF, but suggest that host immune-mediated mechanisms contribute significantly to pathology. The results of this study expand our knowledge of RVFV–host interactions and further characterize the mouse model of RVF.

  19. Biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of a telodendrimer micellar paclitaxel nanoformulation in a mouse xenograft model of ovarian cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao W

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Wenwu Xiao1, Juntao Luo2, Teesta Jain3, John Riggs3, Harry P Tseng1, Paul T Henderson3, Simon R Cherry4, Douglas Rowland4, Kit S Lam1,31Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA; 2Department of Pharmacology, SUNY Upstate Cancer Research Institute, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, 4Department of Biomedical Engineering, UC Davis Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CABackground: A multifunctional telodendrimer-based micelle system was characterized for delivery of imaging and chemotherapy agents to mouse tumor xenografts. Previous optical imaging studies demonstrated qualitatively that these classes of nanoparticles, called nanomicelles, preferentially accumulate at tumor sites in mice. The research reported herein describes the detailed quantitative imaging and biodistribution profiling of nanomicelles loaded with a cargo of paclitaxel.Methods: The telodendrimer was covalently labeled with 125I and the nanomicelles were loaded with 14C-paclitaxel, which allowed measurement of pharmacokinetics and biodistribution in the mice using microSPECT/CT imaging and liquid scintillation counting, respectively.Results: The radio imaging data showed preferential accumulation of nanomicelles at the tumor site along with a slower clearance rate than paclitaxel formulated in Cremophor EL (Taxol®. Liquid scintillation counting confirmed that 14C-labeled paclitaxel sequestered in nanomicelles had increased uptake by tumor tissue and slower pharmacokinetics than Taxol.Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that nanomicelle-formulated paclitaxel is a potentially superior formulation compared with Taxol in terms of water solubility, pharmacokinetics, and tumor accumulation, and may be clinically useful for both tumor imaging and improved chemotherapy applications

  20. Efficacy of c-Met inhibitor for advanced prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu, William H; Zhu, Chunfang; Clark, Curtis; Christensen, James G; Sun, Zijie

    2010-01-01

    Aberrant expression of HGF/SF and its receptor, c-Met, often correlates with advanced prostate cancer. Our previous study showed that expression of c-Met in prostate cancer cells was increased after attenuation of androgen receptor (AR) signalling. This suggested that current androgen ablation therapy for prostate cancer activates c-Met expression and may contribute to development of more aggressive, castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Therefore, we directly assessed the efficacy of c-Met inhibition during androgen ablation on the growth and progression of prostate cancer. We tested two c-Met small molecule inhibitors, PHA-665752 and PF-2341066, for anti-proliferative activity by MTS assay and cell proliferation assay on human prostate cancer cell lines with different levels of androgen sensitivity. We also used renal subcapsular and castrated orthotopic xenograft mouse models to assess the effect of the inhibitors on prostate tumor formation and progression. We demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect of PHA-665752 and PF-2341066 on the proliferation of human prostate cancer cells and the phosphorylation of c-Met. The effect on cell proliferation was stronger in androgen insensitive cells. The c-Met inhibitor, PF-2341066, significantly reduced growth of prostate tumor cells in the renal subcapsular mouse model and the castrated orthotopic mouse model. The effect on cell proliferation was greater following castration. The c-Met inhibitors demonstrated anti-proliferative efficacy when combined with androgen ablation therapy for advanced prostate cancer

  1. Engineering a new mouse model for vitiligo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manga, Prashiela; Orlow, Seth J

    2012-07-01

    Although the precise mechanisms that trigger vitiligo remain elusive, autoimmune responses mediate its progression. The development of therapies has been impeded by a paucity of animal models, since mice lack interfollicular melanocytes, the primary targets in vitiligo. In this issue, Harris et al. describe a mouse model in which interfollicular melanocytes are retained by Kit ligand overexpression and an immune response is initiated by transplanting melanocyte-targeting CD8+ T cells.

  2. Cardiac disease and arrhythmogenesis: Mechanistic insights from mouse models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lois Choy

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The mouse is the second mammalian species, after the human, in which substantial amount of the genomic information has been analyzed. With advances in transgenic technology, mutagenesis is now much easier to carry out in mice. Consequently, an increasing number of transgenic mouse systems have been generated for the study of cardiac arrhythmias in ion channelopathies and cardiomyopathies. Mouse hearts are also amenable to physical manipulation such as coronary artery ligation and transverse aortic constriction to induce heart failure, radiofrequency ablation of the AV node to model complete AV block and even implantation of a miniature pacemaker to induce cardiac dyssynchrony. Last but not least, pharmacological models, despite being simplistic, have enabled us to understand the physiological mechanisms of arrhythmias and evaluate the anti-arrhythmic properties of experimental agents, such as gap junction modulators, that may be exert therapeutic effects in other cardiac diseases. In this article, we examine these in turn, demonstrating that primary inherited arrhythmic syndromes are now recognized to be more complex than abnormality in a particular ion channel, involving alterations in gene expression and structural remodelling. Conversely, in cardiomyopathies and heart failure, mutations in ion channels and proteins have been identified as underlying causes, and electrophysiological remodelling are recognized pathological features. Transgenic techniques causing mutagenesis in mice are extremely powerful in dissecting the relative contributions of different genes play in producing disease phenotypes. Mouse models can serve as useful systems in which to explore how protein defects contribute to arrhythmias and direct future therapy.

  3. Olfaction in three genetic and two MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease mouse models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Kurtenbach

    Full Text Available Various genetic or toxin-induced mouse models are frequently used for investigation of early PD pathology. Although olfactory impairment is known to precede motor symptoms by years, it is not known whether it is caused by impairments in the brain, the olfactory epithelium, or both. In this study, we investigated the olfactory function in three genetic Parkinson's disease (PD mouse models and mice treated with MPTP intraperitoneally and intranasally. To investigate olfactory function, we performed electro-olfactogram recordings (EOGs and an olfactory behavior test (cookie-finding test. We show that neither a parkin knockout mouse strain, nor intraperitoneal MPTP treated animals display any olfactory impairment in EOG recordings and the applied behavior test. We also found no difference in the responses of the olfactory epithelium to odorants in a mouse strain over-expressing doubly mutated α-synuclein, while this mouse strain was not suitable to test olfaction in a cookie-finding test as it displays a mobility impairment. A transgenic mouse expressing mutated α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons performed equal to control animals in the cookie-finding test. Further we show that intranasal MPTP application can cause functional damage of the olfactory epithelium.

  4. Longitudinal MRI evaluation of intracranial development and vascular characteristics of breast cancer brain metastases in a mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heling Zhou

    Full Text Available Longitudinal MRI was applied to monitor intracranial initiation and development of brain metastases and assess tumor vascular volume and permeability in a mouse model of breast cancer brain metastases. Using a 9.4T system, high resolution anatomic MRI and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC perfusion MRI were acquired at different time points after an intracardiac injection of brain-tropic breast cancer MDA-MB231BR-EGFP cells. Three weeks post injection, multifocal brain metastases were first observed with hyperintensity on T2-weighted images, but isointensity on T1-weighted post contrast images, indicating that blood-tumor-barrier (BTB at early stage of brain metastases was impermeable. Follow-up MRI revealed intracranial tumor growth and increased number of metastases that distributed throughout the whole brain. At the last scan on week 5, T1-weighted post contrast images detected BTB disruption in 160 (34% of a total of 464 brain metastases. Enhancement in some of the metastases was only seen in partial regions of the tumor, suggesting intratumoral heterogeneity of BTB disruption. DSC MRI measurements of relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV showed that rCBV of brain metastases was significantly lower (mean= 0.89±0.03 than that of contralateral normal brain (mean= 1.00±0.03; p<0.005. Intriguingly, longitudinal measurements revealed that rCBV of individual metastases at early stage was similar to, but became significantly lower than that of contralateral normal brain with tumor growth (p<0.05. The rCBV data were concordant with histological analysis of microvascular density (MVD. Moreover, comprehensive analysis suggested no significant correlation among tumor size, rCBV and BTB permeability. In conclusion, longitudinal MRI provides non-invasive in vivo assessments of spatial and temporal development of brain metastases and their vascular volume and permeability. The characteristic rCBV of brain metastases may have a diagnostic value.

  5. Quantitative trait loci affecting phenotypic variation in the vacuolated lens mouse mutant, a multigenic mouse model of neural tube defects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korstanje, Ron; Desai, Jigar; Lazar, Gloria; King, Benjamin; Rollins, Jarod; Spurr, Melissa; Joseph, Jamie; Kadambi, Sindhuja; Li, Yang; Cherry, Allison; Matteson, Paul G.; Paigen, Beverly; Millonig, James H.

    Korstanje R, Desai J, Lazar G, King B, Rollins J, Spurr M, Joseph J, Kadambi S, Li Y, Cherry A, Matteson PG, Paigen B, Millonig JH. Quantitative trait loci affecting phenotypic variation in the vacuolated lens mouse mutant, a multigenic mouse model of neural tube defects. Physiol Genomics 35:

  6. Nonspecific airway reactivity in a mouse model of asthma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collie, D.D.; Wilder, J.A.; Bice, D.E.

    1995-12-01

    Animal models are indispensable for studies requiring an intact immune system, especially for studying the pathogenic mechanisms in atopic diseases, regulation of IgE production, and related biologic effects. Mice are particularly suitable and have been used extensively for such studies because their immune system is well characterized. Further, large numbers of mutants or inbred strains of mice are available that express deficiencies of individual immunologic processes, inflammatory cells, or mediator systems. By comparing reactions in such mice with appropriate control animals, the unique roles of individual cells or mediators may be characterized more precisely in the pathogenesis of atopic respiratory diseases including asthma. However, given that asthma in humans is characterized by the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness to specific and nonspecific stimuli, it is important that animal models of this disease exhibit similar physiologic abnormalities. In the past, the size of the mouse has limited its versatility in this regard. However, recent studies indicate the feasibility of measuring pulmonary responses in living mice, thus facilitating the physiologic evaluation of putative mouse models of human asthma that have been well charcterized at the immunologic and patholigic level. Future work will provide details of the morphometry of the methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction and will further seek to determine the relationship between cigarette smoke exposure and the development of NS-AHR in the transgenic mouse model.

  7. Mouse Models Recapitulating Human Adrenocortical Tumors: What is lacking?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felicia Leccia

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Adrenal cortex tumors are divided into benign forms such as primary hyperplasias and adrenocortical adenomas (ACAs, and malignant forms or adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs. Primary hyperplasias are rare causes of ACTH-independent hypercortisolism. ACAs are the most common type of adrenal gland tumors and they are rarely functional, i.e producing steroids. When functional, adenomas result in endocrine disorders such as Cushing’s syndrome (hypercortisolism or Conn’s syndrome (hyperaldosteronism. In contrast, ACCs are extremely rare but highly aggressive tumors that may also lead to hypersecreting syndromes. Genetic analyses of patients with sporadic or familial forms of adrenocortical tumors led to the identification of potentially causative genes, most of them being involved in PKA, Wnt/β-catenin and P53 signaling pathways. Development of mouse models is a crucial step to firmly establish the functional significance of candidate genes, to dissect mechanisms leading to tumors and endocrine disorders and in fine to provide in vivo tools for therapeutic screens. In this article we will provide an overview on the existing mouse models (xenografted and genetically engineered of adrenocortical tumors by focusing on the role of PKA and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in this context. We will discuss the advantages and limitations of models that have been developed heretofore and we will point out necessary improvements in the development of next generation mouse models of adrenal diseases.

  8. Spallanzani's mouse: a model of restoration and regeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heber-Katz, E; Leferovich, J M; Bedelbaeva, K; Gourevitch, D

    2004-01-01

    The ability to regenerate is thought to be a lost phenotype in mammals, though there are certainly sporadic examples of mammalian regeneration. Our laboratory has identified a strain of mouse, the MRL mouse, which has a unique capacity to heal complex tissue in an epimorphic fashion, i.e., to restore a damaged limb or organ to its normal structure and function. Initial studies using through-and-through ear punches showed rapid full closure of the ear holes with cartilage growth, new hair follicles, and normal tissue architecture reminiscent of regeneration seen in amphibians as opposed to the scarring usually seen in mammals. Since the ear hole closure phenotype is a quantitative trait, this has been used to show-through extensive breeding and backcrossing--that the trait is heritable. Such analysis reveals that there is a complex genetic basis for this trait with multiple loci. One of the major phenotypes of the MRL mouse is a potent remodeling response with the absence or a reduced level of scarring. MRL healing is associated with the upregulation of the metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 and the downregulation of their inhibitors TIMP-2 and TIMP-3, both present in inflammatory cells such as neutrophils and macrophages. This model has more recently been extended to the heart. In this case, a cryoinjury to the right ventricle leads to near complete scarless healing in the MRL mouse whereas scarring is seen in the control mouse. In the MRL heart, bromodeoxyuridine uptake by cardiomyocytes filling the wound site can be seen 60 days after injury. This does not occur in the control mouse. Function in the MRL heart, as measured by echocardiography, returns to normal.

  9. Conditionally replicating adenovirus expressing TIMP2 increases survival in a mouse model of disseminated ovarian cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherry W Yang

    Full Text Available Ovarian cancer remains difficult to treat mainly due to presentation of the disease at an advanced stage. Conditionally-replicating adenoviruses (CRAds are promising anti-cancer agents that selectively kill the tumor cells. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel CRAd (Ad5/3-CXCR4-TIMP2 containing the CXCR4 promoter for selective viral replication in cancer cells together with TIMP2 as a therapeutic transgene, targeting the matrix metalloproteases (MMPs in a murine orthotopic model of disseminated ovarian cancer. An orthotopic model of ovarian cancer was established in athymic nude mice by intraperitonal injection of the human ovarian cancer cell line, SKOV3-Luc, expressing luciferase. Upon confirmation of peritoneal dissemination of the cells by non-invasive imaging, mice were randomly divided into four treatment groups: PBS, Ad-ΔE1-TIMP2, Ad5/3-CXCR4, and Ad5/3-CXCR4-TIMP2. All mice were imaged weekly to monitor tumor growth and were sacrificed upon reaching any of the predefined endpoints, including high tumor burden and significant weight loss along with clinical evidence of pain and distress. Survival analysis was performed using the Log-rank test. The median survival for the PBS cohort was 33 days; for Ad-ΔE1-TIMP2, 39 days; for Ad5/3-CXCR4, 52.5 days; and for Ad5/3-CXCR4-TIMP2, 63 days. The TIMP2-armed CRAd delayed tumor growth and significantly increased survival when compared to the unarmed CRAd. This therapeutic effect was confirmed to be mediated through inhibition of MMP9. Results of the in vivo study support the translational potential of Ad5/3-CXCR4-TIMP2 for treatment of human patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

  10. A chimeric human-mouse model of Sjögren's syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Nicholas A; Wu, Lai-Chu; Bruss, Michael; Kaffenberger, Benjamin H; Hampton, Jeffrey; Bolon, Brad; Jarjour, Wael N

    2015-01-01

    Despite recent advances in the understanding of Sjögren's Syndrome (SjS), the pathogenic mechanisms remain elusive and an ideal model for early drug discovery is not yet available. To establish a humanized mouse model of SjS, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy volunteers or patients with SjS were transferred into immunodeficient NOD-scid IL-2rγ(null) mouse recipients to produce chimeric mice. While no difference was observed in the distribution of cells, chimeric mice transferred with PBMCs from SjS patients produced enhanced cytokine levels, most significantly IFN-γ and IL-10. Histological examination revealed enhanced inflammatory responses in the lacrimal and salivary glands of SjS chimeras, as measured by digital image analysis and blinded histopathological scoring. Infiltrates were primarily CD4+, with minimal detection of CD8+ T-cells and B-cells. These results demonstrate a novel chimeric mouse model of human SjS that provides a unique in vivo environment to test experimental therapeutics and investigate T-cell disease pathology. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. Development of a 'mouse and human cross-reactive' affinity-matured exosite inhibitory human antibody specific to TACE (ADAM17) for cancer immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwok, Hang Fai; Botkjaer, Kenneth A; Tape, Christopher J; Huang, Yanchao; McCafferty, John; Murphy, Gillian

    2014-06-01

    We previously showed that a human anti-TACE antibody, D1(A12), is a potent inhibitor of TNF-α converting enzyme (TACE) ectodomain proteolysis and has pharmacokinetic properties suitable for studies of the inhibition of TACE-dependent growth factor shedding in relation to possible therapeutic applications. However, the lack of murine TACE immunoreactivity limits pre-clinical in vivo studies to human xenograft models which are poor analogies to in situ pathology and are not considered clinically predictive. Here, to overcome these limitations, we set out to develop a 'mouse and human cross-reactive' specific anti-TACE antibody. We first re-investigated the originally selected anti-TACE ectodomain phage-display clones, and isolated a lead 'mouse-human cross-reactive' anti-TACE scFv, clone A9. We reformatted scFv-A9 into an IgG2 framework for comprehensive biochemical and cellular characterization and further demonstrated that A9 is an exosite TACE inhibitor. However, surface plasmon resonance analysis and quenched-fluorescent (QF) peptide assay indicated that IgG reformatting of A9 caused low binding affinity and an 80-fold reduction in TACE ectodomain inhibition, severely limiting its efficacy. To address this, we constructed second generation phage-display randomization libraries focused on the complementarity-determining region 3, and carried out affinity selections shuffling between human and mouse TACE ectodomain as antigen in addition to an off-rate selection to increase the chance of affinity improvement. The bespoke 'three-step' selections enabled a 100-fold affinity enhancement of A9 IgG, and also improved its IC50 in a QF peptide assay to 0.2 nM. In human and mouse cancer cell assays, matured A9 IgG showed significant cell-surface TACE inhibition as a monotherapy or combination therapy with chemotherapeutic agent. Collectively, these data suggest that we successfully developed an exosite inhibitor of TACE with sub-nanomolar affinity, which possesses both

  12. Rapid genetic algorithm optimization of a mouse computational model: Benefits for anthropomorphization of neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corina Teodora Bot

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available While the mouse presents an invaluable experimental model organism in biology, its usefulness in cardiac arrhythmia research is limited in some aspects due to major electrophysiological differences between murine and human action potentials (APs. As previously described, these species-specific traits can be partly overcome by application of a cell-type transforming clamp (CTC to anthropomorphize the murine cardiac AP. CTC is a hybrid experimental-computational dynamic clamp technique, in which a computationally calculated time-dependent current is inserted into a cell in real time, to compensate for the differences between sarcolemmal currents of that cell (e.g., murine and the desired species (e.g., human. For effective CTC performance, mismatch between the measured cell and a mathematical model used to mimic the measured AP must be minimal. We have developed a genetic algorithm (GA approach that rapidly tunes a mathematical model to reproduce the AP of the murine cardiac myocyte under study. Compared to a prior implementation that used a template-based model selection approach, we show that GA optimization to a cell-specific model results in a much better recapitulation of the desired AP morphology with CTC. This improvement was more pronounced when anthropomorphizing neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes to human-like APs than to guinea pig APs. CTC may be useful for a wide range of applications, from screening effects of pharmaceutical compounds on ion channel activity, to exploring variations in the mouse or human genome. Rapid GA optimization of a cell-specific mathematical model improves CTC performance and may therefore expand the applicability and usage of the CTC technique.

  13. The anti-tumor activity of a neutralizing nanobody targeting leptin receptor in a mouse model of melanoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Travis McMurphy

    Full Text Available Environmental and genetic activation of a brain-adipocyte axis inhibits cancer progression. Leptin is the primary peripheral mediator of this anticancer effect in a mouse model of melanoma. In this study we assessed the effect of a leptin receptor antagonist on melanoma progression. Local administration of a neutralizing nanobody targeting the leptin receptor at low dose adjacent to tumor decreased tumor mass with no effects on body weight or food intake. In contrast, systemic administration of the nanobody failed to suppress tumor growth. Daily intraperitoneal injection of high-dose nanobody led to weight gain, hyperphagia, increased adiposity, hyperleptinemia, and hyperinsulinemia, and central effects mimicking leptin deficiency. The blockade of central actions of leptin by systemic delivery of nanobody may compromise its anticancer effect, underscoring the need to develop peripherally acting leptin antagonists coupled with efficient cancer-targeting delivery.

  14. The anti-tumor activity of a neutralizing nanobody targeting leptin receptor in a mouse model of melanoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMurphy, Travis; Xiao, Run; Magee, Daniel; Slater, Andrew; Zabeau, Lennart; Tavernier, Jan; Cao, Lei

    2014-01-01

    Environmental and genetic activation of a brain-adipocyte axis inhibits cancer progression. Leptin is the primary peripheral mediator of this anticancer effect in a mouse model of melanoma. In this study we assessed the effect of a leptin receptor antagonist on melanoma progression. Local administration of a neutralizing nanobody targeting the leptin receptor at low dose adjacent to tumor decreased tumor mass with no effects on body weight or food intake. In contrast, systemic administration of the nanobody failed to suppress tumor growth. Daily intraperitoneal injection of high-dose nanobody led to weight gain, hyperphagia, increased adiposity, hyperleptinemia, and hyperinsulinemia, and central effects mimicking leptin deficiency. The blockade of central actions of leptin by systemic delivery of nanobody may compromise its anticancer effect, underscoring the need to develop peripherally acting leptin antagonists coupled with efficient cancer-targeting delivery.

  15. Combination radiotherapy in an orthotopic mouse brain tumor model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramp, Tamalee R; Camphausen, Kevin

    2012-03-06

    Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are the most common and aggressive adult primary brain tumors. 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 environment. 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 procedure. 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 μl 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

  16. Quantitative and Functional Requirements for Bioluminescent Cancer Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feys, Lynn; Descamps, Benedicte; Vanhove, Christian; Vermeulen, Stefan; Vandesompele, J O; Vanderheyden, Katrien; Messens, Kathy; Bracke, Marc; De Wever, Olivier

    2016-01-01

    Bioluminescent cancer models are widely used but detailed quantification of the luciferase signal and functional comparison with a non-transfected control cell line are generally lacking. In the present study, we provide quantitative and functional tests for luciferase-transfected cells. We quantified the luciferase expression in BLM and HCT8/E11 transfected cancer cells, and examined the effect of long-term luciferin exposure. The present study also investigated functional differences between parental and transfected cancer cells. Our results showed that quantification of different single-cell-derived populations are superior with droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. Quantification of luciferase protein level and luciferase bioluminescent activity is only useful when there is a significant difference in copy number. Continuous exposure of cell cultures to luciferin leads to inhibitory effects on mitochondrial activity, cell growth and bioluminescence. These inhibitory effects correlate with luciferase copy number. Cell culture and mouse xenograft assays showed no significant functional differences between luciferase-transfected and parental cells. Luciferase-transfected cells should be validated by quantitative and functional assays before starting large-scale experiments. Copyright © 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

  17. An approach of imaging technique using MRI and {sup 18}F-fludeoxyglucose ({sup 18}F-FDG) PET/CT for longitudinal monitoring of mouse hepatocellular carcinoma model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Ju Hui; Kang, Joo Hyun; Lee, Yong Jin [Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-05-15

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cancers with growing incidence around the world. Some researchers have developed preclinical models in which tumors arise in a background that resembles the naturally developing HCC in human. There are genetically modified mouse models to mimic pathophysiological and molecular features of HCC (1) as well as chemical carcinogen-treated mouse models (2). For the detection of tumor lesions, among various imaging modalities, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide for anatomical information and positron emission tomography (PET) supply functional information of disease (3-5). The purpose of the present work is to evaluate non-invasive and reliable monitoring method for HCC models developed by the treatment with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) as a chemical carcinogen or Hepatitis B virus (HBV) X gene expressing transgenic mice (HBx-Tg model) using {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and 3.0 T MRI

  18. Combination Efficacy of Astragalus membranaceus and Curcuma wenyujin at Different Stages of Tumor Progression in an Imageable Orthotopic Nude Mouse Model of Metastatic Human Ovarian Cancer Expressing Red Fluorescent Protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Gang; Tang, Decai; Dai, Jianguo; Liu, Min; Wu, Mianhua; Sun, Y U; Yang, Zhijian; Hoffman, Robert M; Li, Lin; Zhang, Shuo; Guo, Xiuxia

    2015-06-01

    The present study determined the efficacy of extracts of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and Curcuma wenyujin (CW), a traditional Chinese medicine herbal mixture, at different tumor stages of an orthotopic nude mouse model of human ovarian cancer expressing red fluorescent protein. The tumor-bearing mice were treated with cisplatinum (CDDP), AM, CW, or a combination of AM and CW in each of three tumor stages, using the same regimen. Group 1 received saline as negative control. Group 2 received CDDP i.p. as positive control with a dose of 2 mg/kg, every three days. Group 3 received AM daily via oral gavage, at a dose of 9120 mg/kg. Group 4 received CW daily via oral gavage, at a dose of 4560 mg/kg. Groups 5, 6 and 7 received combinations of AM and CW daily via oral gavage at low (AM, 2280 mg/kg; CW, 1140 mg/kg), medium (AM, 4560 mg/kg; CW 2280 mg/kg), and high (AM, 9120 mg/kg; CW, 4560 mg/kg) doses. The expression of angiogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in the tumors were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2), and by polymerase chain reaction for MMP-2, FGF-2 and Bcl-2. CDDP, AM, and its combination with CW-induced significant growth inhibition of Stage I tumors. Strong efficacy of the combination of AM and CW at high dose was observed. Monotherapy with CDDP, AM, CW, and the combination treatments did not significantly inhibit Stage II and III tumors. The expression of MMP-2, VEGF, FGF-2, and Cox-2 was significantly reduced in Stage I tumors treated with AM, CW, and their combination, suggesting a possible role of these angiogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in the observed efficacy of the agents tested. This study is the first report on the efficacy of anticancer agents at different stages of ovarian cancer in an orthotopic mouse model. As the tumor progressed, it became treatment

  19. Early or late antibiotic intervention prevents Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric cancer in a mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Songhua; Lee, Dong Soo; Morrissey, Rhiannon; Aponte-Pieras, Jose R; Rogers, Arlin B; Moss, Steven F

    2014-12-01

    H. pylori infection causes gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. Eradicating H. pylori prevents ulcers, but to what extent this prevents cancer remains unknown, especially if given after intestinal metaplasia has developed. H. pylori infected wild-type (WT) mice do not develop cancer, but mice lacking the tumor suppressor p27 do so, thus providing an experimental model of H. pylori-induced cancer. We infected p27-deficient mice with H. pylori strain SS1 at 6-8 weeks of age. Persistently H. pylori-infected WT C57BL/6 mice served as controls. Mice in the eradication arms received antimicrobial therapy (omeprazole, metronidazole and clarithromycin) either "early" (at 15 weeks post infection, WPI) or "late" at 45 WPI. At 70 WPI, mice were euthanized for H. pylori determination, histopathology and cytokine/chemokine expression. Persistently infected mice developed premalignant lesions including high-grade dysplasia, whereas those given antibiotics did not. Histologic activity scores in the eradication groups were similar to each other, and were significantly decreased compared with controls for inflammation, epithelial defects, hyperplasia, metaplasia, atrophy and dysplasia. IP-10 and MIG levels in groups that received antibiotics were significantly lower than controls. There were no significant differences in expression of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β, RANTES, MCP-1, MIP-1α or MIP-1β among the three groups. Thus, H. pylori eradication given either early or late after infection significantly attenuated gastric inflammation, gastric atrophy, hyperplasia, and dysplasia in the p27-deficient mice model of H. pylori-induced gastric cancer, irrespective of the timing of antibiotic administration. This was associated with reduced expression of IP-10 and MIG. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Establishment of a Ewing's sarcoma mouse model: JAK/STAT signalling in Ewing's sarcoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sax, B.

    2011-01-01

    The Ewing's sarcoma family of tumours (ESFT) comprises paediatric cancers of bone and soft tissue which presumably originate from mesenchymal progenitor cells(MPC). One hallmark of ESFT is the presence of a chromosomal translocation. In 90% of the cases chromosome 11 fuses with chromosome 22. This translocation generates the EWS/FLI-1 fusion which acts as an aberrant transcription factor deregulating many genes involved in tumour development. Surgery and/or radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy are the usual forms of treatment for ESFT. But since there is only little progress in the field of chemotherapy the need for an animal model for pre-clinical drug testing is evident. Thus, the main focus of this thesis was to establish a mouse model that develops sarcomas resembling the phenotype of ESFT. We used a conditional EWS/FLI-1 mouse model, which upon Cre activity (controlled by a tissue specific promotor) expressed EWS/FLI-1 in the targeted cells. Since ESFT arises in bone and surrounding soft tissue we decided to direct expression of EWS/FLI-1 to the mesenchymal lineage by using different Cre lines. Only when using the Prx1Cre, double transgenic mice tolerated EWS/FLI-1 expression. We observed developmental abnormalities with severe skeletal deformations. Bone formation was impaired due to the absence of mature chondrocytes and osteoblasts and hence a lack of calcified bone. The lack of mature bone cells in EWS/FLI-1 expressing Prx1Cre mice supports in vitro data showing that EWS/FLI-1 impedes differentiation of murine mesenchymal progenitor cells. Currently, the project is extended to analysis of an inducible Prx1Cre system which circumvents the early lethality of Prx1Cre EF mice. This should provide the basis for tumour formation in these mice and hence the development of an appropriate mouse model for pre-clinical research. In the second project of my PhD thesis, the role of the Janus Kinase/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (JAK

  1. How informative is the mouse for human gut microbiota research?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Thi Loan Anh; Vieira-Silva, Sara; Liston, Adrian; Raes, Jeroen

    2015-01-01

    The microbiota of the human gut is gaining broad attention owing to its association with a wide range of diseases, ranging from metabolic disorders (e.g. obesity and type 2 diabetes) to autoimmune diseases (such as inflammatory bowel disease and type 1 diabetes), cancer and even neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism). Having been increasingly used in biomedical research, mice have become the model of choice for most studies in this emerging field. Mouse models allow perturbations in gut microbiota to be studied in a controlled experimental setup, and thus help in assessing causality of the complex host-microbiota interactions and in developing mechanistic hypotheses. However, pitfalls should be considered when translating gut microbiome research results from mouse models to humans. In this Special Article, we discuss the intrinsic similarities and differences that exist between the two systems, and compare the human and murine core gut microbiota based on a meta-analysis of currently available datasets. Finally, we discuss the external factors that influence the capability of mouse models to recapitulate the gut microbiota shifts associated with human diseases, and investigate which alternative model systems exist for gut microbiota research. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  2. The S100A4 Oncoprotein Promotes Prostate Tumorigenesis in a Transgenic Mouse Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siddique, Hifzur R; Adhami, Vaqar M; Parray, Aijaz

    2013-01-01

    earlier showed that S100A4 expression progressively increases in prostatic tissues with the advancement of prostate cancer (CaP) in TRAMP, an autochthonous mouse model. To study the functional significance of S100A4 in CaP, we generated a heterozygously deleted S100A4 (TRAMP/S100A4(+/-)) genotype...... (intracellular and extracellular) forms. We observed that 1) the growth-promoting effect of S100A4 is due to its activation of NFκB, 2) S100A4-deficient tumors exhibit reduced NFκB activity, 3) S100A4 regulates NFκB through the RAGE receptor, and 4) S100A4 and RAGE co-localize in prostatic tissues of mice......S100A4, a calcium-binding protein, is known for its role in the metastatic spread of tumor cells, a late event of cancer disease. This is the first report showing that S100A4 is not merely a metastatic protein but also an oncoprotein that plays a critical role in the development of tumors. We...

  3. Dietary folate deficiency blocks prostate cancer progression in the TRAMP model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bistulfi, Gaia; Foster, Barbara A; Karasik, Ellen; Gillard, Bryan; Miecznikowski, Jeff; Dhiman, Vineet K; Smiraglia, Dominic J

    2011-11-01

    Dietary folate is essential in all tissues to maintain several metabolite pools and cellular proliferation. Prostate cells, due to specific metabolic characteristics, have increased folate demand to support proliferation and prevent genetic and epigenetic damage. Although several studies have found that dietary folate interventions can affect colon cancer biology in rodent models, its impact on prostate is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether dietary folate manipulation, possibly being of primary importance for prostate epithelial cell metabolism, could significantly affect prostate cancer progression. Strikingly, mild dietary folate depletion arrested prostate cancer progression in 25 of 26 transgenic adenoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice, in which tumorigenesis is prostate-specific and characteristically aggressive. The significant effect on prostate cancer growth was characterized by size, grade, proliferation, and apoptosis analyses. Folate supplementation had a mild, nonsignificant, beneficial effect on grade. In addition, characterization of folate pools (correlated with serum), metabolite pools (polyamines and nucleotides), genetic and epigenetic damage, and expression of key biosynthetic enzymes in prostate tissue revealed interesting correlations with tumor progression. These findings indicate that prostate cancer is highly sensitive to folate manipulation and suggest that antifolates, paired with current therapeutic strategies, might significantly improve treatment of prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men.

  4. Centralized mouse repositories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donahue, Leah Rae; Hrabe de Angelis, Martin; Hagn, Michael; Franklin, Craig; Lloyd, K C Kent; Magnuson, Terry; McKerlie, Colin; Nakagata, Naomi; Obata, Yuichi; Read, Stuart; Wurst, Wolfgang; Hörlein, Andreas; Davisson, Muriel T

    2012-10-01

    Because the mouse is used so widely for biomedical research and the number of mouse models being generated is increasing rapidly, centralized repositories are essential if the valuable mouse strains and models that have been developed are to be securely preserved and fully exploited. Ensuring the ongoing availability of these mouse strains preserves the investment made in creating and characterizing them and creates a global resource of enormous value. The establishment of centralized mouse repositories around the world for distributing and archiving these resources has provided critical access to and preservation of these strains. This article describes the common and specialized activities provided by major mouse repositories around the world.

  5. The Bruton Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitor Acalabrutinib Demonstrates Potent On-Target Effects and Efficacy in Two Mouse Models of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herman, Sarah E M; Montraveta, Arnau; Niemann, Carsten U

    2017-01-01

    into the drinking water.Results: Utilizing biochemical assays, we demonstrate that acalabrutinib is a highly selective BTK inhibitor as compared with ibrutinib. In the human CLL NSG xenograft model, treatment with acalabrutinib demonstrated on-target effects, including decreased phosphorylation of PLCγ2, ERK......). In two complementary mouse models of CLL, acalabrutinib significantly reduced tumor burden and increased survival compared with vehicle treatment. Overall, acalabrutinib showed increased BTK selectivity compared with ibrutinib while demonstrating significant antitumor efficacy in vivo on par...... with ibrutinib. Clin Cancer Res; 23(11); 2831-41. ©2016 AACR....

  6. Boswellic acid suppresses growth and metastasis of human pancreatic tumors in an orthotopic nude mouse model through modulation of multiple targets.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byoungduck Park

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer (PaCa is one of the most lethal cancers, with an estimated 5-year survival of <5% even when patients are given the best treatment available. In addition, these treatments are often toxic and expensive, thus new agents which are safe, affordable and effective are urgently needed. We describe here the results of our study with acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA, an agent obtained from an Ayurvedic medicine, gum resin of Boswellia serrata. Whether AKBA has an activity against human PaCa, was examined in in vitro models and in an orthotopic nude mouse model of PaCa. We found that AKBA inhibited the proliferation of four different PaCa cell lines (AsPC-1, PANC-28, and MIA PaCa-2 with K-Ras and p53 mutations, and BxPC-3 with wild-type K-Ras and p53 mutation. These effects correlated with an inhibition of constitutively active NF-κB and suppression of NF-κB regulating gene expression. AKBA also induced apoptosis, and sensitized the cells to apoptotic effects of gemcitabine. In the orthotopic nude mouse model of PaCa, p.o. administration of AKBA alone (100 mg/kg significantly inhibited the tumor growth; this activity was enhanced by gemcitabine. In addition, AKBA inhibited the metastasis of the PaCa to spleen, liver, and lungs. This correlated with decreases in Ki-67, a biomarker of proliferation, and CD31, a biomarker of microvessel density, in the tumor tissue. AKBA produced significant decreases in the expression of NF-κB regulating genes in the tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis also showed AKBA downregulated the expression of COX-2, MMP-9, CXCR4, and VEGF in the tissues. Overall these results demonstrate that AKBA can suppress the growth and metastasis of human pancreatic tumors in an orthotopic nude mouse model that correlates with modulation of multiple targets.

  7. Multiscale Cancer Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macklin, Paul; Cristini, Vittorio

    2013-01-01

    Simulating cancer behavior across multiple biological scales in space and time, i.e., multiscale cancer modeling, is increasingly being recognized as a powerful tool to refine hypotheses, focus experiments, and enable more accurate predictions. A growing number of examples illustrate the value of this approach in providing quantitative insight on the initiation, progression, and treatment of cancer. In this review, we introduce the most recent and important multiscale cancer modeling works that have successfully established a mechanistic link between different biological scales. Biophysical, biochemical, and biomechanical factors are considered in these models. We also discuss innovative, cutting-edge modeling methods that are moving predictive multiscale cancer modeling toward clinical application. Furthermore, because the development of multiscale cancer models requires a new level of collaboration among scientists from a variety of fields such as biology, medicine, physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science, an innovative Web-based infrastructure is needed to support this growing community. PMID:21529163

  8. A consensus definition of cataplexy in mouse models of narcolepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scammell, Thomas E; Willie, Jon T; Guilleminault, Christian; Siegel, Jerome M

    2009-01-01

    People with narcolepsy often have episodes of cataplexy, brief periods of muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions. Many researchers are now studying mouse models of narcolepsy, but definitions of cataplexy-like behavior in mice differ across labs. To establish a common language, the International Working Group on Rodent Models of Narcolepsy reviewed the literature on cataplexy in people with narcolepsy and in dog and mouse models of narcolepsy and then developed a consensus definition of murine cataplexy. The group concluded that murine cataplexy is an abrupt episode of nuchal atonia lasting at least 10 seconds. In addition, theta activity dominates the EEG during the episode, and video recordings document immobility. To distinguish a cataplexy episode from REM sleep after a brief awakening, at least 40 seconds of wakefulness must precede the episode. Bouts of cataplexy fitting this definition are common in mice with disrupted orexin/hypocretin signaling, but these events almost never occur in wild type mice. It remains unclear whether murine cataplexy is triggered by strong emotions or whether mice remain conscious during the episodes as in people with narcolepsy. This working definition provides helpful insights into murine cataplexy and should allow objective and accurate comparisons of cataplexy in future studies using mouse models of narcolepsy.

  9. Development and function of human innate immune cells in a humanized mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rongvaux, Anthony; Willinger, Tim; Martinek, Jan; Strowig, Till; Gearty, Sofia V; Teichmann, Lino L; Saito, Yasuyuki; Marches, Florentina; Halene, Stephanie; Palucka, A Karolina; Manz, Markus G; Flavell, Richard A

    2014-04-01

    Mice repopulated with human hematopoietic cells are a powerful tool for the study of human hematopoiesis and immune function in vivo. However, existing humanized mouse models cannot support development of human innate immune cells, including myeloid cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Here we describe two mouse strains called MITRG and MISTRG, in which human versions of four genes encoding cytokines important for innate immune cell development are knocked into their respective mouse loci. The human cytokines support the development and function of monocytes, macrophages and NK cells derived from human fetal liver or adult CD34(+) progenitor cells injected into the mice. Human macrophages infiltrated a human tumor xenograft in MITRG and MISTRG mice in a manner resembling that observed in tumors obtained from human patients. This humanized mouse model may be used to model the human immune system in scenarios of health and pathology, and may enable evaluation of therapeutic candidates in an in vivo setting relevant to human physiology.

  10. A novel mouse model for multiple myeloma (MOPC315.BM that allows noninvasive spatiotemporal detection of osteolytic disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter O Hofgaard

    Full Text Available Multiple myeloma (MM is a lethal human cancer characterized by a clonal expansion of malignant plasma cells in bone marrow. Mouse models of human MM are technically challenging and do not always recapitulate human disease. Therefore, new mouse models for MM are needed. Mineral-oil induced plasmacytomas (MOPC develop in the peritoneal cavity of oil-injected BALB/c mice. However, MOPC typically grow extramedullary and are considered poor models of human MM. Here we describe an in vivo-selected MOPC315 variant, called MOPC315.BM, which can be maintained in vitro. When injected i.v. into BALB/c mice, MOPC315.BM cells exhibit tropism for bone marrow. As few as 10(4 MOPC315.BM cells injected i.v. induced paraplegia, a sign of spinal cord compression, in all mice within 3-4 weeks. MOPC315.BM cells were stably transfected with either firefly luciferase (MOPC315.BM.Luc or DsRed (MOPC315.BM.DsRed for studies using noninvasive imaging. MOPC315.BM.Luc cells were detected in the tibiofemoral region already 1 hour after i.v. injection. Bone foci developed progressively, and as of day 5, MM cells were detected in multiple sites in the axial skeleton. Additionally, the spleen (a hematopoietic organ in the mouse was invariably affected. Luminescent signals correlated with serum myeloma protein concentration, allowing for easy tracking of tumor load with noninvasive imaging. Affected mice developed osteolytic lesions. The MOPC315.BM model employs a common strain of immunocompetent mice (BALB/c and replicates many characteristics of human MM. The model should be suitable for studies of bone marrow tropism, development of osteolytic lesions, drug testing, and immunotherapy in MM.

  11. Development of a transgenic mouse model to study the immunogenicity of recombinant human insulin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Torosantucci, Riccardo; Brinks, Vera; Kijanka, Grzegorz; Halim, Liem Andhyk; Sauerborn, Melody; Schellekens, Huub; Jiskoot, Wim

    2014-01-01

    Mouse models are commonly used to assess the immunogenicity of therapeutic proteins and to investigate the immunological processes leading to antidrug antibodies. The aim of this work was to develop a transgenic (TG) Balb/c mouse model for evaluating the immunogenicity of recombinant human insulin

  12. Evaluation of synthetic vascular grafts in a mouse carotid grafting model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Alex H P; Tan, Richard P; Michael, Praveesuda L; Lee, Bob S L; Vanags, Laura Z; Ng, Martin K C; Bursill, Christina A; Wise, Steven G

    2017-01-01

    Current animal models for the evaluation of synthetic grafts are lacking many of the molecular tools and transgenic studies available to other branches of biology. A mouse model of vascular grafting would allow for the study of molecular mechanisms of graft failure, including in the context of clinically relevant disease states. In this study, we comprehensively characterise a sutureless grafting model which facilitates the evaluation of synthetic grafts in the mouse carotid artery. Using conduits electrospun from polycaprolactone (PCL) we show the gradual development of a significant neointima within 28 days, found to be greatest at the anastomoses. Histological analysis showed temporal increases in smooth muscle cell and collagen content within the neointima, demonstrating its maturation. Endothelialisation of the PCL grafts, assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and CD31 staining, was near complete within 28 days, together replicating two critical aspects of graft performance. To further demonstrate the potential of this mouse model, we used longitudinal non-invasive tracking of bone-marrow mononuclear cells from a transgenic mouse strain with a dual reporter construct encoding both luciferase and green fluorescent protein (GFP). This enabled characterisation of mononuclear cell homing and engraftment to PCL using bioluminescence imaging and histological staining over time (7, 14 and 28 days). We observed peak luminescence at 7 days post-graft implantation that persisted until sacrifice at 28 days. Collectively, we have established and characterised a high-throughput model of grafting that allows for the evaluation of key clinical drivers of graft performance.

  13. Evaluation of synthetic vascular grafts in a mouse carotid grafting model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex H P Chan

    Full Text Available Current animal models for the evaluation of synthetic grafts are lacking many of the molecular tools and transgenic studies available to other branches of biology. A mouse model of vascular grafting would allow for the study of molecular mechanisms of graft failure, including in the context of clinically relevant disease states. In this study, we comprehensively characterise a sutureless grafting model which facilitates the evaluation of synthetic grafts in the mouse carotid artery. Using conduits electrospun from polycaprolactone (PCL we show the gradual development of a significant neointima within 28 days, found to be greatest at the anastomoses. Histological analysis showed temporal increases in smooth muscle cell and collagen content within the neointima, demonstrating its maturation. Endothelialisation of the PCL grafts, assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM analysis and CD31 staining, was near complete within 28 days, together replicating two critical aspects of graft performance. To further demonstrate the potential of this mouse model, we used longitudinal non-invasive tracking of bone-marrow mononuclear cells from a transgenic mouse strain with a dual reporter construct encoding both luciferase and green fluorescent protein (GFP. This enabled characterisation of mononuclear cell homing and engraftment to PCL using bioluminescence imaging and histological staining over time (7, 14 and 28 days. We observed peak luminescence at 7 days post-graft implantation that persisted until sacrifice at 28 days. Collectively, we have established and characterised a high-throughput model of grafting that allows for the evaluation of key clinical drivers of graft performance.

  14. Mouse model of proximal colon-specific tumorigenesis driven by microsatellite instability-induced Cre-mediated inactivation of Apc and activation of Kras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawaguchi, Yasuo; Hinoi, Takao; Saito, Yasufumi; Adachi, Tomohiro; Miguchi, Masashi; Niitsu, Hiroaki; Sasada, Tatsunari; Shimomura, Manabu; Egi, Hiroyuki; Oka, Shiro; Tanaka, Shinji; Chayama, Kazuaki; Sentani, Kazuhiro; Oue, Naohide; Yasui, Wataru; Ohdan, Hideki

    2016-05-01

    KRAS gene mutations are found in 40-50% of colorectal cancer cases, but their functional contribution is not fully understood. To address this issue, we generated genetically engineered mice with colon tumors expressing an oncogenic Kras(G12D) allele in the context of the Adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) deficiency to compare them to tumors harboring Apc deficiency alone. CDX2P9.5-G22Cre (referred to as G22Cre) mice showing inducible Cre recombinase transgene expression in the proximal colon controlled under the CDX2 gene promoter were intercrossed with Apc (flox/flox) mice and LSL-Kras (G12D) mice carrying loxP-flanked Apc and Lox-Stop-Lox oncogenic Kras(G12D) alleles, respectively, to generate G22Cre; Apc(flox/flox); Kras(G12D) and G22Cre; Apc(flox/flox); KrasWT mice. Gene expression profiles of the tumors were analyzed using high-density oligonucleotide arrays. Morphologically, minimal difference in proximal colon tumor was observed between the two mouse models. Consistent with previous findings in vitro, Glut1 transcript and protein expression was up-regulated in the tumors of G22Cre;Apc (flox/flox) ; Kras(G12D) mice. Immunohistochemical staining analysis revealed that GLUT1 protein expression correlated with KRAS mutations in human colorectal cancer. Microarray analysis identified 11 candidate genes upregulated more than fivefold and quantitative PCR analysis confirmed that Aqp8, Ttr, Qpct, and Slc26a3 genes were upregulated 3.7- to 30.2-fold in tumors with mutant Kras. These results demonstrated the validity of the G22Cre; Apc(flox/flox) ;Kras (G12D) mice as a new mouse model with oncogenic Kras activation. We believe that this model can facilitate efforts to define novel factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of human colorectal cancer with KRAS mutations.

  15. In-silico QTL mapping of postpubertal mammary ductal development in the mouse uncovers potential human breast cancer risk loci

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genetic background plays a dominant role in mammary gland development and breast cancer (BrCa). Despite this, the role of genetics is only partially understood. This study used strain-dependent variation in an inbred mouse mapping panel, to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying structura...

  16. Treatment with rhenium-188-perrhenate and iodine-131 of NIS-expressing mammary cancer in a mouse model remarkably inhibited tumor growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dadachova, Ekaterina [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 (United States)]. E-mail: edadacho@aecom.yu.edu; Nguyen, Andrew [Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 (United States); Lin, Elaine Y. [Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 (United States); Gnatovskiy, Leo [Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 (United States); Lu, Ping [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 (United States); Pollard, Jeffrey W. [Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 (United States)

    2005-10-01

    Introduction: Novel therapeutic modalities are needed for breast cancer patients in whom standard treatments are not effective. Mammary gland sodium/iodide symporter has been identified as a molecular target in breast cancers in humans and in some transgenic mouse models. We report the results of a therapy study with {sup 131}I{sup -} and {sup 188}ReO{sub 4} {sup -} of breast cancer in polyoma middle T oncoprotein (PyMT) transgenic mice endogenously expressing the Na{sup +}/I{sup -} symporter (NIS). Methods: PyMT mice (12-13 weeks old) with one palpable tumor of 0.5-0.8 cm in diameter were used. For the therapy studies, PyMT mice were (1) treated with two intraperitoneal injections of 1.5 mCi of {sup 188}ReO{sub 4} {sup -} 1 week apart, (2) pretreated for 1 week with 5 {mu}g of triiodothyronine (T3) followed by two intraperitoneal injections of 1.5 mCi of {sup 131}I{sup -} 1 week apart or (3) left untreated. The tumor and normal organ uptakes were assessed by scintigraphic imaging. The thyroid function of treated and control animals was evaluated at the completion of the study by measuring the T3/thyroxine (T4) ratio in their blood. Results: There was significant uptake of {sup 131}I{sup -} and {sup 188}ReO{sub 4} {sup -} in the primary palpable tumors as well as in nonpalpable tumors, stomachs and thyroids. The tumor uptake after the second injection was 10 times lower in comparison with the first injection. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in both the {sup 131}I{sup -} and {sup 188}ReO{sub 4} {sup -} groups in comparison with the control group, and tumors in the {sup 188}ReO{sub 4} {sup -} group increased in size significantly less than in the {sup 131}I{sup -} group. The T3/T4 ratios were calculated to be 27 and 25 for the control group and the {sup 188}ReO{sub 4} {sup -} group, respectively; for {sup 131}I{sup -}, both the T3 and T4 levels were below detection limit, demonstrating much less effect on the thyroids of treatment with {sup 188}ReO{sub 4

  17. Immunogenic Chemotherapy Sensitizes Renal Cancer to Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy in Preclinical Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Shujin

    2017-07-11

    BACKGROUND Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is among the most common malignant cancers of males worldwide. For advanced RCC patients, there still is no effective therapy. Immune checkpoint blockade therapies have shown benefits for many cancers, but previous clinical trials of immune checkpoint blockade therapies in RCC patients achieved only modest results. MATERIAL AND METHODS We explored the effects of combining chemotherapy with immune checkpoint blockade therapy in RCC xenograft mouse models. We also studied the potential mechanisms by which chemotherapy might enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy, both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS Our results showed that many commonly used chemotherapy agents can induce immunogenic marker release in RCC cell lines. Importantly, the RCC xenograft mouse model mice who received the combination treatment of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibodies (Abs) had longer survival times compared to those who received 5-FU or anti-PD-L1 Abs alone. Also, increased key cytokines that promote tumor immunity, such as IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, as well as tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic T cells, were also increased after the combination treatment. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that 5-FU can sensitize RCC to anti-PD-L1 treatment by releasing the immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment.

  18. Dantrolene is neuroprotective in Huntington's disease transgenic mouse model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Xi

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Huntington's disease (HD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the Huntingtin protein which results in the selective degeneration of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs. Our group has previously demonstrated that calcium (Ca2+ signaling is abnormal in MSNs from the yeast artificial chromosome transgenic mouse model of HD (YAC128. Moreover, we demonstrated that deranged intracellular Ca2+ signaling sensitizes YAC128 MSNs to glutamate-induced excitotoxicity when compared to wild type (WT MSNs. In previous studies we also observed abnormal neuronal Ca2+ signaling in neurons from spinocerebellar ataxia 2 (SCA2 and spinocerebellar ataxia 3 (SCA3 mouse models and demonstrated that treatment with dantrolene, a ryanodine receptor antagonist and clinically relevant Ca2+ signaling stabilizer, was neuroprotective in experiments with these mouse models. The aim of the current study was to evaluate potential beneficial effects of dantrolene in experiments with YAC128 HD mouse model. Results The application of caffeine and glutamate resulted in increased Ca2+ release from intracellular stores in YAC128 MSN cultures when compared to WT MSN cultures. Pre-treatment with dantrolene protected YAC128 MSNs from glutamate excitotoxicty, with an effective concentration of 100 nM and above. Feeding dantrolene (5 mg/kg twice a week to YAC128 mice between 2 months and 11.5 months of age resulted in significantly improved performance in the beam-walking and gait-walking assays. Neuropathological analysis revealed that long-term dantrolene feeding to YAC128 mice significantly reduced the loss of NeuN-positive striatal neurons and reduced formation of Httexp nuclear aggregates. Conclusions Our results support the hypothesis that deranged Ca2+ signaling plays an important role in HD pathology. Our data also implicate the RyanRs as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HD and demonstrate that Ryan

  19. Dantrolene is neuroprotective in Huntington's disease transgenic mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xi; Wu, Jun; Lvovskaya, Svetlana; Herndon, Emily; Supnet, Charlene; Bezprozvanny, Ilya

    2011-11-25

    Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the Huntingtin protein which results in the selective degeneration of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Our group has previously demonstrated that calcium (Ca2+) signaling is abnormal in MSNs from the yeast artificial chromosome transgenic mouse model of HD (YAC128). Moreover, we demonstrated that deranged intracellular Ca2+ signaling sensitizes YAC128 MSNs to glutamate-induced excitotoxicity when compared to wild type (WT) MSNs. In previous studies we also observed abnormal neuronal Ca2+ signaling in neurons from spinocerebellar ataxia 2 (SCA2) and spinocerebellar ataxia 3 (SCA3) mouse models and demonstrated that treatment with dantrolene, a ryanodine receptor antagonist and clinically relevant Ca2+ signaling stabilizer, was neuroprotective in experiments with these mouse models. The aim of the current study was to evaluate potential beneficial effects of dantrolene in experiments with YAC128 HD mouse model. The application of caffeine and glutamate resulted in increased Ca2+ release from intracellular stores in YAC128 MSN cultures when compared to WT MSN cultures. Pre-treatment with dantrolene protected YAC128 MSNs from glutamate excitotoxicty, with an effective concentration of 100 nM and above. Feeding dantrolene (5 mg/kg) twice a week to YAC128 mice between 2 months and 11.5 months of age resulted in significantly improved performance in the beam-walking and gait-walking assays. Neuropathological analysis revealed that long-term dantrolene feeding to YAC128 mice significantly reduced the loss of NeuN-positive striatal neurons and reduced formation of Httexp nuclear aggregates. Our results support the hypothesis that deranged Ca2+ signaling plays an important role in HD pathology. Our data also implicate the RyanRs as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HD and demonstrate that RyanR inhibitors and Ca2+ signaling stabilizers such as

  20. Establishment of mouse neuron and microglial cell co-cultured models and its action mechanism.

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    Zhang, Bo; Yang, Yunfeng; Tang, Jun; Tao, Yihao; Jiang, Bing; Chen, Zhi; Feng, Hua; Yang, Liming; Zhu, Gang

    2017-06-27

    The objective of this study is to establish a co-culture model of mouse neurons and microglial cells, and to analyze the mechanism of action of oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) and transient oxygen glucose deprivation (tOGD) preconditioning cell models. Mouse primary neurons and BV2 microglial cells were successfully cultured, and the OGD and tOGD models were also established. In the co-culture of mouse primary neurons and microglial cells, the cell number of tOGD mouse neurons and microglial cells was larger than the OGD cell number, observed by a microscope. CCK-8 assay result showed that at 1h after treatment, the OD value in the control group is lower compared to all the other three groups (P control group compared to other three groups (P neurons cells were cultured. In the meantime mouse BV2 microglia cells were cultured. Two types of cells were co-cultured, and OGD and tOGD cell models were established. There were four groups in the experiment: control group (OGD), treatment group (tOGD+OGD), placebo group (tOGD+OGD+saline) and minocycline intervention group (tOGD+OGD+minocycline). CCK-8 kit was used to detect cell viability and flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis. In this study, mouse primary neurons and microglial cells were co-cultured. The OGD and tOGD models were established successfully. tOGD was able to effectively protect neurons and microglial cells from damage, and inhibit the apoptosis caused by oxygen glucose deprivation.

  1. An inducible knockout mouse to model the cell-autonomous role of PTEN in initiating endometrial, prostate and thyroid neoplasias

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirantes, Cristina; Eritja, Núria; Dosil, Maria Alba; Santacana, Maria; Pallares, Judit; Gatius, Sónia; Bergadà, Laura; Maiques, Oscar; Matias-Guiu, Xavier; Dolcet, Xavier

    2013-01-01

    SUMMARY PTEN is one of the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor genes in human cancers. The role of PTEN in carcinogenesis has been validated by knockout mouse models. PTEN heterozygous mice develop neoplasms in multiple organs. Unfortunately, the embryonic lethality of biallelic excision of PTEN has inhibited the study of complete PTEN deletion in the development and progression of cancer. By crossing PTEN conditional knockout mice with transgenic mice expressing a tamoxifen-inducible Cre-ERT under the control of a chicken actin promoter, we have generated a tamoxifen-inducible mouse model that allows temporal control of PTEN deletion. Interestingly, administration of a single dose of tamoxifen resulted in PTEN deletion mainly in epithelial cells, but not in stromal, mesenchymal or hematopoietic cells. Using the mT/mG double-fluorescent Cre reporter mice, we demonstrate that epithelial-specific PTEN excision was caused by differential Cre activity among tissues and cells types. Tamoxifen-induced deletion of PTEN resulted in extremely rapid and consistent formation of endometrial in situ adenocarcinoma, prostate intraepithelial neoplasia and thyroid hyperplasia. We also analyzed the role of PTEN ablation in other epithelial cells, such as the tubular cells of the kidney, hepatocytes, colonic epithelial cells or bronchiolar epithelium, but those tissues did not exhibit neoplastic growth. Finally, to validate this model as a tool to assay the efficacy of anti-tumor drugs in PTEN deficiency, we administered the mTOR inhibitor everolimus to mice with induced PTEN deletion. Everolimus dramatically reduced the progression of endometrial proliferations and significantly reduced thyroid hyperplasia. This model could be a valuable tool to study the cell-autonomous mechanisms involved in PTEN-loss-induced carcinogenesis and provides a good platform to study the effect of anti-neoplastic drugs on PTEN-negative tumors. PMID:23471917

  2. Allele-specific deletions in mouse tumors identify Fbxw7 as germline modifier of tumor susceptibility.

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    Jesus Perez-Losada

    Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have been successful in finding associations between specific genetic variants and cancer susceptibility in human populations. These studies have identified a range of highly statistically significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs and susceptibility to development of a range of human tumors. However, the effect of each SNP in isolation is very small, and all of the SNPs combined only account for a relatively minor proportion of the total genetic risk (5-10%. There is therefore a major requirement for alternative routes to the discovery of genetic risk factors for cancer. We have previously shown using mouse models that chromosomal regions harboring susceptibility genes identified by linkage analysis frequently exhibit allele-specific genetic alterations in tumors. We demonstrate here that the Fbxw7 gene, a commonly mutated gene in a wide range of mouse and human cancers, shows allele-specific deletions in mouse lymphomas and skin tumors. Lymphomas from three different F1 hybrids show 100% allele-specificity in the patterns of allelic loss. Parental alleles from 129/Sv or Spretus/Gla mice are lost in tumors from F1 hybrids with C57BL/6 animals, due to the presence of a specific non-synonymous coding sequence polymorphism at the N-terminal portion of the gene. A specific genetic test of association between this SNP and lymphoma susceptibility in interspecific backcross mice showed a significant linkage (p = 0.001, but only in animals with a functional p53 gene. These data therefore identify Fbxw7 as a p53-dependent tumor susceptibility gene. Increased p53-dependent tumor susceptibility and allele-specific losses were also seen in a mouse skin model of skin tumor development. We propose that analysis of preferential allelic imbalances in tumors may provide an efficient means of uncovering genetic variants that affect mouse and human tumor susceptibility.

  3. Evaluation of Efficacy of Radioimmunotherapy with 90Y-Labeled Fully Human Anti-Transferrin Receptor Monoclonal Antibody in Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Models.

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    Aya Sugyo

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive tumor and the prognosis remains poor. Therefore, development of more effective therapy is needed. We previously reported that 89Zr-labeled TSP-A01, an antibody against transferrin receptor (TfR, is highly accumulated in a pancreatic cancer xenograft, but not in major normal organs. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of radioimmunotherapy (RIT with 90Y-TSP-A01 in pancreatic cancer mouse models.TfR expression in pancreatic cancer cell lines (AsPC-1, BxPC-3, MIAPaCa-2 was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. 111In-labeled anti-TfR antibodies (TSP-A01, TSP-A02 were evaluated in vitro by cell binding assay with the three cell lines and by competitive inhibition assay with MIAPaCa-2. In vivo biodistribution was evaluated in mice bearing BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 xenografts. Tumor volumes of BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 were sequentially measured after 90Y-TSP-A01 injection and histological analysis of tumors was conducted.MIAPaCa-2 cells showed the highest TfR expression, followed by AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 cells. 111In-TSP-A01 and 111In-TSP-A02 bound specifically to the three cell lines according to TfR expression. The dissociation constants for TSP-A01, DOTA-TSP-A01, TSP-A02, and DOTA-TSP-A02 were 0.22, 0.28, 0.17, and 0.22 nM, respectively. 111In-TSP-A01 was highly accumulated in tumors, especially in MIAPaCa-2, but this was not true of 111In-TSP-A02. The absorbed dose for 90Y-TSP-A01 was estimated to be 8.3 Gy/MBq to BxPC-3 and 12.4 Gy/MBq to MIAPaCa-2. MIAPaCa-2 tumors treated with 3.7 MBq of 90Y-TSP-A01 had almost completely disappeared around 3 weeks after injection and regrowth was not observed. Growth of BxPC-3 tumors was inhibited by 3.7 MBq of 90Y-TSP-A01, but the tumor size was not reduced.90Y-TSP-A01 treatment achieved an almost complete response in MIAPaCa-2 tumors, whereas it merely inhibited the growth of BxPC-3 tumors. 90Y-TSP-A01 is a promising RIT agent for pancreatic cancer, although further

  4. Early biomarkers of doxorubicin-induced heart injury in a mouse model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desai, Varsha G., E-mail: varsha.desai@fda.hhs.gov [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Kwekel, Joshua C.; Vijay, Vikrant; Moland, Carrie L. [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Herman, Eugene H. [Toxicology and Pharmacology Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, The National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850-9734 (United States); Lee, Taewon [Department of Mathematics, Korea University, Sejong, Chungnam 339-700 (Korea, Republic of); Han, Tao [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Lewis, Sherry M. [Office of Scientific Coordination, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Davis, Kelly J.; Muskhelishvili, Levan [Toxicologic Pathology Associates, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Kerr, Susan [Arkansas Heart Hospital, Little Rock, AR 72211 (United States); Fuscoe, James C. [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States)

    2014-12-01

    Cardiac troponins, which are used as myocardial injury markers, are released in plasma only after tissue damage has occurred. Therefore, there is a need for identification of biomarkers of earlier events in cardiac injury to limit the extent of damage. To accomplish this, expression profiling of 1179 unique microRNAs (miRNAs) was performed in a chronic cardiotoxicity mouse model developed in our laboratory. Male B6C3F{sub 1} mice were injected intravenously with 3 mg/kg doxorubicin (DOX; an anti-cancer drug), or saline once a week for 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 weeks, resulting in cumulative DOX doses of 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg, respectively. Mice were euthanized a week after the last dose. Cardiac injury was evidenced in mice exposed to 18 mg/kg and higher cumulative DOX dose whereas examination of hearts by light microscopy revealed cardiac lesions at 24 mg/kg DOX. Also, 24 miRNAs were differentially expressed in mouse hearts, with the expression of 1, 1, 2, 8, and 21 miRNAs altered at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg DOX, respectively. A pro-apoptotic miR-34a was the only miRNA that was up-regulated at all cumulative DOX doses and showed a significant dose-related response. Up-regulation of miR-34a at 6 mg/kg DOX may suggest apoptosis as an early molecular change in the hearts of DOX-treated mice. At 12 mg/kg DOX, up-regulation of miR-34a was associated with down-regulation of hypertrophy-related miR-150; changes observed before cardiac injury. These findings may lead to the development of biomarkers of earlier events in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity that occur before the release of cardiac troponins. - Highlights: • Upregulation of miR-34a before doxorubicin-induced cardiac tissue injury • Apoptosis might be an early event in mouse heart during doxorubicin treatment. • Expression of miR-150 declined before doxorubicin-induced cardiac tissue injury.

  5. HIF1α deficiency reduces inflammation in a mouse model of proximal colon cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dessislava N. Mladenova

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α is a transcription factor that regulates the adaptation of cells to hypoxic microenvironments, for example inside solid tumours. Stabilisation of HIF1α can also occur in normoxic conditions in inflamed tissue or as a result of inactivating mutations in negative regulators of HIF1α. Aberrant overexpression of HIF1α in many different cancers has led to intensive efforts to develop HIF1α-targeted therapies. However, the role of HIF1α is still poorly understood in chronic inflammation that predisposes the colon to carcinogenesis. We have previously reported that the transcription of HIF1α is upregulated and that the protein is stabilised in inflammatory lesions that are caused by the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID sulindac in the mouse proximal colon. Here, we exploited this side effect of long-term sulindac administration to analyse the role of HIF1α in colon inflammation using mice with a Villin-Cre-induced deletion of Hif1α exon 2 in the intestinal epithelium (Hif1αΔIEC. We also analysed the effect of sulindac sulfide on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR pathway in vitro in colon cancer cells. Most sulindac-treated mice developed visible lesions, resembling the appearance of flat adenomas in the human colon, surrounded by macroscopically normal mucosa. Hif1αΔIEC mice still developed lesions but they were smaller than in the Hif1α-floxed siblings (Hif1αF/F. Microscopically, Hif1αΔIEC mice had significantly less severe colon inflammation than Hif1αF/F mice. Molecular analysis showed reduced MIF expression and increased E-cadherin mRNA expression in the colon of sulindac-treated Hif1αΔIEC mice. However, immunohistochemistry analysis revealed a defect of E-cadherin protein expression in sulindac-treated Hif1αΔIEC mice. Sulindac sulfide treatment in vitro upregulated Hif1α, c-JUN and IL8 expression through the AHR pathway. Taken together, HIF1α expression augments inflammation

  6. Anti-podocalyxin antibody exerts antitumor effects via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in mouse xenograft models of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itai, Shunsuke; Ohishi, Tomokazu; Kaneko, Mika K; Yamada, Shinji; Abe, Shinji; Nakamura, Takuro; Yanaka, Miyuki; Chang, Yao-Wen; Ohba, Shun-Ichi; Nishioka, Yasuhiko; Kawada, Manabu; Harada, Hiroyuki; Kato, Yukinari

    2018-04-27

    Podocalyxin (PODXL) overexpression is associated with progression, metastasis, and poor outcomes in cancers. We recently produced the novel anti-PODXL monoclonal antibody (mAb) PcMab-47 (IgG 1 , kappa). Herein, we engineered PcMab-47 into 47-mG 2a , a mouse IgG 2a -type mAb, to add antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). We further developed 47-mG 2a -f, a core fucose-deficient type of 47-mG 2a to augment its ADCC. Immunohistochemical analysis of oral cancer tissues using PcMab-47 and 47-mG 2a revealed that the latter stained oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells in a cytoplasmic pattern at a much lower concentration. PcMab-47 and 47-mG 2a detected PODXL in 163/201 (81.1%) and in 197/201 (98.0%) OSCC samples, respectively. 47-mG 2a -f also detected PODXL in OSCCs at a similar frequency as 47-mG 2a . In vitro analysis revealed that both 47-mG 2a and 47-mG 2a -f exhibited strong complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) against CHO/hPODXL cells. In contrast, 47-mG 2a -f exhibited much stronger ADCC than 47-mG 2a against OSCC cells, indicating that ADCC and CDC of those anti-PODXL mAbs depend on target cells. In vivo analysis revealed that both 47-mG 2a and 47-mG 2a -f exerted antitumor activity in CHO/hPODXL xenograft models at a dose of 100 μg or 500 μg/mouse/week administered twice. 47-mG 2a -f, but not 47-mG 2a , exerted antitumor activity in SAS and HSC-2 xenograft models at a dose of 100 μg/mouse/week administered three times. Although both 47-mG 2a and 47-mG 2a -f exerted antitumor activity in HSC-2 xenograft models at a dose of 500 μg/mouse/week administered twice, 47-mG 2a -f also showed higher antitumor activity than 47-mG 2a . These results suggested that a core fucose-deficient anti-PODXL mAb could be useful for antibody-based therapy against PODXL-expressing OSCCs.

  7. Mouse Models for Drug Discovery. Can New Tools and Technology Improve Translational Power?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuberi, Aamir; Lutz, Cathleen

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The use of mouse models in biomedical research and preclinical drug evaluation is on the rise. The advent of new molecular genome-altering technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 allows for genetic mutations to be introduced into the germ line of a mouse faster and less expensively than previous methods. In addition, the rapid progress in the development and use of somatic transgenesis using viral vectors, as well as manipulations of gene expression with siRNAs and antisense oligonucleotides, allow for even greater exploration into genomics and systems biology. These technological advances come at a time when cost reductions in genome sequencing have led to the identification of pathogenic mutations in patient populations, providing unprecedented opportunities in the use of mice to model human disease. The ease of genetic engineering in mice also offers a potential paradigm shift in resource sharing and the speed by which models are made available in the public domain. Predictively, the knowledge alone that a model can be quickly remade will provide relief to resources encumbered by licensing and Material Transfer Agreements. For decades, mouse strains have provided an exquisite experimental tool to study the pathophysiology of the disease and assess therapeutic options in a genetically defined system. However, a major limitation of the mouse has been the limited genetic diversity associated with common laboratory mice. This has been overcome with the recent development of the Collaborative Cross and Diversity Outbred mice. These strains provide new tools capable of replicating genetic diversity to that approaching the diversity found in human populations. The Collaborative Cross and Diversity Outbred strains thus provide a means to observe and characterize toxicity or efficacy of new therapeutic drugs for a given population. The combination of traditional and contemporary mouse genome editing tools, along with the addition of genetic diversity in new modeling

  8. Mouse Models for Drug Discovery. Can New Tools and Technology Improve Translational Power?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuberi, Aamir; Lutz, Cathleen

    2016-12-01

    The use of mouse models in biomedical research and preclinical drug evaluation is on the rise. The advent of new molecular genome-altering technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 allows for genetic mutations to be introduced into the germ line of a mouse faster and less expensively than previous methods. In addition, the rapid progress in the development and use of somatic transgenesis using viral vectors, as well as manipulations of gene expression with siRNAs and antisense oligonucleotides, allow for even greater exploration into genomics and systems biology. These technological advances come at a time when cost reductions in genome sequencing have led to the identification of pathogenic mutations in patient populations, providing unprecedented opportunities in the use of mice to model human disease. The ease of genetic engineering in mice also offers a potential paradigm shift in resource sharing and the speed by which models are made available in the public domain. Predictively, the knowledge alone that a model can be quickly remade will provide relief to resources encumbered by licensing and Material Transfer Agreements. For decades, mouse strains have provided an exquisite experimental tool to study the pathophysiology of the disease and assess therapeutic options in a genetically defined system. However, a major limitation of the mouse has been the limited genetic diversity associated with common laboratory mice. This has been overcome with the recent development of the Collaborative Cross and Diversity Outbred mice. These strains provide new tools capable of replicating genetic diversity to that approaching the diversity found in human populations. The Collaborative Cross and Diversity Outbred strains thus provide a means to observe and characterize toxicity or efficacy of new therapeutic drugs for a given population. The combination of traditional and contemporary mouse genome editing tools, along with the addition of genetic diversity in new modeling systems

  9. Efficient inhibition of murine breast cancer growth and metastasis by gene transferred mouse survivin Thr34→Ala mutant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen li-Juan

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Metastasis in breast cancer is a vital concern in treatment because most women with primary breast cancer have micrometastases to distant sites at diagnosis. As a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP family, survivin has been proposed as an attractive target for new anticancer interventions. In this study, we investigated the role of the plasmid encoding the phosphorylation-defective mouse survivin threonine 34→alanine mutant (Msurvivin T34A plasmid in suppressing both murine primary breast carcinomas and pulmonary metastases. Methods In vitro study, induction of apoptosis by Msurvivin T34A plasmid complexed with cationic liposome (DOTAP/Chol was examined by PI staining fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. The anti-tumor and anti-metastases activity of Msurvivin T34A plasmid complexed with cationic liposome (DOTAP/Chol was evaluated in female BALB/c mice bearing 4T1 s.c. tumors. Mice were treated twice weekly with i.v. administration of Msurvivin T34A plasmid complexed with cationic liposome (DOTAP/Chol, PORF-9 null plasmid complexed with cationic liposome (DOTAP/Chol, 0.9% NaCl solution for 4 weeks. Tumor volume was observed. After sacrificed, tumor net weight was measured and Lung metastatic nodules of each group were counted. Assessment of apoptotic cells by TUNEL assay was conducted in tumor tissue. Microvessel density within tumor tissue was determined by CD31 immunohistochemistry. Alginate-encapsulated tumor cells test was conducted to evaluate the effect on angiogenesis. By experiment of cytotoxicity T lymphocytes, we test whether Msurvivin T34A plasmid complexed with cationic liposome (DOTAP/Chol can induce specific cell immune response. Results Administration of Msurvivin T34A plasmid complexed with cationic liposome (DOTAP/Chol resulted in significant inhibition in the growth and metastases of 4T1 tumor model. These anti-tumor and anti-metastases responses were associated with

  10. No association between Epstein-Barr Virus and Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus with Breast Cancer in Mexican Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales-Sánchez, Abigail; Molina-Muñoz, Tzindilú; Martínez-López, Juan L. E.; Hernández-Sancén, Paulina; Mantilla, Alejandra; Leal, Yelda A.; Torres, Javier; Fuentes-Pananá, Ezequiel M.

    2013-10-01

    Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy affecting women worldwide. It has been suggested that infection by Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus or a similar virus, MMTV-like virus (MMTV-LV), play a role in the etiology of the disease. However, studies looking at the presence of these viruses in breast cancer have produced conflicting results, and this possible association remains controversial. Here, we used polymerase chain reaction assay to screen specific sequences of EBV and MMTV-LV in 86 tumor and 65 adjacent tissues from Mexican women with breast cancer. Neither tumor samples nor adjacent tissue were positive for either virus in a first round PCR and only 4 tumor samples were EBV positive by a more sensitive nested PCR. Considering the study's statistical power, these results do not support the involvement of EBV and MMTV-LV in the etiology of breast cancer.

  11. Biology and therapy of inherited retinal degenerative disease: insights from mouse models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veleri, Shobi; Lazar, Csilla H.; Chang, Bo; Sieving, Paul A.; Banin, Eyal; Swaroop, Anand

    2015-01-01

    Retinal neurodegeneration associated with the dysfunction or death of photoreceptors is a major cause of incurable vision loss. Tremendous progress has been made over the last two decades in discovering genes and genetic defects that lead to retinal diseases. The primary focus has now shifted to uncovering disease mechanisms and designing treatment strategies, especially inspired by the successful application of gene therapy in some forms of congenital blindness in humans. Both spontaneous and laboratory-generated mouse mutants have been valuable for providing fundamental insights into normal retinal development and for deciphering disease pathology. Here, we provide a review of mouse models of human retinal degeneration, with a primary focus on diseases affecting photoreceptor function. We also describe models associated with retinal pigment epithelium dysfunction or synaptic abnormalities. Furthermore, we highlight the crucial role of mouse models in elucidating retinal and photoreceptor biology in health and disease, and in the assessment of novel therapeutic modalities, including gene- and stem-cell-based therapies, for retinal degenerative diseases. PMID:25650393

  12. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of mouse brain using high-resolution anatomical models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowther, L. J.; Hadimani, R. L.; Kanthasamy, A. G.; Jiles, D. C.

    2014-05-01

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) offers the possibility of non-invasive treatment of brain disorders in humans. Studies on animals can allow rapid progress of the research including exploring a variety of different treatment conditions. Numerical calculations using animal models are needed to help design suitable TMS coils for use in animal experiments, in particular, to estimate the electric field induced in animal brains. In this paper, we have implemented a high-resolution anatomical MRI-derived mouse model consisting of 50 tissue types to accurately calculate induced electric field in the mouse brain. Magnetic field measurements have been performed on the surface of the coil and compared with the calculations in order to validate the calculated magnetic and induced electric fields in the brain. Results show how the induced electric field is distributed in a mouse brain and allow investigation of how this could be improved for TMS studies using mice. The findings have important implications in further preclinical development of TMS for treatment of human diseases.

  13. Impaired spatial processing in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghilan, Mohamed; Bettio, Luis E B; Noonan, Athena; Brocardo, Patricia S; Gil-Mohapel, Joana; Christie, Brian R

    2018-05-17

    Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual impairment. The Fmr1 -/y mouse model has been previously shown to have deficits in context discrimination tasks but not in the elevated plus-maze. To further characterize this FXS mouse model and determine whether hippocampal-mediated behaviours are affected in these mice, dentate gyrus (DG)-dependent spatial processing and Cornu ammonis 1 (CA1)-dependent temporal order discrimination tasks were evaluated. In agreement with previous findings of long-term potentiation deficits in the DG of this transgenic model of FXS, the results reported here demonstrate that Fmr1 -/y mice perform poorly in the DG-dependent metric change spatial processing task. However, Fmr1 -/y mice did not present deficits in the CA1-dependent temporal order discrimination task, and were able to remember the order in which objects were presented to them to the same extent as their wild-type littermate controls. These data suggest that the previously reported subregional-specific differences in hippocampal synaptic plasticity observed in the Fmr1 -/y mouse model may manifest as selective behavioural deficits in hippocampal-dependent tasks. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-Induced Malignancies in a Mouse Model of Menopause

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marion, Samuel L; Watson, Jennifer; Sen, Nivedita; Brewer, Molly A; Barton, Jennifer K; Hoyer, Patricia B

    2013-01-01

    Ovarian cancer has a high mortality rate because there are few symptoms in early disease development. The incidence of ovarian cancer increases in women after menopause. Understanding early events in this disease can best be achieved by using animal models. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop and track the onset of ovarian tumorigenesis in mice mimicking characteristics of postmenopausal epithelial cancer in women. Female B6C3F1 mice (age, 28 d) received 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD, 160 mg/kg IV daily for 20 d) to cause ovarian failure. Four months after VCD treatment, via surgical intervention, each mouse received a single injection of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) or vehicle control (sesame oil) under the bursa of the right ovary to cause ovarian neoplasms. The experimental groups were untreated controls (Con–Con), DMBA-treatment only (Con–DMBA), VCD treatment only (VCD–Con), and VCD+DMBA-treated (VCD+DMBA) mice. At 3, 5, 7, and 9 mo after DMBA injection, ovaries were collected for histologic and immunohistochemical evaluation. No tumors developed in Con–Con mice. All VCD-treated mice (with or without DMBA) exhibited ovarian failure. Mice that received both VCD and DMBA exhibited tumors at 3 mo (50%), 5 mo (14%), 7 mo (90%), and 9 mo (57%) after DMBA treatment; 31% of the tumors were epithelial in origin. Our findings confirm that inducing ovarian tumors in mice by chemical means is an effective method for studying early stages of tumor development that may be relevant to epithelial ovarian cancers that arise in postmenopausal women. PMID:23561932

  15. Neuropathological assessment and validation of mouse models for Alzheimer's disease: applying NIA-AA guidelines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Dirk Keene

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Dozens of transgenic mouse models, generally based on mutations associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (AD, have been developed, in part, for preclinical testing of candidate AD therapies. However, none of these models has successfully predicted the clinical efficacy of drugs for treating AD patients. Therefore, development of more translationally relevant AD mouse models remains a critical unmet need in the field. A concept not previously implemented in AD preclinical drug testing is the use of mouse lines that have been validated for neuropathological features of human AD. Current thinking suggests that amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangle deposition is an essential component for accurate modeling of AD. Therefore, the AD translational paradigm would require pathologic Aβ and tau deposition, a disease-relevant distribution of plaques and tangles, and a pattern of disease progression of Aβ and tau isoforms similar to the neuropathological features found in the brains of AD patients. Additional parameters useful to evaluate parallels between AD and animal models would include 1 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF AD biomarker changes with reduced Aβ and increased phospho-tau/tau; 2 structural and functional neuroimaging patterns including MRI hippocampal atrophy, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG, and amyloid/tau PET alterations in activity and/or patterns of pathologic peptide deposition and distribution; and 3 cognitive impairment with emphasis on spatial learning and memory to distinguish presymptomatic and symptomatic mice at specific ages. A validated AD mouse model for drug testing would likely show tau-related neurofibrillary degeneration following Aβ deposition and demonstrate changes in pathology, CSF analysis, and neuroimaging that mirror human AD. Development of the ideal model would revolutionize the ability to establish the translational value of AD mouse models and serve as a platform for discussions about national phenotyping guidelines

  16. A dystrophic Duchenne mouse model for testing human antisense oligonucleotides.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcel Veltrop

    Full Text Available Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD is a severe muscle-wasting disease generally caused by reading frame disrupting mutations in the DMD gene resulting in loss of functional dystrophin protein. The reading frame can be restored by antisense oligonucleotide (AON-mediated exon skipping, allowing production of internally deleted, but partially functional dystrophin proteins as found in the less severe Becker muscular dystrophy. Due to genetic variation between species, mouse models with mutations in the murine genes are of limited use to test and further optimize human specific AONs in vivo. To address this we have generated the del52hDMD/mdx mouse. This model carries both murine and human DMD genes. However, mouse dystrophin expression is abolished due to a stop mutation in exon 23, while the expression of human dystrophin is abolished due to a deletion of exon 52. The del52hDMD/mdx model, like mdx, shows signs of muscle dystrophy on a histological level and phenotypically mild functional impairment. Local administration of human specific vivo morpholinos induces exon skipping and dystrophin restoration in these mice. Depending on the number of mismatches, occasional skipping of the murine Dmd gene, albeit at low levels, could be observed. Unlike previous models, the del52hDMD/mdx model enables the in vivo analysis of human specific AONs targeting exon 51 or exon 53 on RNA and protein level and muscle quality and function. Therefore, it will be a valuable tool for optimizing human specific AONs and genome editing approaches for DMD.

  17. The impact of mouse passaging of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains prior to virulence testing in the mouse and guinea pig aerosol models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul J Converse

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available It has been hypothesized that the virulence of lab-passaged Mycobacterium tuberculosis and recombinant M. tuberculosis mutants might be reduced due to multiple in vitro passages, and that virulence might be augmented by passage of these strains through mice before quantitative virulence testing in the mouse or guinea pig aerosol models.By testing three M. tuberculosis H37Rv samples, one deletion mutant, and one recent clinical isolate for survival by the quantitative organ CFU counting method in mouse or guinea pig aerosol or intravenous infection models, we could discern no increase in bacterial fitness as a result of passaging of M. tuberculosis strains in mice prior to quantitative virulence testing in two animal models. Surface lipid expression as assessed by neutral red staining and thin-layer chromatography for PDIM analysis also failed to identify virulence correlates.These results indicate that animal passaging of M. tuberculosis strains prior to quantitative virulence testing in mouse or guinea pig models does not enhance or restore potency to strains that may have lost virulence due to in vitro passaging. It is critical to verify virulence of parental strains before genetic manipulations are undertaken and comparisons are made.

  18. Mouse Chromosome Engineering for Modeling Human Disease

    OpenAIRE

    van der Weyden, Louise; Bradley, Allan

    2006-01-01

    Chromosomal rearrangements occur frequently in humans and can be disease-associated or phenotypically neutral. Recent technological advances have led to the discovery of copy-number changes previously undetected by cytogenetic techniques. To understand the genetic consequences of such genomic changes, these mutations need to be modeled in experimentally tractable systems. The mouse is an excellent organism for this analysis because of its biological and genetic similarity to humans, and the e...

  19. Effect of sulindac sulfide on metallohydrolases in the human colon cancer cell line HT-29.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hector Guillen-Ahlers

    Full Text Available Matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP7, a metallohydrolase involved in the development of several cancers, is downregulated in the Apc(Min/+ colon cancer mouse model following sulindac treatment. To determine whether this effect is relevant to the human condition, HT-29 human colon cancer cells were treated with sulindac and its metabolites, and compared to results obtained from in vivo mouse studies. The expression of MMP7 was monitored. The results demonstrated that sulindac sulfide effectively downregulated both MMP7 expression and activity. Furthermore, activity-based proteomics demonstrated that sulindac sulfide dramatically decreased the activity of leukotriene A4 hydrolase in HT-29 cells as reflected by a decrease in the level of its product, leukotriene B4. This study demonstrates that the effect of sulindac treatment in a mouse model of colon cancer may be relevant to the human counterpart and highlights the effect of sulindac treatment on metallohydrolases.

  20. Arsenic and chromium in drinking water promote tumorigenesis in a mouse colitis-associated colorectal cancer model and the potential mechanism is ROS-mediated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Xin; Mandal, Ardhendu K. [Graduate Center for Toxicology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Saito, Hiroshi [Department of Surgery and Physiology, Lucille P. Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Pulliam, Joseph F.; Lee, Eun Y. [Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Ke, Zun-Ji; Lu, Jian; Ding, Songze [Graduate Center for Toxicology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Li, Li [Department of Family Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 (United States); Shelton, Brent J.; Tucker, Thomas [Markey Cancer Control Program, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40504 (United States); Evers, B. Mark [Department of Surgery and Physiology, Lucille P. Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Zhang, Zhuo [Graduate Center for Toxicology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Shi, Xianglin, E-mail: xshi5@uky.edu [Graduate Center for Toxicology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States)

    2012-07-01

    Exposure to carcinogenic metals, such as trivalent arsenic [As(III)] and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], through drinking water is a major global public health problem and is associated with various cancers. However, the mechanism of their carcinogenicity remains unclear. In this study, we used azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS)-induced mouse colitis-associated colorectal cancer model to investigate their tumorigenesis. Our results demonstrate that exposure to As(III) or Cr(VI), alone or in combination, together with AOM/DSS pretreatment has a promotion effect, increasing the colorectal tumor incidence, multiplicity, size, and grade, as well as cell inflammatory response. Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry revealed that As(III) or Cr(VI) treatment alone significantly changed the density of proteins. The expression of β-catenin and phospho-GSK was increased by treatment of carcinogenic metals alone. Concomitantly, the expression of NADPH oxidase1 (NOX1) and the level of 8-OHdG were also increased by treatment of carcinogenic metals alone. Antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, were decreased. Similarly, in an in vitro system, exposure of CRL-1807 to carcinogenic metals increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, the expression of β-catenin, phospho-GSK, and NOX1. Inhibition of ROS generation by addition of SOD or catalase inhibited β-catenin expression and activity. Our study provides a new animal model to study the carcinogenicity of As(III) and Cr(VI) and suggests that As(III) and Cr(VI) promote colorectal cancer tumorigenesis, at least partly, through ROS-mediated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. -- Highlights: ► Carcinogenic metals in drinking water promote colorectal tumor formation in vivo. ► Carcinogenic metals induce β-catenin activation in vivo and in vitro. ► ROS generation induced by carcinogenic metals mediated β-catenin activation.

  1. Arsenic and chromium in drinking water promote tumorigenesis in a mouse colitis-associated colorectal cancer model and the potential mechanism is ROS-mediated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xin; Mandal, Ardhendu K.; Saito, Hiroshi; Pulliam, Joseph F.; Lee, Eun Y.; Ke, Zun-Ji; Lu, Jian; Ding, Songze; Li, Li; Shelton, Brent J.; Tucker, Thomas; Evers, B. Mark; Zhang, Zhuo; Shi, Xianglin

    2012-01-01

    Exposure to carcinogenic metals, such as trivalent arsenic [As(III)] and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], through drinking water is a major global public health problem and is associated with various cancers. However, the mechanism of their carcinogenicity remains unclear. In this study, we used azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS)-induced mouse colitis-associated colorectal cancer model to investigate their tumorigenesis. Our results demonstrate that exposure to As(III) or Cr(VI), alone or in combination, together with AOM/DSS pretreatment has a promotion effect, increasing the colorectal tumor incidence, multiplicity, size, and grade, as well as cell inflammatory response. Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry revealed that As(III) or Cr(VI) treatment alone significantly changed the density of proteins. The expression of β-catenin and phospho-GSK was increased by treatment of carcinogenic metals alone. Concomitantly, the expression of NADPH oxidase1 (NOX1) and the level of 8-OHdG were also increased by treatment of carcinogenic metals alone. Antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, were decreased. Similarly, in an in vitro system, exposure of CRL-1807 to carcinogenic metals increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, the expression of β-catenin, phospho-GSK, and NOX1. Inhibition of ROS generation by addition of SOD or catalase inhibited β-catenin expression and activity. Our study provides a new animal model to study the carcinogenicity of As(III) and Cr(VI) and suggests that As(III) and Cr(VI) promote colorectal cancer tumorigenesis, at least partly, through ROS-mediated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. -- Highlights: ► Carcinogenic metals in drinking water promote colorectal tumor formation in vivo. ► Carcinogenic metals induce β-catenin activation in vivo and in vitro. ► ROS generation induced by carcinogenic metals mediated β-catenin activation.

  2. Histological and molecular evaluation of patient-derived colorectal cancer explants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua M Uronis

    Full Text Available Mouse models have been developed to investigate colorectal cancer etiology and evaluate new anti-cancer therapies. While genetically engineered and carcinogen-induced mouse models have provided important information with regard to the mechanisms underlying the oncogenic process, tumor xenograft models remain the standard for the evaluation of new chemotherapy and targeted drug treatments for clinical use. However, it remains unclear to what extent explanted colorectal tumor tissues retain inherent pathological features over time. In this study, we have generated a panel of 27 patient-derived colorectal cancer explants (PDCCEs by direct transplantation of human colorectal cancer tissues into NOD-SCID mice. Using this panel, we performed a comparison of histology, gene expression and mutation status between PDCCEs and the original human tissues from which they were derived. Our findings demonstrate that PDCCEs maintain key histological features, basic gene expression patterns and KRAS/BRAF mutation status through multiple passages. Altogether, these findings suggest that PDCCEs maintain similarity to the patient tumor from which they are derived and may have the potential to serve as a reliable preclinical model that can be incorporated into future strategies to optimize individual therapy for patients with colorectal cancer.

  3. BioXmark for high-precision radiotherapy in an orthotopic pancreatic tumor mouse model. Experiences with a liquid fiducial marker

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobiasch, S.; Kampfer, S.; Burkhardt, R.; Wilkens, J.J.; Schilling, D.; Schmid, T.E.; Combs, S.E.

    2017-01-01

    High-precision radiotherapy (RT) requires precise positioning, particularly with high single doses. Fiducial markers in combination with onboard imaging are excellent tools to support this. The purpose of this study is to establish a pancreatic cancer mouse model for high-precision image-guided RT (IGRT) using the liquid fiducial marker BioXmark (Nanovi, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark). In an animal-based cancer model, different volumes of BioXmark (10-50 μl), application forms, and imaging modalities - cone-beam computer tomography (CBCT) incorporated in either the Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) or the small-animal micro-CT Scanner (SkyScan; Bruker, Brussels, Belgium) - as well as subsequent RT with the SARRP system were analyzed to derive recommendations for BioXmark. Even small volumes (10 μl) of BioXmark could be detected by CBCT (SARRP and Skyscan). Larger volumes (50 μl) led to hardening artefacts. The position of BioXmark was monitored at least weekly by CBCT and was stable over 4 months. BioXmark was shown to be well tolerated; no changes in physical condition or toxic side effects were observed in comparison to control mice. BioXmark enabled an exact fusion with the original treatment plan with less hardening artefacts, and minimized the application of contrast agent for fractionated RT. An orthotopic pancreatic tumor mouse model was established for high-precision IGRT using a fiducial marker. BioXmark was successfully tested and provides the perfect basis for improved imaging in high-precision RT. BioXmark enables a unique application method and optimal targeted precision in fractionated RT. Therefore, preclinical trials evaluating novel fractionation regimens and/or combination treatment with high-end RT can be performed. (orig.) [de

  4. Tetraploid cells from cytokinesis failure induce aneuploidy and spontaneous transformation of mouse ovarian surface epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Lei; Zhang, Tianwei; Yi, Qiyi; Huang, Yun; Wang, Zheng; Hou, Heli; Zhang, Huan; Zheng, Wei; Hao, Qiaomei; Guo, Zongyou; Cooke, Howard J; Shi, Qinghua

    2012-08-01

    Most ovarian cancers originate from the ovarian surface epithelium and are characterized by aneuploid karyotypes. Aneuploidy, a consequence of chromosome instability, is an early event during the development of ovarian cancers. However, how aneuploid cells are evolved from normal diploid cells in ovarian cancers remains unknown. In the present study, cytogenetic analyses of a mouse syngeneic ovarian cancer model revealed that diploid mouse ovarian surface epithelial cells (MOSECs) experienced an intermediate tetraploid cell stage, before evolving to aneuploid (mainly near-tetraploid) cells. Using long-term live-cell imaging followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we demonstrated that tetraploid cells originally arose from cytokinesis failure of bipolar mitosis in diploid cells, and gave rise to aneuploid cells through chromosome mis-segregation during both bipolar and multipolar mitoses. Injection of the late passage aneuploid MOSECs resulted in tumor formation in C57BL/6 mice. Therefore, we reveal a pathway for the evolution of diploid to aneuploid MOSECs and elucidate a mechanism for the development of near-tetraploid ovarian cancer cells.

  5. Revisiting the mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim CB

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Clifford B Kim,1,2 Patricia A D’Amore,2–4 Kip M Connor1,2 1Angiogenesis Laboratory, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, 2Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, 3Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, 4Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Abstract: Abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina is a hallmark of many retinal diseases, such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. In particular, ROP has been an important health concern for physicians since the advent of routine supplemental oxygen therapy for premature neonates more than 70 years ago. Since then, researchers have explored several animal models to better understand ROP and retinal vascular development. Of these models, the mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR has become the most widely used, and has played a pivotal role in our understanding of retinal angiogenesis and ocular immunology, as well as in the development of groundbreaking therapeutics such as anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections for wet age-related macular degeneration. Numerous refinements to the model have been made since its inception in the 1950s, and technological advancements have expanded the use of the model across multiple scientific fields. In this review, we explore the historical developments that have led to the mouse OIR model utilized today, essential concepts of OIR, limitations of the model, and a representative selection of key findings from OIR, with particular emphasis on current research progress. Keywords: ROP, OIR, angiogenesis

  6. Mechanisms of Twist 1-Induced Invasion in Breast Cancer Metastasis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    affect breast cancer metastasis with a subcutaneous mouse tumor implantation model of breast cancer metastasis. HMLE -Twist1 cells expressing shRNAs...13 4 Introduction Distant metastases are responsible for the vast majority of breast cancer deaths. This process...to migrate and invade is therefore essential to the metastatic process. The initial steps of breast cancer metastasis, local invasion and

  7. Human TP53 polymorphism (rs1042522) modelled in mouse does not affect glucose metabolism and body composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiling, Erwin; Speksnijder, Ewoud N; Pronk, Amanda C M; van den Berg, Sjoerd A A; Neggers, Silvia J W; Rietbroek, Ilma; van Steeg, Harry; Dollé, Martijn E T

    2014-02-13

    Variation in TP53 has been associated with cancer. The pro-allele of a TP53 polymorphism in codon 72 (rs1042522) has been associated with longevity. Recently, we showed that the same allele might be involved in preservation of glucose metabolism, body composition and blood pressure during ageing. Here, we assessed glucose tolerance and body composition in mice carrying the human polymorphism. Our data do not support the previous findings in humans, suggesting that this polymorphism does not play a major role in development of glucose metabolism and body composition during ageing. Alternatively, the mouse model may not be suitable to validate these rs1042522-associated traits up to the age tested.

  8. HUPO BPP Workshop on Mouse Models for Neurodegeneration--Choosing the right models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamacher, Michael; Marcus, Katrin; Stephan, Christian; van Hall, Andre; Meyer, Helmut E

    2005-09-01

    The HUPO Brain Proteome Project met during the 4th Dutch Endo-Neuro-Psycho Meeting in Doorwerth, The Netherlands, on June 1, 2005, in order to discuss appropriate (mouse) models for neurodegenerative diseases as well as to conceptualise sophisticated proteomics analyses strategies. Here, the topics of the meeting are summarised.

  9. Evaluation of an in vitro toxicogenetic mouse model for hepatotoxicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, Stephanie M.; Bradford, Blair U.; Soldatow, Valerie Y.; Kosyk, Oksana; Sandot, Amelia; Witek, Rafal; Kaiser, Robert; Stewart, Todd; Amaral, Kirsten; Freeman, Kimberly; Black, Chris; LeCluyse, Edward L.; Ferguson, Stephen S.; Rusyn, Ivan

    2010-01-01

    Numerous studies support the fact that a genetically diverse mouse population may be useful as an animal model to understand and predict toxicity in humans. We hypothesized that cultures of hepatocytes obtained from a large panel of inbred mouse strains can produce data indicative of inter-individual differences in in vivo responses to hepato-toxicants. In order to test this hypothesis and establish whether in vitro studies using cultured hepatocytes from genetically distinct mouse strains are feasible, we aimed to determine whether viable cells may be isolated from different mouse inbred strains, evaluate the reproducibility of cell yield, viability and functionality over subsequent isolations, and assess the utility of the model for toxicity screening. Hepatocytes were isolated from 15 strains of mice (A/J, B6C3F1, BALB/cJ, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, CAST/EiJ, DBA/2J, FVB/NJ, BALB/cByJ, AKR/J, MRL/MpJ, NOD/LtJ, NZW/LacJ, PWD/PhJ and WSB/EiJ males) and cultured for up to 7 days in traditional 2-dimensional culture. Cells from B6C3F1, C57BL/6J, and NOD/LtJ strains were treated with acetaminophen, WY-14,643 or rifampin and concentration-response effects on viability and function were established. Our data suggest that high yield and viability can be achieved across a panel of strains. Cell function and expression of key liver-specific genes of hepatocytes isolated from different strains and cultured under standardized conditions are comparable. Strain-specific responses to toxicant exposure have been observed in cultured hepatocytes and these experiments open new opportunities for further developments of in vitro models of hepatotoxicity in a genetically diverse population.

  10. Inhibition of autophagy enhances the cytotoxic effect of PA-MSHA in breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Wen-Huan; Liu, Zhe-Bin; Hou, Yi-Feng; Hong, Qi; Hu, Da-Li; Shao, Zhi-Ming

    2014-01-01

    PA-MSHA, a genetically engineered Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) strain, is currently under investigation as a new anti-cancer drug. It can induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in different human cancer cells, including hormone receptor negative breast cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanism of tumor lethality mediated by PA-MSHA remains to be fully investigated. The effect of PA-MSHA on human hormone receptor negative breast cancer cells was analyzed by morphological measurement, western blot, cell proliferation assay and mouse xenograft model. PA-MSHA was found to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in breast cancer cell lines through the IRE1 signaling pathway. Inhibiting autophagy potentiated the cytotoxic effect of PA-MSHA while treating breast cancer cell lines. In mouse xenograft model, PA-MSHA produced more pronounced tumor suppression in mice inoculated with IRE1 gene knockdown. MDA-MB-231HM cells. These findings demonstrated inhibiting autophagy together with PA-MSHA might be a promising therapeutic strategy in treating hormone receptor negative breast cancer cells

  11. Chimeric Mouse model to track the migration of bone marrow derived cells in glioblastoma following anti-angiogenic treatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achyut, B R; Shankar, Adarsh; Iskander, A S M; Ara, Roxan; Knight, Robert A; Scicli, Alfonso G; Arbab, Ali S

    2016-01-01

    Bone marrow derived cells (BMDCs) have been shown to contribute in the tumor development. In vivo animal models to investigate the role of BMDCs in tumor development are poorly explored. We established a novel chimeric mouse model using as low as 5 × 10(6) GFP+ BM cells in athymic nude mice, which resulted in >70% engraftment within 14 d. In addition, chimera was established in NOD-SCID mice, which displayed >70% with in 28 d. Since anti-angiogenic therapies (AAT) were used as an adjuvant against VEGF-VEGFR pathway to normalize blood vessels in glioblastoma (GBM), which resulted into marked hypoxia and recruited BMDCs to the tumor microenvironment (TME). We exploited chimeric mice in athymic nude background to develop orthotopic U251 tumor and tested receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and CXCR4 antagonist against GBM. We were able to track GFP+ BMDCs in the tumor brain using highly sensitive multispectral optical imaging instrument. Increased tumor growth associated with the infiltration of GFP+ BMDCs acquiring suppressive myeloid and endothelial phenotypes was seen in TME following treatments. Immunofluorescence study showed GFP+ cells accumulated at the site of VEGF, SDF1 and PDGF expression, and at the periphery of the tumors following treatments. In conclusion, we developed a preclinical chimeric model of GBM and phenotypes of tumor infiltrated BMDCs were investigated in context of AATs. Chimeric mouse model could be used to study detailed cellular and molecular mechanisms of interaction of BMDCs and TME in cancer.

  12. The pathophysiology of mitochondrial disease as modeled in the mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Douglas C; Fan, Weiwei

    2009-08-01

    It is now clear that mitochondrial defects are associated with a plethora of clinical phenotypes in man and mouse. This is the result of the mitochondria's central role in energy production, reactive oxygen species (ROS) biology, and apoptosis, and because the mitochondrial genome consists of roughly 1500 genes distributed across the maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the Mendelian nuclear DNA (nDNA). While numerous pathogenic mutations in both mtDNA and nDNA mitochondrial genes have been identified in the past 21 years, the causal role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the common metabolic and degenerative diseases, cancer, and aging is still debated. However, the development of mice harboring mitochondrial gene mutations is permitting demonstration of the direct cause-and-effect relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and disease. Mutations in nDNA-encoded mitochondrial genes involved in energy metabolism, antioxidant defenses, apoptosis via the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mtPTP), mitochondrial fusion, and mtDNA biogenesis have already demonstrated the phenotypic importance of mitochondrial defects. These studies are being expanded by the recent development of procedures for introducing mtDNA mutations into the mouse. These studies are providing direct proof that mtDNA mutations are sufficient by themselves to generate major clinical phenotypes. As more different mtDNA types and mtDNA gene mutations are introduced into various mouse nDNA backgrounds, the potential functional role of mtDNA variation in permitting humans and mammals to adapt to different environments and in determining their predisposition to a wide array of diseases should be definitively demonstrated.

  13. Engineered Resistant-Starch (ERS) Diet Shapes Colon Microbiota Profile in Parallel with the Retardation of Tumor Growth in In Vitro and In Vivo Pancreatic Cancer Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panebianco, Concetta; Adamberg, Kaarel; Adamberg, Signe; Saracino, Chiara; Jaagura, Madis; Kolk, Kaia; Di Chio, Anna Grazia; Graziano, Paolo; Vilu, Raivo; Pazienza, Valerio

    2017-01-01

    Background/aims: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is ranked as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite recent advances in treatment options, a modest impact on the outcome of the disease is observed so far. We have previously demonstrated that short-term fasting cycles have the potential to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy against PC. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an engineered resistant-starch (ERS) mimicking diet on the growth of cancer cell lines in vitro, on the composition of fecal microbiota, and on tumor growth in an in vivo pancreatic cancer mouse xenograft model. Materials and Methods: BxPC-3, MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cells were cultured in the control, and in the ERS-mimicking diet culturing condition, to evaluate tumor growth and proliferation pathways. Pancreatic cancer xenograft mice were subjected to an ERS diet to assess tumor volume and weight as compared to mice fed with a control diet. The composition and activity of fecal microbiota were further analyzed in growth experiments by isothermal microcalorimetry. Results: Pancreatic cancer cells cultured in an ERS diet-mimicking medium showed decreased levels of phospho-ERK1/2 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase proteins) and phospho-mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) levels, as compared to those cultured in standard medium. Consistently, xenograft pancreatic cancer mice subjected to an ERS diet displayed significant retardation in tumor growth. In in vitro growth experiments, the fecal microbial cultures from mice fed with an ERS diet showed enhanced growth on residual substrates, higher production of formate and lactate, and decreased amounts of propionate, compared to fecal microbiota from mice fed with the control diet. Conclusion: A positive effect of the ERS diet on composition and metabolism of mouse fecal microbiota shown in vitro is associated with the decrease of tumor progression in the in vivo PC xenograft mouse model. These results suggest that

  14. TU-F-12A-01: Quantitative Non-Linear Compartment Modeling of 89Zr- and 124I- Labeled J591 Monoclonal Antibody Kinetics Using Serial Non-Invasive Positron Emission Tomography Imaging in a Pre-Clinical Human Prostate Cancer Mouse Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fung, EK; Cheal, SM; Chalasani, S; Fareedy, SB; Punzalan, B; Humm, JL; Osborne, JR; Larson, SM; Zanzonico, PB [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States); Otto, B; Bander, NH [Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY (United States)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: To examine the binding kinetics of human IgG monoclonal antibody J591 which targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in a pre-clinical mouse cancer model using quantitative PET compartmental analysis of two radiolabeled variants. Methods: PSMA is expressed in normal human prostate, and becomes highly upregulated in prostate cancer, making it a promising therapeutic target. Two forms of J591, radiolabeled with either {sup 89}Zr or {sup 124}I, were prepared. {sup 89}Zr is a radiometal that becomes trapped in the cell upon internalization by the antigen-antibody complex, while radioiodine leaves the cell. Mice with prostate cancer xenografts underwent non-invasive serial imaging on a Focus 120 microPET up to 144 hours post-injection of J591. A non-linear compartmental model describing the binding and internalization of antibody in tumor xenograft was developed and applied to the PET-derived time-activity curves. The antibody-antigen association rate constant (ka), total amount of antigen per gram tumor (Ag-total), internalization rate of antibody-antigen complex, and efflux rate of radioisotope from tumor were fitted using the model. The surface-bound and the internalized activity were also estimated. Results: Values for ka, Ag-total, and internalization rate were found to be similar regardless of radiolabel payload used. The efflux rate, however, was ∼ 9-fold higher for {sup 124}I-J591 than for {sup 89}Zr-J591. Time-dependent surface-bound and internalized radiotracer activity were similar for both radiolabels at early times post-injection, but clearly differed beyond 24 hours. Conclusion: Binding and internalization of J591 to PSMA-expressing tumor xenografts were similar when radiolabeled with either {sup 89}Zr or {sup 124}I payload. The difference in efflux of radioactivity from tumor may be attributable to differential biological fate intracellularly of the radioisotopes. This has great significance for radioimmunotherapy and antibody

  15. N-Hydroxylation of 4-Aminobiphenyl by CYP2E1 Produces Oxidative Stress in a Mouse Model of Chemically Induced Liver Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuang; Sugamori, Kim S.; Tung, Aveline; McPherson, J. Peter; Grant, Denis M.

    2015-01-01

    4-Aminobiphenyl (ABP) is a trace component of cigarette smoke and hair dyes, a suspected human carcinogen and a potent rodent liver carcinogen. Postnatal exposure of mice to ABP results in a higher incidence of liver tumors in males than in females, paralleling the sex difference in human liver cancer incidence. A traditional model of ABP tumorigenesis involves initial CYP1A2-mediated N-hydroxylation, which eventually leads to production of mutagenic ABP-DNA adducts that initiate tumor growth. However, several studies have found no correlation between sex or CYP1A2 function and the DNA-damaging, mutagenic, or tumorigenic effects of ABP. Oxidative stress may be an important etiological factor for liver cancer, and it has also been linked to ABP exposure. The goals of this study were to identify novel enzyme(s) that contribute to ABP N-oxidation, and to investigate a potential role for oxidative stress in ABP liver tumorigenicity. Isozyme-selective inhibition experiments using liver microsomes from wild-type and genetically modified mice identified CYP2E1 as a major ABP N-hydroxylating enzyme. The N-hydroxylation of ABP by transiently expressed CYP2E1 produced oxidative stress in cultured mouse hepatoma cells. In vivo postnatal exposure of mice to a tumorigenic dose of ABP also produced oxidative stress in male wild-type mice, but not in male Cyp2e1(−/−) mice or in female mice. However, a stronger NRF2-associated antioxidant response was observed in females. Our results identify CYP2E1 as a novel ABP-N-oxidizing enzyme, and suggest that sex differences in CYP2E1-dependent oxidative stress and antioxidant responses to ABP may contribute to the observed sex difference in tumor incidence. PMID:25601990

  16. Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Human Lung Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    markers in humans. The logistical, ethical , and regulatory difficulties in obtaining human tumor tissue for research also act to discourage such...Mouse models of cancer. Annu. Rev. Pathol 6, 95–119 52. Merlo, L.M. et al. (2006) Cancer as an evolutionary and ecological process. Nat. Rev. Cancer...some effect on the phenotype and function of TANs. The logistical, ethical , and regulatory difficulties in obtaining human tumor tissue for research

  17. Biology and therapy of inherited retinal degenerative disease: insights from mouse models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shobi Veleri

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Retinal neurodegeneration associated with the dysfunction or death of photoreceptors is a major cause of incurable vision loss. Tremendous progress has been made over the last two decades in discovering genes and genetic defects that lead to retinal diseases. The primary focus has now shifted to uncovering disease mechanisms and designing treatment strategies, especially inspired by the successful application of gene therapy in some forms of congenital blindness in humans. Both spontaneous and laboratory-generated mouse mutants have been valuable for providing fundamental insights into normal retinal development and for deciphering disease pathology. Here, we provide a review of mouse models of human retinal degeneration, with a primary focus on diseases affecting photoreceptor function. We also describe models associated with retinal pigment epithelium dysfunction or synaptic abnormalities. Furthermore, we highlight the crucial role of mouse models in elucidating retinal and photoreceptor biology in health and disease, and in the assessment of novel therapeutic modalities, including gene- and stem-cell-based therapies, for retinal degenerative diseases.

  18. Integration of Oncogenes via Sleeping Beauty as a Mouse Model of HPV16+ Oral Tumors and Immunologic Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yi-Hsin; Yang, Ming-Chieh; Tseng, Ssu-Hsueh; Jiang, Rosie; Yang, Andrew; Farmer, Emily; Peng, Shiwen; Henkle, Talia; Chang, Yung-Nien; Hung, Chien-Fu; Wu, T-C

    2018-01-23

    Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is the etiologic factor for cervical cancer and a subset of oropharyngeal cancers. Although several prophylactic HPV vaccines are available, no effective therapeutic strategies to control active HPV diseases exist. Tumor implantation models are traditionally used to study HPV-associated buccal tumors. However, they fail to address precancerous phases of disease progression and display tumor microenvironments distinct from those observed in patients. Previously, K14-E6/E7 transgenic mouse models have been used to generate spontaneous tumors. However, the rate of tumor formation is inconsistent, and the host often develops immune tolerance to the viral oncoproteins. We developed a preclinical, spontaneous, HPV16 + buccal tumor model using submucosal injection of oncogenic plasmids expressing HPV16-E6/E7, NRas G12V , luciferase, and sleeping beauty (SB) transposase, followed by electroporation in the buccal mucosa. We evaluated responses to immunization with a pNGVL4a-CRT/E7(detox) therapeutic HPV DNA vaccine and tumor cell migration to distant locations. Mice transfected with plasmids encoding HPV16-E6/E7, NRas G12V , luciferase, and SB transposase developed tumors within 3 weeks. We also found transient anti-CD3 administration is required to generate tumors in immunocompetent mice. Bioluminescence signals from luciferase correlated strongly with tumor growth, and tumors expressed HPV16-associated markers. We showed that pNGVL4a-CRT/E7(detox) administration resulted in antitumor immunity in tumor-bearing mice. Lastly, we demonstrated that the generated tumor could migrate to tumor-draining lymph nodes. Our model provides an efficient method to induce spontaneous HPV + tumor formation, which can be used to identify effective therapeutic interventions, analyze tumor migration, and conduct tumor biology research. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(3); 1-15. ©2018 AACR. ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  19. Combination chemoprevention with diclofenac, calcipotriol and difluoromethylornithine inhibits development of non-melanoma skin cancer in mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Burcharth, Jakob; Rosenberg, Jacob

    2013-01-01

    Background/Aim: With increasing incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), focus on chemoprevention of this disease is growing. The aim of this study was to evaluate topical combination therapies as chemoprevention of UV radiation-induced tumors in a mouse model.......Background/Aim: With increasing incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), focus on chemoprevention of this disease is growing. The aim of this study was to evaluate topical combination therapies as chemoprevention of UV radiation-induced tumors in a mouse model....

  20. The regulation of skeletal muscle protein turnover during the progression of cancer cachexia in the Apc(Min/+ mouse.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James P White

    Full Text Available Muscle wasting that occurs with cancer cachexia is caused by an imbalance in the rates of muscle protein synthesis and degradation. The Apc(Min/+ mouse is a model of colorectal cancer that develops cachexia that is dependent on circulating IL-6. However, the IL-6 regulation of muscle protein turnover during the initiation and progression of cachexia in the Apc(Min/+ mouse is not known. Cachexia progression was studied in Apc(Min/+ mice that were either weight stable (WS or had initial (≤5%, intermediate (6-19%, or extreme (≥20% body weight loss. The initiation of cachexia reduced %MPS 19% and a further ∼50% with additional weight loss. Muscle IGF-1 mRNA expression and mTOR targets were suppressed with the progression of body weight loss, while muscle AMPK phosphorylation (Thr 172, AMPK activity, and raptor phosphorylation (Ser 792 were not increased with the initiation of weight loss, but were induced as cachexia progressed. ATP dependent protein degradation increased during the initiation and progression of cachexia. However, ATP independent protein degradation was not increased until cachexia had progressed beyond the initial phase. IL-6 receptor antibody administration prevented body weight loss and suppressed muscle protein degradation, without any effect on muscle %MPS or IGF-1 associated signaling. In summary, the %MPS reduction during the initiation of cachexia is associated with IGF-1/mTOR signaling repression, while muscle AMPK activation and activation of ATP independent protein degradation occur later in the progression of cachexia. IL-6 receptor antibody treatment blocked cachexia progression through the suppression of muscle protein degradation, while not rescuing the suppression of muscle protein synthesis. Attenuation of IL-6 signaling was effective in blocking the progression of cachexia, but not sufficient to reverse the process.

  1. The Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Protein Turnover during the Progression of Cancer Cachexia in the ApcMin/+ Mouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, James P.; Baynes, John W.; Welle, Stephen L.; Kostek, Matthew C.; Matesic, Lydia E.; Sato, Shuichi; Carson, James A.

    2011-01-01

    Muscle wasting that occurs with cancer cachexia is caused by an imbalance in the rates of muscle protein synthesis and degradation. The ApcMin/+ mouse is a model of colorectal cancer that develops cachexia that is dependent on circulating IL-6. However, the IL-6 regulation of muscle protein turnover during the initiation and progression of cachexia in the ApcMin/+ mouse is not known. Cachexia progression was studied in ApcMin/+ mice that were either weight stable (WS) or had initial (≤5%), intermediate (6–19%), or extreme (≥20%) body weight loss. The initiation of cachexia reduced %MPS 19% and a further ∼50% with additional weight loss. Muscle IGF-1 mRNA expression and mTOR targets were suppressed with the progression of body weight loss, while muscle AMPK phosphorylation (Thr 172), AMPK activity, and raptor phosphorylation (Ser 792) were not increased with the initiation of weight loss, but were induced as cachexia progressed. ATP dependent protein degradation increased during the initiation and progression of cachexia. However, ATP independent protein degradation was not increased until cachexia had progressed beyond the initial phase. IL-6 receptor antibody administration prevented body weight loss and suppressed muscle protein degradation, without any effect on muscle %MPS or IGF-1 associated signaling. In summary, the %MPS reduction during the initiation of cachexia is associated with IGF-1/mTOR signaling repression, while muscle AMPK activation and activation of ATP independent protein degradation occur later in the progression of cachexia. IL-6 receptor antibody treatment blocked cachexia progression through the suppression of muscle protein degradation, while not rescuing the suppression of muscle protein synthesis. Attenuation of IL-6 signaling was effective in blocking the progression of cachexia, but not sufficient to reverse the process. PMID:21949739

  2. Distinctive serum miRNA profile in mouse models of striated muscular pathologies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Vignier

    Full Text Available Biomarkers are critically important for disease diagnosis and monitoring. In particular, close monitoring of disease evolution is eminently required for the evaluation of therapeutic treatments. Classical monitoring methods in muscular dystrophies are largely based on histological and molecular analyses of muscle biopsies. Such biopsies are invasive and therefore difficult to obtain. The serum protein creatine kinase is a useful biomarker, which is however not specific for a given pathology and correlates poorly with the severity or course of the muscular pathology. The aim of the present study was the systematic evaluation of serum microRNAs (miRNAs as biomarkers in striated muscle pathologies. Mouse models for five striated muscle pathologies were investigated: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D (LGMD2D, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2C (LGMD2C, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM. Two-step RT-qPCR methodology was elaborated, using two different RT-qPCR miRNA quantification technologies. We identified miRNA modulation in the serum of all the five mouse models. The most highly dysregulated serum miRNAs were found to be commonly upregulated in DMD, LGMD2D and LGMD2C mouse models, which all exhibit massive destruction of striated muscle tissues. Some of these miRNAs were down rather than upregulated in the EDMD mice, a model without massive myofiber destruction. The dysregulated miRNAs identified in the HCM model were different, with the exception of one dysregulated miRNA common to all pathologies. Importantly, a specific and distinctive circulating miRNA profile was identified for each studied pathological mouse model. The differential expression of a few dysregulated miRNAs in the DMD mice was further evaluated in DMD patients, providing new candidates of circulating miRNA biomarkers for DMD.

  3. A mouse model of mitochondrial complex III dysfunction induced by myxothiazol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davoudi, Mina [Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Lund University, Lund 22185 (Sweden); Kallijärvi, Jukka; Marjavaara, Sanna [Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, 00014 (Finland); Kotarsky, Heike; Hansson, Eva [Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Lund University, Lund 22185 (Sweden); Levéen, Per [Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Lund University, Lund 22185 (Sweden); Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, 00014 (Finland); Fellman, Vineta, E-mail: Vineta.Fellman@med.lu.se [Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Lund University, Lund 22185 (Sweden); Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, 00014 (Finland); Children’s Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00029 (Finland)

    2014-04-18

    Highlights: • Reversible chemical inhibition of complex III in wild type mouse. • Myxothiazol causes decreased complex III activity in mouse liver. • The model is useful for therapeutic trials to improve mitochondrial function. - Abstract: Myxothiazol is a respiratory chain complex III (CIII) inhibitor that binds to the ubiquinol oxidation site Qo of CIII. It blocks electron transfer from ubiquinol to cytochrome b and thus inhibits CIII activity. It has been utilized as a tool in studies of respiratory chain function in in vitro and cell culture models. We developed a mouse model of biochemically induced and reversible CIII inhibition using myxothiazol. We administered myxothiazol intraperitoneally at a dose of 0.56 mg/kg to C57Bl/J6 mice every 24 h and assessed CIII activity, histology, lipid content, supercomplex formation, and gene expression in the livers of the mice. A reversible CIII activity decrease to 50% of control value occurred at 2 h post-injection. At 74 h only minor histological changes in the liver were found, supercomplex formation was preserved and no significant changes in the expression of genes indicating hepatotoxicity or inflammation were found. Thus, myxothiazol-induced CIII inhibition can be induced in mice for four days in a row without overt hepatotoxicity or lethality. This model could be utilized in further studies of respiratory chain function and pharmacological approaches to mitochondrial hepatopathies.

  4. The Mouse Lemur, a Genetic Model Organism for Primate Biology, Behavior, and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ezran, Camille; Karanewsky, Caitlin J; Pendleton, Jozeph L; Sholtz, Alex; Krasnow, Maya R; Willick, Jason; Razafindrakoto, Andriamahery; Zohdy, Sarah; Albertelli, Megan A; Krasnow, Mark A

    2017-06-01

    Systematic genetic studies of a handful of diverse organisms over the past 50 years have transformed our understanding of biology. However, many aspects of primate biology, behavior, and disease are absent or poorly modeled in any of the current genetic model organisms including mice. We surveyed the animal kingdom to find other animals with advantages similar to mice that might better exemplify primate biology, and identified mouse lemurs ( Microcebus spp.) as the outstanding candidate. Mouse lemurs are prosimian primates, roughly half the genetic distance between mice and humans. They are the smallest, fastest developing, and among the most prolific and abundant primates in the world, distributed throughout the island of Madagascar, many in separate breeding populations due to habitat destruction. Their physiology, behavior, and phylogeny have been studied for decades in laboratory colonies in Europe and in field studies in Malagasy rainforests, and a high quality reference genome sequence has recently been completed. To initiate a classical genetic approach, we developed a deep phenotyping protocol and have screened hundreds of laboratory and wild mouse lemurs for interesting phenotypes and begun mapping the underlying mutations, in collaboration with leading mouse lemur biologists. We also seek to establish a mouse lemur gene "knockout" library by sequencing the genomes of thousands of mouse lemurs to identify null alleles in most genes from the large pool of natural genetic variants. As part of this effort, we have begun a citizen science project in which students across Madagascar explore the remarkable biology around their schools, including longitudinal studies of the local mouse lemurs. We hope this work spawns a new model organism and cultivates a deep genetic understanding of primate biology and health. We also hope it establishes a new and ethical method of genetics that bridges biological, behavioral, medical, and conservation disciplines, while

  5. Primary amines protect against retinal degeneration in mouse models of retinopathies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeda, Akiko; Golczak, Marcin; Chen, Yu; Okano, Kiichiro; Kohno, Hideo; Shiose, Satomi; Ishikawa, Kaede; Harte, William; Palczewska, Grazyna; Maeda, Tadao; Palczewski, Krzysztof

    2011-12-25

    Vertebrate vision is initiated by photoisomerization of the visual pigment chromophore 11-cis-retinal and is maintained by continuous regeneration of this retinoid through a series of reactions termed the retinoid cycle. However, toxic side reaction products, especially those involving reactive aldehyde groups of the photoisomerized product, all-trans-retinal, can cause severe retinal pathology. Here we lowered peak concentrations of free all-trans-retinal with primary amine-containing Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs that did not inhibit chromophore regeneration in mouse models of retinal degeneration. Schiff base adducts between all-trans-retinal and these amines were identified by MS. Adducts were observed in mouse eyes only when an experimental drug protected the retina from degeneration in both short-term and long-term treatment experiments. This study demonstrates a molecular basis of all-trans-retinal-induced retinal pathology and identifies an assemblage of FDA-approved compounds with protective effects against this pathology in a mouse model that shows features of Stargardt's disease and age-related retinal degeneration.

  6. Comparisons of hybrid radiosity-diffusion model and diffusion equation for bioluminescence tomography in cavity cancer detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xueli; Yang, Defu; Qu, Xiaochao; Hu, Hao; Liang, Jimin; Gao, Xinbo; Tian, Jie

    2012-06-01

    Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) has been successfully applied to the detection and therapeutic evaluation of solid cancers. However, the existing BLT reconstruction algorithms are not accurate enough for cavity cancer detection because of neglecting the void problem. Motivated by the ability of the hybrid radiosity-diffusion model (HRDM) in describing the light propagation in cavity organs, an HRDM-based BLT reconstruction algorithm was provided for the specific problem of cavity cancer detection. HRDM has been applied to optical tomography but is limited to simple and regular geometries because of the complexity in coupling the boundary between the scattering and void region. In the provided algorithm, HRDM was first applied to three-dimensional complicated and irregular geometries and then employed as the forward light transport model to describe the bioluminescent light propagation in tissues. Combining HRDM with the sparse reconstruction strategy, the cavity cancer cells labeled with bioluminescent probes can be more accurately reconstructed. Compared with the diffusion equation based reconstruction algorithm, the essentiality and superiority of the HRDM-based algorithm were demonstrated with simulation, phantom and animal studies. An in vivo gastric cancer-bearing nude mouse experiment was conducted, whose results revealed the ability and feasibility of the HRDM-based algorithm in the biomedical application of gastric cancer detection.

  7. The Oak Ridge Polycystic Kidney mouse: modeling ciliopathies of mice and men.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehman, J M [University of Alabama, Birmingham; Michaud III, Edward J [ORNL; Schoeb, T [University of Alabama, Birmingham; Aydin Son, Yesim [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Miller, M [University of Alabama, Birmingham; Yoder, Bradley [University of Alabama, Birmingham

    2008-08-01

    The Oak Ridge Polycystic Kidney (ORPK) mouse was described nearly 14 years ago as a model for human recessive polycystic kidney disease. The ORPK mouse arose through integration of a transgene into an intron of the Ift88 gene resulting in a hypomorphic allele (Ift88Tg737Rpw). The Ift88Tg737Rpw mutation impairs intraflagellar transport (IFT), a process required for assembly of motile and immotile cilia. Historically, the primary immotile cilium was thought to have minimal importance for human health; however, a rapidly expanding number of human disorders have now been attributed to ciliary defects. Importantly, many of these phenotypes are present and can be analyzed using the ORPK mouse. In this review, we highlight the research conducted using the OPRK mouse and the phenotypes shared with human cilia disorders. Furthermore, we describe an additional follicular dysplasia phenotype in the ORPK mouse, which alongside the ectodermal dysplasias seen in human Ellis-van Creveld and Sensenbrenner's syndromes, suggests an unappreciated role for primary cilia in the skin and hair follicle.

  8. Immunotherapy in new pre-clinical models of HPV-associated oral cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paolini, Francesca; Massa, Silvia; Manni, Isabella; Franconi, Rosella; Venuti, Aldo

    2013-03-01

    Cervical, anal, penile and a sub-set of head and neck (HN) tumors are critical health problems caused by high risk Human Papilloma Viruses (HPVs), like HPV type 16. No specific/effective pharmacological treatments exist. A valid preventive vaccination as well as the immunotherapy of persistent infections, pre-cancerous lesions or early-stage cancers could drive the HPV disease burden down. These treatments might be featured through low-cost platforms like those based on DNA and plant biotechnologies to produce tailored and enhanced formulations taking profit from the use of plants as bio-factories and as a source of immune-stimulators. Finally, and regardless of the formulation type, pre-clinical tests and models are crucial to foresee efficacy of immunotherapy before clinical trials.   In this study, we created an orthotopic mouse model for HPV-related oral tumors, a subset of HN tumors for which no models have been generated before. The model was obtained by inducing the stable expression of the HPV16 E7 protein into the mouse oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) AT-84 (AT-84 E7). The AT-84 E7 cells were injected into the mouth pavement of C3H mice via an extra-oral route to obtain orthotopic tumors. The model turned out to mimic the natural history of the human HPV oral cancer. From AT-84 E7, through engineering to express luciferase, the bioluminescent AT-84 E7-Luc cells were obtained for a fast and easy monitoring by imaging. The AT-84 E7 and the AT-84 E7-Luc tumors were used to test the efficacy of E7-based therapeutic vaccines that we had previously generated and that had been already proven to be active in mice against non-orthotopic E7-expressing tumors (TC-1 cells). In particular, we used genetic and plant-derived formulations based on attenuated HPV16 E7 variants either fused to plant virus genes with immunological activity or produced by tobacco plants. Mice were monitored by imaging allowing to test the size reduction of the mouth implanted

  9. USING OF MOUSE MODEL TO ANALYZE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO INFECTIOUS PATHOGENS BY THE METHODS OF CLASSICAL GENETICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Poltorak

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Identification and studying of numerous functions of all genes of the human beings is one of the main objects of modern biological science. Due to high level of homology between mouse and human genomes the important role to reach above mentioned goal belongs to the mouse model which using in the classical genetics increase in connection with appearance of different inbred mouse lines. For instance, the differences in immune response to infectious pathogens in various mouse lines were used many times to determine immunologically competent genes. That is why the contribution of mouse model in understanding of the mechanisms of immune response to infectious pathogens is difficult to overestimate. In the current review some of the most successful and well known examples of mouse using in studies of anti-infectious response are described.

  10. Cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in the non-obese diabetic mouse model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koopman, F. A.; Vosters, J. L.; Roescher, N.; Broekstra, N.; Tak, P. P.; Vervoordeldonk, M. J.

    2015-01-01

    Activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) has been shown to reduce inflammation in animal models, while abrogation of the pathway increases inflammation. We investigated whether modulation of CAP influences inflammation in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model for Sjögren's

  11. Trastuzumab anti-tumor efficacy in patient-derived esophageal squamous cell carcinoma xenograft (PDECX mouse models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu Xianhua

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Trastuzumab is currently approved for the clinical treatment of breast and gastric cancer patients with HER-2 positive tumors, but not yet for the treatment of esophageal carcinoma patients, whose tumors typically show 5 ~ 35% HER-2 gene amplification and 0 ~ 56% HER-2 protein expression. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Trastuzumab in patient-derived esophageal squamous cell carcinoma xenograft (PDECX mouse models. Methods PDECX models were established by implanting patient esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC tissues into immunodeficient (SCID/nude mice. HER-2 gene copy number (GCN and protein expression were determined in xenograft tissues and corresponding patient EC samples by FISH and IHC analysis. Trastuzumab anti-tumor efficacy was evaluated within these PDECX models (n = 8 animals/group. Furthermore, hotspot mutations of EGFR, K-ras, B-raf and PIK3CA genes were screened for in the PDECX models and their corresponding patient’s ESCC tissues. Similarity between the PDECX models and their corresponding patient’s ESCC tissue was confirmed by histology, morphology, HER-2 GCN and mutation. Results None of the PDECX models (or their corresponding patient’s ESCC tissues harbored HER-2 gene amplification. IHC staining showed HER-2 positivity (IHC 2+ in 2 PDECX models and negativity in 3 PDECX models. Significant tumor regression was observed in the Trastuzumab-treated EC044 HER-2 positive model (IHC 2+. A second HER-2 positive (IHC 2+ model, EC039, harbored a known PIK3CA mutation and showed strong activation of the AKT signaling pathway and was insensitive to Trastuzumab treatment, but could be resensitised using a combination of Trastuzumab and AKT inhibitor AZD5363. In summary, we established 5 PDECX mouse models and demonstrated tumor regression in response to Trastuzumab treatment in a HER-2 IHC 2+ model, but resistance in a HER-2 IHC 2+/PIK3CA mutated model. Conclusions

  12. Development of a unilaterally-lesioned 6-OHDA mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiele, Sherri L; Warre, Ruth; Nash, Joanne E

    2012-02-14

    The unilaterally lesioned 6-hyroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD) has proved to be invaluable in advancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying parkinsonian symptoms, since it recapitulates the changes in basal ganglia circuitry and pharmacology observed in parkinsonian patients(1-4). However, the precise cellular and molecular changes occurring at cortico-striatal synapses of the output pathways within the striatum, which is the major input region of the basal ganglia remain elusive, and this is believed to be site where pathological abnormalities underlying parkinsonian symptoms arise(3,5). In PD, understanding the mechanisms underlying changes in basal ganglia circuitry following degeneration of the nigro-striatal pathway has been greatly advanced by the development of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) mice over-expressing green fluorescent proteins driven by promoters specific for the two striatal output pathways (direct pathway: eGFP-D1; indirect pathway: eGFP-D2 and eGFP-A2a)(8), allowing them to be studied in isolation. For example, recent studies have suggested that there are pathological changes in synaptic plasticity in parkinsonian mice(9,10). However, these studies utilised juvenile mice and acute models of parkinsonism. It is unclear whether the changes described in adult rats with stable 6-OHDA lesions also occur in these models. Other groups have attempted to generate a stable unilaterally-lesioned 6-OHDA adult mouse model of PD by lesioning the medial forebrain bundle (MFB), unfortunately, the mortality rate in this study was extremely high, with only 14% surviving the surgery for 21 days or longer(11). More recent studies have generated intra-nigral lesions with both a low mortality rate >80% loss of dopaminergic neurons, however expression of L-DOPA induced dyskinesia(11,12,13,14) was variable in these studies. Another well established mouse model of PD is the MPTP-lesioned mouse(15). Whilst this

  13. Transgenic Mouse Models for Alcohol Metabolism, Toxicity and Cancer

    OpenAIRE

    Heit, Claire; Dong, Hongbin; Chen, Ying; Shah, Yatrik M.; Thompson, David C.; Vasiliou, Vasilis

    2015-01-01

    Alcohol abuse leads to tissue damage including a variety of cancers; however, the molecular mechanisms by which this damage occurs remains to be fully understood. The primary enzymes involved in ethanol metabolism include alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), cytochrome P450 isoform 2E1, (CYP2E1), catalase (CAT), and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH). Genetic polymorphisms in human genes encoding these enzymes are associated with increased risks of alcohol-related tissue damage, as well as differences in...

  14. Prophylactic effects of triptolide on colon cancer development in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To investigate effects of triptolide on colon cancer cell growth and its capacity to prevent tumor development in an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) mouse model of colon cancer. Methods: HCT116 cell viability and migration potential were assessed. Control and AOM/DSS-treated mice (with and ...

  15. A New Mouse Model That Spontaneously Develops Chronic Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Fransén-Pettersson

    Full Text Available Here we characterize a new animal model that spontaneously develops chronic inflammation and fibrosis in multiple organs, the non-obese diabetic inflammation and fibrosis (N-IF mouse. In the liver, the N-IF mouse displays inflammation and fibrosis particularly evident around portal tracts and central veins and accompanied with evidence of abnormal intrahepatic bile ducts. The extensive cellular infiltration consists mainly of macrophages, granulocytes, particularly eosinophils, and mast cells. This inflammatory syndrome is mediated by a transgenic population of natural killer T cells (NKT induced in an immunodeficient NOD genetic background. The disease is transferrable to immunodeficient recipients, while polyclonal T cells from unaffected syngeneic donors can inhibit the disease phenotype. Because of the fibrotic component, early on-set, spontaneous nature and reproducibility, this novel mouse model provides a unique tool to gain further insight into the underlying mechanisms mediating transformation of chronic inflammation into fibrosis and to evaluate intervention protocols for treating conditions of fibrotic disorders.

  16. Nicotine Prevents and Reverses Paclitaxel-Induced Mechanical Allodynia in a Mouse Model of CIPN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyte, S Lauren; Toma, Wisam; Bagdas, Deniz; Meade, Julie A; Schurman, Lesley D; Lichtman, Aron H; Chen, Zhi-Jian; Del Fabbro, Egidio; Fang, Xianjun; Bigbee, John W; Damaj, M Imad; Gewirtz, David A

    2018-01-01

    Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a consequence of peripheral nerve fiber dysfunction or degeneration, continues to be a dose-limiting and debilitating side effect during and/or after cancer chemotherapy. Paclitaxel, a taxane commonly used to treat breast, lung, and ovarian cancers, causes CIPN in 59-78% of cancer patients. Novel interventions are needed due to the current lack of effective CIPN treatments. Our studies were designed to investigate whether nicotine can prevent and/or reverse paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in a mouse model of CIPN, while ensuring that nicotine will not stimulate lung tumor cell proliferation or interfere with the antitumor properties of paclitaxel. Male C57BL/6J mice received paclitaxel every other day for a total of four injections (8 mg/kg, i.p.). Acute (0.3-0.9 mg/kg, i.p.) and chronic (24 mg/kg per day, s.c.) administration of nicotine respectively reversed and prevented paclitaxel-induced mechanical allodynia. Blockade of the antinociceptive effect of nicotine with mecamylamine and methyllycaconitine suggests that the reversal of paclitaxel-induced mechanical allodynia is primarily mediated by the α 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtype. Chronic nicotine treatment also prevented paclitaxel-induced intraepidermal nerve fiber loss. Notably, nicotine neither promoted proliferation of A549 and H460 non-small cell lung cancer cells nor interfered with paclitaxel-induced antitumor effects, including apoptosis. Most importantly, chronic nicotine administration did not enhance Lewis lung carcinoma tumor growth in C57BL/6J mice. These data suggest that the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated pathways may be promising drug targets for the prevention and treatment of CIPN. Copyright © 2017 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

  17. Dmdmdx/Largemyd: a new mouse model of neuromuscular diseases useful for studying physiopathological mechanisms and testing therapies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poliana C. M. Martins

    2013-09-01

    Although muscular dystrophies are among the most common human genetic disorders, there are few treatment options available. Animal models have become increasingly important for testing new therapies prior to entering human clinical trials. The Dmdmdx mouse is the most widely used animal model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD, presenting the same molecular and protein defect as seen in humans with the disease. However, this mouse is not useful for clinical trials because of its very mild phenotype. The mouse model for congenital myodystrophy type 1D, Largemyd, harbors a mutation in the glycosyltransferase Large gene and displays a severe phenotype. To help elucidate the role of the proteins dystrophin and LARGE in the organization of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex in muscle sarcolemma, we generated double-mutant mice for the dystrophin and LARGE proteins. The new Dmdmdx/Largemyd mouse model is viable and shows a severe phenotype that is associated with the lack of dystrophin in muscle. We tested the usefulness of our new mouse model for cell therapy by systemically injecting them with normal murine mesenchymal adipose stem cells (mASCs. We verified that the mASCs were hosted in the dystrophic muscle. The new mouse model has proven to be very useful for the study of several other therapies, because injected cells can be screened both through DNA and protein analysis. Study of its substantial muscle weakness will also be very informative in the evaluation of functional benefits of these therapies.

  18. Development of new mouse lung tumor models expressing EGFR T790M mutants associated with clinical resistance to kinase inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regales, Lucia; Balak, Marissa N; Gong, Yixuan; Politi, Katerina; Sawai, Ayana; Le, Carl; Koutcher, Jason A; Solit, David B; Rosen, Neal; Zakowski, Maureen F; Pao, William

    2007-08-29

    The EGFR T790M mutation confers acquired resistance to kinase inhibitors in human EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma, is occasionally detected before treatment, and may confer genetic susceptibility to lung cancer. To study further its role in lung tumorigenesis, we developed mice with inducible expression in type II pneumocytes of EGFR(T790M) alone or together with a drug-sensitive L858R mutation. Both transgenic lines develop lung adenocarcinomas that require mutant EGFR for tumor maintenance but are resistant to an EGFR kinase inhibitor. EGFR(L858R+T790M)-driven tumors are transiently targeted by hsp90 inhibition. Notably, EGFR(T790M)-expressing animals develop tumors with longer latency than EGFR(L858R+T790M)-bearing mice and in the absence of additional kinase domain mutations. These new mouse models of mutant EGFR-dependent lung adenocarcinomas provide insight into clinical observations. The models should also be useful for developing improved therapies for patients with lung cancers harboring EGFR(T790M) alone or in conjunction with drug-sensitive EGFR kinase domain mutations.

  19. Development of new mouse lung tumor models expressing EGFR T790M mutants associated with clinical resistance to kinase inhibitors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia Regales

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available The EGFR T790M mutation confers acquired resistance to kinase inhibitors in human EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma, is occasionally detected before treatment, and may confer genetic susceptibility to lung cancer.To study further its role in lung tumorigenesis, we developed mice with inducible expression in type II pneumocytes of EGFR(T790M alone or together with a drug-sensitive L858R mutation. Both transgenic lines develop lung adenocarcinomas that require mutant EGFR for tumor maintenance but are resistant to an EGFR kinase inhibitor. EGFR(L858R+T790M-driven tumors are transiently targeted by hsp90 inhibition. Notably, EGFR(T790M-expressing animals develop tumors with longer latency than EGFR(L858R+T790M-bearing mice and in the absence of additional kinase domain mutations.These new mouse models of mutant EGFR-dependent lung adenocarcinomas provide insight into clinical observations. The models should also be useful for developing improved therapies for patients with lung cancers harboring EGFR(T790M alone or in conjunction with drug-sensitive EGFR kinase domain mutations.

  20. Towards a mouse model of depression : a psychoneuroendocrine approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dalm, Sergiu

    2012-01-01

    Chronic stress is considered a vulnerability factor for depression. A key symptom is anhedonia; a reduced response to positive stimuli. Drugs are effective for only 20-40% of the patients and new drugs are urgently needed. The objective of the research was to develop a mouse model of depression that

  1. Sparse Statistical Deformation Model for the Analysis of Craniofacial Malformations in the Crouzon Mouse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ólafsdóttir, Hildur; Hansen, Michael Sass; Sjöstrand, Karl

    2007-01-01

    Crouzon syndrome is characterised by the premature fusion of cranial sutures. Recently the first genetic Crouzon mouse model was generated. In this study, Micro CT skull scannings of wild-type mice and Crouzon mice were investigated. Using nonrigid registration, a wild-type mouse atlas was built...

  2. Metformin decreases the dose of chemotherapy for prolonging tumor remission in mouse xenografts involving multiple cancer cell types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iliopoulos, Dimitrios; Hirsch, Heather A; Struhl, Kevin

    2011-05-01

    Metformin, the first-line drug for treating diabetes, selectively kills the chemotherapy resistant subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSC) in genetically distinct types of breast cancer cell lines. In mouse xenografts, injection of metformin and the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin near the tumor is more effective than either drug alone in blocking tumor growth and preventing relapse. Here, we show that metformin is equally effective when given orally together with paclitaxel, carboplatin, and doxorubicin, indicating that metformin works together with a variety of standard chemotherapeutic agents. In addition, metformin has comparable effects on tumor regression and preventing relapse when combined with a four-fold reduced dose of doxorubicin that is not effective as a monotherapy. Finally, the combination of metformin and doxorubicin prevents relapse in xenografts generated with prostate and lung cancer cell lines. These observations provide further evidence for the CSC hypothesis for cancer relapse, an experimental rationale for using metformin as part of combinatorial therapy in a variety of clinical settings, and for reducing the chemotherapy dose in cancer patients.

  3. Mouse neuroblastoma cell based model and the effect of epileptic events on calcium oscillations and neural spikes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Suhwan; Baek, Juyeong; Jung, Unsang; Lee, Sangwon; Jung, Woonggyu; Kim, Jeehyun; Kang, Shinwon

    2013-05-01

    Recently, Mouse neuroblastoma cells are considered as an attractive model for the study of human neurological and prion diseases, and intensively used as a model system in different areas. Among those areas, differentiation of neuro2a (N2A) cells, receptor mediated ion current, and glutamate induced physiological response are actively investigated. The reason for the interest to mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells is that they have a fast growing rate than other cells in neural origin with a few another advantages. This study evaluated the calcium oscillations and neural spikes recording of mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells in an epileptic condition. Based on our observation of neural spikes in mouse N2A cell with our proposed imaging modality, we report that mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells can be an important model related to epileptic activity studies. It is concluded that the mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells produce the epileptic spikes in vitro in the same way as produced by the neurons or the astrocytes. This evidence advocates the increased and strong level of neurotransmitters release by enhancement in free calcium using the 4-aminopyridine which causes the mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells to produce the epileptic spikes and calcium oscillation.

  4. [Effect of topical application of a recombinant adenovirus carrying promyelocytic leukemia gene in a psoriasis-like mouse model].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiongyu; Zhang, Aijun; Ma, Huiqun; Wang, Shijie; Ma, Yunyun; Zou, Xingwei; Li, Ruilian

    2013-03-01

    To investigate the effects of topical treatment with adenovirus-mediated promyelocytic leukemia gene (PML) gene in a psoriasis-like mouse model. The effect of adenovirus-mediated PML gene on the granular layer of mouse tail scale epidermis and epithelial mitosis were observed on longitudinal histological sections prepared from the tail skin and vaginal epithelium of the mice. Adenovirus-mediated PML gene significantly inhibited mitosis of mouse vaginal epithelial cells and promoted the formation of granular layer in mouse tail scale epidermis. The therapeutic effect of PML gene in the psoriasis-like mouse model may be associated with increased granular cells and suppressed epidemic cell proliferation.

  5. Fractalkine overexpression suppresses tau pathology in a mouse model of tauopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nash, Kevin R; Lee, Daniel C; Hunt, Jerry B; Morganti, Josh M; Selenica, Maj-Linda; Moran, Peter; Reid, Patrick; Brownlow, Milene; Guang-Yu Yang, Clement; Savalia, Miloni; Gemma, Carmelina; Bickford, Paula C; Gordon, Marcia N; Morgan, David

    2013-06-01

    Alzheimer's disease is characterized by amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, glial activation, and neurodegeneration. In mouse models, inflammatory activation of microglia accelerates tau pathology. The chemokine fractalkine serves as an endogenous neuronal modulator to quell microglial activation. Experiments with fractalkine receptor null mice suggest that fractalkine signaling diminishes tau pathology, but exacerbates amyloid pathology. Consistent with this outcome, we report here that soluble fractalkine overexpression using adeno-associated viral vectors significantly reduced tau pathology in the rTg4510 mouse model of tau deposition. Furthermore, this treatment reduced microglial activation and appeared to prevent neurodegeneration normally found in this model. However, in contrast to studies with fractalkine receptor null mice, parallel studies in an APP/PS1 model found no effect of increased fractalkine signaling on amyloid deposition. These data argue that agonism at fractalkine receptors might be an excellent target for therapeutic intervention in tauopathies, including those associated with amyloid deposition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Construction of a mouse model of factor VIII deficiency by gene targeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bi, L.; Lawler, A.; Gearhart, J. [Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA (United States)] [and others

    1994-09-01

    To develop a small animal model of hemophilia A for gene therapy experiments, we set out to construct a mouse model for factor VIII deficiency by gene targeting. First, we screened a mouse liver cDNA library using a human FVIII cDNA probe. We cloned a 2.6 Kb partial mouse factor VIII cDNA which extends from 800 base pairs of the 3{prime} end of exon 14 to the 5{prime} end of exon 26. A mouse genomic library made from strain 129 was then screened to obtain genomic fragments covering the exons desired for homologous recombination. Two genomic clones were obtained, and one covering exon 15 through 22 was used for gene targeting. To make gene targeting constructs, a 5.8 Kb genomic DNA fragment covering exons 15 to 19 of the mouse FVIII gene was subcloned, and the neo expression cassette was inserted into exons 16 and 17 separately by different strategies. These two constructs were named MFVIIIC-16 and MFVIIIC-17. The constructs were linearized and transfected into strain 129 mouse ES cells by electroporation. Factor VIII gene-knockout ES cell lines were selected by G-418 and screened by genomic Southern blots. Eight exon 16 targeted cell lines and five exon 17 targeted cell lines were obtained. Three cell lines from each construct were injected into blastocysts and surgically transferred into foster mothers. Multiple chimeric mice with 70-90% hair color derived from the ES-cell genotype were seen with both constructs. Germ line transmission of the ES-cell genotype has been obtained for the MFVIIIC-16 construct, and multiple hemophilia A carrier females have been identified. Factor VIII-deficient males will be conceived soon.

  7. Inhibition of Hedgehog signaling antagonizes serous ovarian cancer growth in a primary xenograft model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher K McCann

    Full Text Available Recent evidence links aberrant activation of Hedgehog (Hh signaling with the pathogenesis of several cancers including medulloblastoma, basal cell, small cell lung, pancreatic, prostate and ovarian. This investigation was designed to determine if inhibition of this pathway could inhibit serous ovarian cancer growth.We utilized an in vivo pre-clinical model of serous ovarian cancer to characterize the anti-tumor activity of Hh pathway inhibitors cyclopamine and a clinically applicable derivative, IPI-926. Primary human serous ovarian tumor tissue was used to generate tumor xenografts in mice that were subsequently treated with cyclopamine or IPI-926.Both compounds demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity as single agents. When IPI-926 was used in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatinum (T/C, no synergistic effect was observed, though sustained treatment with IPI-926 after cessation of T/C continued to suppress tumor growth. Hh pathway activity was analyzed by RT-PCR to assess changes in Gli1 transcript levels. A single dose of IPI-926 inhibited mouse stromal Gli1 transcript levels at 24 hours with unchanged human intra-tumor Gli1 levels. Chronic IPI-926 therapy for 21 days, however, inhibited Hh signaling in both mouse stromal and human tumor cells. Expression data from the micro-dissected stroma in human serous ovarian tumors confirmed the presence of Gli1 transcript and a significant association between elevated Gli1 transcript levels and worsened survival.IPI-926 treatment inhibits serous tumor growth suggesting the Hh signaling pathway contributes to the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer and may hold promise as a novel therapeutic target, especially in the maintenance setting.

  8. Chronic ultraviolet exposure-induced p53 gene alterations in sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong, Ying; Smith, M.A.; Tucker, S.B.

    1997-01-01

    Alterations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 have been found in ultraviolet radiation (UVR) related human skin cancers and in UVR-induced murine skin tumors. However, links between p53 gene alterations and the stages of carcinogenesis induced by UVR have not been clearly defined. We established a chronic UVR exposure-induced Sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model to determine the frequency of p53 gene alterations in different stages of carcinogenesis, including UV-exposed skin, papillomas, squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs), and malignant spindle-cell tumors (SCTs). A high incidence of SCCs and SCTs were found in this model. Positive p53 nuclear staining was found in 10137 (27%) of SCCs and 12124 (50%) of SCTs, but was not detected in normal skin or papillomas. DNA was isolated from 40 paraffin-embedded normal skin, UV-exposed skin, and tumor sections. The p53 gene (exons 5 and 6) was amplified from the sections by using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequent single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assay and sequencing analysis revealed one point mutation in exon 6 (coden 193, C → A transition) from a UV-exposed skin sample, and seven point mutations in exon 5 (codens 146, 158, 150, 165, and 161, three C → T, two C → A, one C → G, and one A → T transition, respectively) from four SCTs, two SCCs and one UV-exposed skin sample. These experimental results demonstrate that alterations in the p53 gene are frequent events in chronic UV exposure-induced SCCs and later stage SCTs in Sencar mouse skin. 40 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

  9. Riluzole does not improve lifespan or motor function in three ALS mouse models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogg, Marion C; Halang, Luise; Woods, Ina; Coughlan, Karen S; Prehn, Jochen H M

    2017-12-08

    Riluzole is the most widespread therapeutic for treatment of the progressive degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Riluzole gained FDA approval in 1995 before the development of ALS mouse models. We assessed riluzole in three transgenic ALS mouse models: the SOD1 G93A model, the TDP-43 A315T model, and the recently developed FUS (1-359) model. Age, sex and litter-matched mice were treated with riluzole (22 mg/kg) in drinking water or vehicle (DMSO) from symptom onset. Lifespan was assessed and motor function tests were carried out twice weekly to determine whether riluzole slowed disease progression. Riluzole treatment had no significant benefit on lifespan in any of the ALS mouse models tested. Riluzole had no significant impact on decline in motor performance in the FUS (1-359) and SOD1 G93A transgenic mice as assessed by Rotarod and stride length analysis. Riluzole is widely prescribed for ALS patients despite questions surrounding its efficacy. Our data suggest that if riluzole was identified as a therapeutic candidate today it would not progress past pre-clinical assessment. This raises questions about the standards used in pre-clinical assessment of therapeutic candidates for the treatment of ALS.

  10. Epstein-Barr virus, human papillomavirus and mouse mammary tumour virus as multiple viruses in breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenn, Wendy K; Heng, Benjamin; Delprado, Warick; Iacopetta, Barry; Whitaker, Noel J; Lawson, James S

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation is to determine if Epstein Barr virus (EBV), high risk human papillomavirus (HPV), and mouse mammary tumour viruses (MMTV) co-exist in some breast cancers. All the specimens were from women residing in Australia. For investigations based on standard PCR, we used fresh frozen DNA extracts from 50 unselected invasive breast cancers. For normal breast specimens, we used DNA extracts from epithelial cells from milk donated by 40 lactating women. For investigations based on in situ PCR we used 27 unselected archival formalin fixed breast cancer specimens and 18 unselected archival formalin fixed normal breast specimens from women who had breast reduction surgery. Thirteen of these fixed breast cancer specimens were ductal carcinoma in situ (dcis) and 14 were predominantly invasive ductal carcinomas (idc). EBV sequences were identified in 68%, high risk HPV sequences in 50%, and MMTV sequences in 78% of DNA extracted from 50 invasive breast cancer specimens. These same viruses were identified in selected normal and breast cancer specimens by in situ PCR. Sequences from more than one viral type were identified in 72% of the same breast cancer specimens. Normal controls showed these viruses were also present in epithelial cells in human milk - EBV (35%), HPV, 20%) and MMTV (32%) of 40 milk samples from normal lactating women, with multiple viruses being identified in 13% of the same milk samples. We conclude that (i) EBV, HPV and MMTV gene sequences are present and co-exist in many human breast cancers, (ii) the presence of these viruses in breast cancer is associated with young age of diagnosis and possibly an increased grade of breast cancer.

  11. Human Cancer Models Initiative | Office of Cancer Genomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI) is an international consortium that is generating novel human tumor-derived culture models, which are annotated with genomic and clinical data. In an effort to advance cancer research and more fully understand how in vitro findings are related to clinical biology, HCMI-developed models and related data will be available as a community resource for cancer research.

  12. Genetically engineered mouse models of craniopharyngioma: an opportunity for therapy development and understanding of tumor biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apps, John Richard; Martinez-Barbera, Juan Pedro

    2017-05-01

    Adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) is the commonest tumor of the sellar region in childhood. Two genetically engineered mouse models have been developed and are giving valuable insights into ACP biology. These models have identified novel pathways activated in tumors, revealed an important function of paracrine signalling and extended conventional theories about the role of organ-specific stem cells in tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize these mouse models, what has been learnt, their limitations and open questions for future research. We then discussed how these mouse models may be used to test novel therapeutics against potentially targetable pathways recently identified in human ACP. © 2017 The Authors. Brain Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Neuropathology.

  13. Manifestation of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis in Different Dietary Mouse Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera HI Fengler

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH, which are usually associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, are considerable health and economic issues due to the rapid increase of their prevalence in Western society. Histologically, the diseases are characterised by steatosis, hepatic inflammation, and if further progressed, fibrosis. Dietary-induced mouse models are widely used in investigations of the development and progression of NAFLD and NASH; these models attempt to mimic the histological and metabolic features of the human diseases. However, the majority of dietary mouse models fail to reflect the whole pathophysiological spectrum of NAFLD and NASH. Some models exhibit histological features similar to those seen in humans while lacking the metabolic context, while others resemble the metabolic conditions leading to NAFLD in humans but fail to mimic the whole histological spectrum, including progression from steatosis to liver fibrosis, and thus fail to mimic NASH. This review summarises the advantages and disadvantages of the different dietary-induced mouse models of NAFLD and NASH, with a focus on the genetic background of several commonly used wild-type mouse strains as well as gender and age, which influence the development and progression of these liver diseases.

  14. Mouse Model Resources for Vision Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungyeon Won

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The need for mouse models, with their well-developed genetics and similarity to human physiology and anatomy, is clear and their central role in furthering our understanding of human disease is readily apparent in the literature. Mice carrying mutations that alter developmental pathways or cellular function provide model systems for analyzing defects in comparable human disorders and for testing therapeutic strategies. Mutant mice also provide reproducible, experimental systems for elucidating pathways of normal development and function. Two programs, the Eye Mutant Resource and the Translational Vision Research Models, focused on providing such models to the vision research community are described herein. Over 100 mutant lines from the Eye Mutant Resource and 60 mutant lines from the Translational Vision Research Models have been developed. The ocular diseases of the mutant lines include a wide range of phenotypes, including cataracts, retinal dysplasia and degeneration, and abnormal blood vessel formation. The mutations in disease genes have been mapped and in some cases identified by direct sequencing. Here, we report 3 novel alleles of Crxtvrm65, Rp1tvrm64, and Rpe65tvrm148 as successful examples of the TVRM program, that closely resemble previously reported knockout models.

  15. Galantamine improves olfactory learning in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Souza, Fabio M Simoes; Busquet, Nicolas; Blatner, Megan; Maclean, Kenneth N; Restrepo, Diego

    2011-01-01

    Down syndrome (DS) is the most common form of congenital intellectual disability. Although DS involves multiple disturbances in various tissues, there is little doubt that in terms of quality of life cognitive impairment is the most serious facet and there is no effective treatment for this aspect of the syndrome. The Ts65Dn mouse model of DS recapitulates multiple aspects of DS including cognitive impairment. Here the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS was evaluated in an associative learning paradigm based on olfactory cues. In contrast to disomic controls, trisomic mice exhibited significant deficits in olfactory learning. Treatment of trisomic mice with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor galantamine resulted in a significant improvement in olfactory learning. Collectively, our study indicates that olfactory learning can be a sensitive tool for evaluating deficits in associative learning in mouse models of DS and that galantamine has therapeutic potential for improving cognitive abilities.

  16. Discovery of imidazo[1,2- a ]-pyridine inhibitors of pan-PI3 kinases that are efficacious in a mouse xenograft model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Wooseok; Menezes, Daniel L.; Xu, Yongjin; Knapp, Mark S.; Elling, Robert; Burger, Matthew T.; Ni, Zhi-Jie; Smith, Aaron; Lan, Jiong; Williams, Teresa E.; Verhagen, Joelle; Huh, Kay; Merritt, Hanne; Chan, John; Kaufman, Susan; Voliva, Charles F.; Pecchi, Sabina

    2016-02-01

    Alterations in PI3K/AKT signaling are known to be implicated with tumorigenesis. The PI3 kinases family of lipid kinases has been an attractive therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Imidazopyridine compound 1, a potent, selective, and orally available pan-PI3K inhibitor, identified by scaffold morphing of a benzothiazole hit, was further optimized in order to achieve efficacy in a PTEN-deleted A2780 ovarian cancer mouse xenograft model. With a hypothesis that a planar conformation between the core and the 6-heteroaryl ring will allow for the accommodation of larger 5'-substituents in a hydrophobic area under P-loop, SAR efforts focused on 5'-alkoxy heteroaryl rings at the 6-position of imidazopyridine and imidazopyridazine cores that have the same dihedral angle of zero degrees. 6'-Alkoxy 5'-aminopyrazines in the imidazopyridine series were identified as the most potent compounds in the A2780 cell line. Compound 14 with 1,1,1-trifluoroisopropoxy group at 6'-position demonstrated excellent potency and selectivity, good oral exposure in rats and in vivo efficacy in A2780 tumor-bearing mouse. Also, we disclose the X-ray co-crystal structure of one enantiomer of compound 14 in PI3Kα, confirming that the trifluoromethyl group fits nicely in the hydrophobic hot spot under P-loop.

  17. Discovery of imidazo[1,2-a]-pyridine inhibitors of pan-PI3 kinases that are efficacious in a mouse xenograft model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Wooseok; Menezes, Daniel L; Xu, Yongjin; Knapp, Mark S; Elling, Robert; Burger, Matthew T; Ni, Zhi-Jie; Smith, Aaron; Lan, Jiong; Williams, Teresa E; Verhagen, Joelle; Huh, Kay; Merritt, Hanne; Chan, John; Kaufman, Susan; Voliva, Charles F; Pecchi, Sabina

    2016-02-01

    Alterations in PI3K/AKT signaling are known to be implicated with tumorigenesis. The PI3 kinases family of lipid kinases has been an attractive therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Imidazopyridine compound 1, a potent, selective, and orally available pan-PI3K inhibitor, identified by scaffold morphing of a benzothiazole hit, was further optimized in order to achieve efficacy in a PTEN-deleted A2780 ovarian cancer mouse xenograft model. With a hypothesis that a planar conformation between the core and the 6-heteroaryl ring will allow for the accommodation of larger 5'-substituents in a hydrophobic area under P-loop, SAR efforts focused on 5'-alkoxy heteroaryl rings at the 6-position of imidazopyridine and imidazopyridazine cores that have the same dihedral angle of zero degrees. 6'-Alkoxy 5'-aminopyrazines in the imidazopyridine series were identified as the most potent compounds in the A2780 cell line. Compound 14 with 1,1,1-trifluoroisopropoxy group at 6'-position demonstrated excellent potency and selectivity, good oral exposure in rats and in vivo efficacy in A2780 tumor-bearing mouse. Also, we disclose the X-ray co-crystal structure of one enantiomer of compound 14 in PI3Kα, confirming that the trifluoromethyl group fits nicely in the hydrophobic hot spot under P-loop. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The circadian clock controls sunburn apoptosis and erythema in mouse skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaddameedhi, Shobhan; Selby, Christopher P; Kemp, Michael G; Ye, Rui; Sancar, Aziz

    2015-04-01

    Epidemiological studies of humans and experimental studies with mouse models suggest that sunburn resulting from exposure to excessive UV light and damage to DNA confers an increased risk for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Previous reports have shown that both nucleotide excision repair, which is the sole pathway in humans for removing UV photoproducts, and DNA replication are regulated by the circadian clock in mouse skin. Furthermore, the timing of UV exposure during the circadian cycle has been shown to affect skin carcinogenesis in mice. Because sunburn and skin cancer are causally related, we investigated UV-induced sunburn apoptosis and erythema in mouse skin as a function of circadian time. Interestingly, we observed that sunburn apoptosis, inflammatory cytokine induction, and erythema were maximal following an acute early-morning exposure to UV and minimal following an afternoon exposure. Early-morning exposure to UV also produced maximal activation of ataxia telangiectasia mutated and Rad3-related (Atr)-mediated DNA damage checkpoint signaling, including activation of the tumor suppressor p53, which is known to control the process of sunburn apoptosis. These data provide early evidence that the circadian clock has an important role in the erythemal response in UV-irradiated skin. The early morning is when DNA repair is at a minimum, and thus the acute responses likely are associated with unrepaired DNA damage. The prior report that mice are more susceptible to skin cancer induction following chronic irradiation in the AM, when p53 levels are maximally induced, is discussed in terms of the mutational inactivation of p53 during chronic irradiation.

  19. Transient human anti-mouse antibodies (HAMA) interference in CA 125 measurements during monitoring of ovarian cancer patients treated with murine monoclonal antibody.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oei, A.L.M.; Sweep, F.C.; Massuger, L.F.A.G.; Olthaar, A.J.; Thomas, C.M.G.

    2008-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of human anti-mouse antibodies (HAMA) on serial CA 125 measurements in serum of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer following single intraperitoneal (IP) therapy with Yttrium-90-labeled human milk fat globule 1 murine monoclonal antibody ((90)Y-muHMFG1) as

  20. Data in support of metabolic reprogramming in transformed mouse cortical astrocytes: A proteomic study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azeddine Bentaib

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available 2D-DIGE analysis coupled with mass spectrometry is a global, without a priori, comparative proteomic approach particularly suited to identify and quantify enzymes isoforms and structural proteins, thus making it an efficient tool for the characterization of the changes in cell phenotypes that occur in physiological and pathological conditions. In this data article in support of the research article entitled “Metabolic reprogramming in transformed mouse cortical astrocytes: a proteomic study” [1] we illustrate the changes in protein profile that occur during the metabolic reprogramming undergone by cultured mouse astrocytes in a model of in-vitro cancerous transformation [2].

  1. Modeling triple-negative breast cancer heterogeneity: effects of stromal macrophages, fibroblasts and tumor vasculature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, Kerri-Ann; Jin, Kideok; Popel, Aleksander S

    2018-05-08

    A hallmark of breast tumors is its spatial heterogeneity that includes its distribution of cancer stem cells and progenitor cells, but also heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment. In this study we focus on the contributions of stromal cells, specifically macrophages, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells on tumor progression. We develop a computational model of triple-negative breast cancer based on our previous work and expand it to include macrophage infiltration, fibroblasts, and angiogenesis. In vitro studies have shown that the secretomes of tumor-educated macrophages and fibroblasts increase both the migration and proliferation rates of triple-negative breast cancer cells. In vivo studies also demonstrated that blocking signaling of selected secreted factors inhibits tumor growth and metastasis in mouse xenograft models. We investigate the influences of increased migration and proliferation rates on tumor growth, the effect of the presence on fibroblasts or macrophages on growth and morphology, and the contributions of macrophage infiltration on tumor growth. We find that while the presence of macrophages increases overall tumor growth, the increase in macrophage infiltration does not substantially increase tumor growth and can even stifle tumor growth at excessive rates. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. A Mathematical Model of Skeletal Muscle Disease and Immune Response in the mdx Mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Salam Jarrah

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD is a genetic disease that results in the death of affected boys by early adulthood. The genetic defect responsible for DMD has been known for over 25 years, yet at present there is neither cure nor effective treatment for DMD. During early disease onset, the mdx mouse has been validated as an animal model for DMD and use of this model has led to valuable but incomplete insights into the disease process. For example, immune cells are thought to be responsible for a significant portion of muscle cell death in the mdx mouse; however, the role and time course of the immune response in the dystrophic process have not been well described. In this paper we constructed a simple mathematical model to investigate the role of the immune response in muscle degeneration and subsequent regeneration in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Our model suggests that the immune response contributes substantially to the muscle degeneration and regeneration processes. Furthermore, the analysis of the model predicts that the immune system response oscillates throughout the life of the mice, and the damaged fibers are never completely cleared.

  3. Effect of CPAP in a Mouse Model of Hyperoxic Neonatal Lung Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyburn, Brent; Fiore, Juliann M. Di; Raffay, Thomas; Martin, Richard J.; Y.S., Prakash; Jafri, Anjum; MacFarlane, Peter M.

    2015-01-01

    Background Continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP] and supplemental oxygen have become the mainstay of neonatal respiratory support in preterm infants. Although oxygen therapy is associated with respiratory morbidities including bronchopulmonary dysplasia [BPD], the long-term effects of CPAP on lung function are largely unknown. We used a hyperoxia-induced mouse model of BPD to explore the effects of daily CPAP during the first week of life on later respiratory system mechanics. Objective To test the hypothesis that daily CPAP in a newborn mouse model of BPD improves longer term respiratory mechanics. Methods Mouse pups from C57BL/6 pregnant dams were exposed to room air [RA] or hyperoxia [50% O2, 24hrs/day] for the first postnatal week with or without exposure to daily CPAP [6cmH2O, 3hrs/day]. Respiratory system resistance [Rrs] and compliance [Crs] were measured following a subsequent 2 week period of room RA recovery. Additional measurements included radial alveolar counts and macrophage counts. Results Mice exposed to hyperoxia had significantly elevated Rrs, decreased Crs, reduced alveolarization, and increased macrophage counts at three weeks compared to RA treated mice. Daily CPAP treatment significantly improved Rrs, Crs and alveolarization, and decreased lung macrophage infiltration in hyperoxia-exposed pups. Conclusions We have demonstrated that daily CPAP had a longer term benefit on baseline respiratory system mechanics in a neonatal mouse model of BPD. We speculate that this beneficial effect of CPAP was the consequence of a decrease in the inflammatory response and resultant alveolar injury associated with hyperoxic newborn lung injury. PMID:26394387

  4. Model Checking of a Diabetes-Cancer Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Haijun; Zuliani, Paolo; Clarke, Edmund M.

    2011-06-01

    Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer incidence might be associated with diabetes mellitus, especially Type II diabetes which is characterized by hyperinsulinaemia, hyperglycaemia, obesity, and overexpression of multiple WNT pathway components. These diabetes risk factors can activate a number of signaling pathways that are important in the development of different cancers. To systematically understand the signaling components that link diabetes and cancer risk, we have constructed a single-cell, Boolean network model by integrating the signaling pathways that are influenced by these risk factors to study insulin resistance, cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. Then, we introduce and apply the Symbolic Model Verifier (SMV), a formal verification tool, to qualitatively study some temporal logic properties of our diabetes-cancer model. The verification results show that the diabetes risk factors might not increase cancer risk in normal cells, but they will promote cell proliferation if the cell is in a precancerous or cancerous stage characterized by losses of the tumor-suppressor proteins ARF and INK4a.

  5. Spherical Cancer Models in Tumor Biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louis-Bastien Weiswald

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D in vitro models have been used in cancer research as an intermediate model between in vitro cancer cell line cultures and in vivo tumor. Spherical cancer models represent major 3D in vitro models that have been described over the past 4 decades. These models have gained popularity in cancer stem cell research using tumorospheres. Thus, it is crucial to define and clarify the different spherical cancer models thus far described. Here, we focus on in vitro multicellular spheres used in cancer research. All these spherelike structures are characterized by their well-rounded shape, the presence of cancer cells, and their capacity to be maintained as free-floating cultures. We propose a rational classification of the four most commonly used spherical cancer models in cancer research based on culture methods for obtaining them and on subsequent differences in sphere biology: the multicellular tumor spheroid model, first described in the early 70s and obtained by culture of cancer cell lines under nonadherent conditions; tumorospheres, a model of cancer stem cell expansion established in a serum-free medium supplemented with growth factors; tissue-derived tumor spheres and organotypic multicellular spheroids, obtained by tumor tissue mechanical dissociation and cutting. In addition, we describe their applications to and interest in cancer research; in particular, we describe their contribution to chemoresistance, radioresistance, tumorigenicity, and invasion and migration studies. Although these models share a common 3D conformation, each displays its own intrinsic properties. Therefore, the most relevant spherical cancer model must be carefully selected, as a function of the study aim and cancer type.

  6. Columnar metaplasia in a surgical mouse model of gastro-esophageal reflux disease is not derived from bone marrow-derived cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aikou, Susumu; Aida, Junko; Takubo, Kaiyo; Yamagata, Yukinori; Seto, Yasuyuki; Kaminishi, Michio; Nomura, Sachiyo

    2013-09-01

    The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has increased in the last 25 years. Columnar metaplasia in Barrett's mucosa is assumed to be a precancerous lesion for esophageal adenocarcinoma. However, the induction process of Barrett's mucosa is still unknown. To analyze the induction of esophageal columnar metaplasia, we established a mouse gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) model with associated development of columnar metaplasia in the esophagus. C57BL/6 mice received side-to-side anastomosis of the esophagogastric junction with the jejunum, and mice were killed 10, 20, and 40 weeks after operation. To analyze the contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to columnar metaplasia in this surgical GERD model, some mice were transplanted with GFP-marked bone marrow after the operation. Seventy-three percent of the mice (16/22) showed thickened mucosa in esophagus and 41% of mice (9/22) developed columnar metaplasia 40 weeks after the operation with a mortality rate of 4%. Bone marrow-derived cells were not detected in columnar metaplastic epithelia. However, scattered epithelial cells in the thickened squamous epithelia in regions of esophagitis did show bone marrow derivation. The results demonstrate that reflux induced by esophago-jejunostomy in mice leads to the development of columnar metaplasia in the esophagus. However, bone marrow-derived cells do not contribute directly to columnar metaplasia in this mouse model. © 2013 Japanese Cancer Association.

  7. Characterization of IKBKE as a Breast Cancer Oncogene

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-01

    HMLE -MEKDD cells stably expressing either pWZL or MF-IKKε. Immunoblot analysis by IKKε antibody. (D) IP with an IKK antibody from MCF-7 breast cancer ...summary is presented of research performed during three years of a project to further characterize the breast cancer oncogene IKKε. Two specific aims...constitutive IKKε transgenic mouse model to study the role of IKKε in breast cancer initiation and maintenance. The long term goals of this research

  8. Immodin and its immune system supportive role in paclitaxel therapy of 4T1 mouse breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demečková, Vlasta; Solár, Peter; Hrčková, Gabriela; Mudroňová, Dagmar; Bojková, Bianka; Kassayová, Monika; Gancarčiková, Soňa

    2017-05-01

    It is evident that standard chemotherapy agents may have an impact on both tumor and host immune system. Paclitaxel (PTX), a very potent anticancer drug from a taxane family, has achieved prominence in clinical oncology for its efficacy against a wide range of tumors including breast cancer. However, significant toxicity, such as myelosuppression, limit the effectiveness of Paclitaxel-based treatment regimens. Immodin (IM) is low molecular dialysate fraction of homogenate made from human leukocytes. It contains a mixture of substances from which so far have been described e.g. Imreg 1 and Imreg 2 formed by the dipeptide tyrosine-glycine and the tripeptide tyrosine-glycine-glycine, respectively. The aim of this study was to explore immunopharmacological activities of IM, using the strongly immunogenic 4T1 mouse breast cancer model, and evaluate its effect on the reactivity and the efficiency of PTX cancer therapy. The results highlight a potentially beneficial role for IM in alleviating PTX-induced toxicity, especially on the nonspecific immunity, during breast cancer therapy. Co-treatment exhibited an antitumor effect including reduced tumor growth, prolonged survival of tumor bearing mice, increased number of monocytes and lymphocytes in peripheral blood. In spleens, IM+PTX therapy elevated proportion of whole lymphocytes in the account of myelo-monocytic cells characteristic with low expression of CD11c+ and bearing Fc receptor (CD16/32) as well as T-lymphocytes, NK cells and dendritic cells. Accumulation of tumor-associated granulocytes in stroma of PTX-treated group and intensive 4T1-necrosis/apoptosis in tumors after co-treatment were also recorded. These findings suggest the possibility of using IM alongside PTX treatment for maintaining the immune system functions and increasing patient survival. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Automatic Assessment of Craniofacial Growth in a Mouse Model of Crouzon Syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorup, Signe Strann; Larsen, Rasmus; Darvann, Tron Andre

    2009-01-01

    for each mouse-type; growth models were created using linear interpolation and visualized as 3D animations. Spatial regions of significantly different growth were identified using the local False Discovery Rate method, estimating the expected percentage of false predictions in a set of predictions. For all......-rigid volumetric image registration was applied to micro-CT scans of ten 4-week and twenty 6-week euthanized mice for growth modeling. Each age group consisted of 50% normal and 50% Crouzon mice. Four 3D mean shapes, one for each mouse-type and age group were created. Extracting a dense field of growth vectors...... a tool for spatially detailed automatic phenotyping. MAIN OBJECTIVES OF PRESENTATION: We will present a 3D growth model of normal and Crouzon mice, and differences will be statistically and visually compared....

  10. Molecular Alterations in a Mouse Cardiac Model of Friedreich Ataxia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anzovino, Amy; Chiang, Shannon; Brown, Bronwyn E

    2017-01-01

    mechanisms. Using a mouse conditional frataxin knockout (KO) model in the heart and skeletal muscle, we examined the Nrf2 pathway in these tissues. Frataxin KO results in fatal cardiomyopathy, whereas skeletal muscle was asymptomatic. In the KO heart, protein oxidation and a decreased glutathione...

  11. Shigella mediated depletion of macrophages in a murine breast cancer model is associated with tumor regression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katharina Galmbacher

    Full Text Available A tumor promoting role of macrophages has been described for a transgenic murine breast cancer model. In this model tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs represent a major component of the leukocytic infiltrate and are associated with tumor progression. Shigella flexneri is a bacterial pathogen known to specificly induce apotosis in macrophages. To evaluate whether Shigella-induced removal of macrophages may be sufficient for achieving tumor regression we have developed an attenuated strain of S. flexneri (M90TDeltaaroA and infected tumor bearing mice. Two mouse models were employed, xenotransplantation of a murine breast cancer cell line and spontanous breast cancer development in MMTV-HER2 transgenic mice. Quantitative analysis of bacterial tumor targeting demonstrated that attenuated, invasive Shigella flexneri primarily infected TAMs after systemic administration. A single i.v. injection of invasive M90TDeltaaroA resulted in caspase-1 dependent apoptosis of TAMs followed by a 74% reduction in tumors of transgenic MMTV-HER-2 mice 7 days post infection. TAM depletion was sustained and associated with complete tumor regression.These data support TAMs as useful targets for antitumor therapy and highlight attenuated bacterial pathogens as potential tools.

  12. Dragon (repulsive guidance molecule b, RGMb) is a novel gene that promotes colorectal cancer growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Ying; Chen, Guo-Bin; Huang, Xiao-Xiao; Xiao, Chuan-Xing; Wang, Huan-Huan; Li, Ye-Sen; Zhang, Jin-Fang; Li, Shao; Xia, Yin; Ren, Jian-Lin; Guleng, Bayasi

    2015-08-21

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and a major cause of cancer death. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CRC initiation, growth and metastasis are poorly understood. Dragon (RGMb), a member of the repulsive guidance molecule (RGM) family, has been recently identified as a co-receptor for bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, but the role of Dragon in CRC development is undefined. Here, we show that Dragon expression was increased in colon cancer tissues compared to control tissues in CAC mouse model and in human patients. Dragon promoted proliferation of CT26.WT and CMT93 colon cancer cells and accelerated tumor growth in the xenograft mouse model. Dragon's action on colon cancer development was mediated via the BMP4-Smad1/5/8 and Erk1/2 pathways. Therefore, our results have revealed that Dragon is a novel gene that promotes CRC growth through the BMP pathway. Dragon may be exploited as a potential therapeutic target for CRC treatment.

  13. Phospho-Ibuprofen (MDC-917) Is a Novel Agent against Colon Cancer: Efficacy, Metabolism, and Pharmacokinetics in Mouse Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Gang; Sun, Yu; Nie, Ting; Mackenzie, Gerardo G.; Huang, Liqun; Kopelovich, Levy; Komninou, Despina

    2011-01-01

    We have developed a novel chemical modification of conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce their toxicity and enhance their efficacy. Phospho-ibuprofen [(PI) 2-(4-isobutyl-phenyl)-propionic acid-4-(diethoxy-phosphoryloxy)-butyl ester (MDC-917)], a novel derivative of ibuprofen, strongly inhibited the growth of human colon cancer cells in vitro and SW480 human colon cancer xenografts in nude mice. PI was metabolized minimally by cultured cells, but extensively by liver microsomes and mice, undergoing regioselective oxidation to produce 1-OH-PI and carboxyl-PI, which can be hydrolyzed to 1-OH-ibuprofen and carboxyl-ibuprofen, respectively. PI also can be hydrolyzed to release ibuprofen, which can generate 2-OH-ibuprofen, carboxyl-ibuprofen, and ibuprofen glucuronide. After a single oral administration (400 mg/kg) of PI, ibuprofen and ibuprofen glucuronide are the main plasma metabolites of PI; they have, respectively, Cmax of 530 and 215 μM, Tmax of 1 and 2 h, elimination t1/2 of 7.7 and 5.3 h, and area under the concentration-time curve (0–24 h) of 1816 and 832 μM × h. Intact PI was detected in several tissues but not in plasma; at a higher PI dose (1200 mg/kg), PI plasma levels were 12.4 μM. PI generated the same metabolites in mouse plasma as conventional ibuprofen, but with much lower levels, perhaps accounting for the enhanced safety of PI. The antitumor effect of PI was significantly associated with plasma ibuprofen levels (p = 0.016) but not with xenograft ibuprofen levels (p = 0.08), suggesting a complex anticancer effect. These results provide a pharmacological basis to explain, at least in part, the anticancer efficacy and safety of this promising compound and indicate that PI merits further evaluation as an anticancer agent. PMID:21422165

  14. Optical Coherence Tomography in Cancer Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Ahhyun Stephanie; Vakoc, Benjamin; Blauvelt, David; Chico-Calero, Isabel

    Investigations into the biology of cancer and novel cancer therapies rely on preclinical mouse models and traditional histological endpoints. Drawbacks of this approach include a limit in the number of time points for evaluation and an increased number of animals per study. This has motivated the use of intravital microscopy, which can provide longitudinal imaging of critical tumor parameters. Here, the capabilities of OCT as an intravital microscopy of the tumor microenvironment are summarized, and the state of OCT adoption into cancer research is summarized.

  15. A recombinant lentiviral PDGF-driven mouse model of proneural glioblastoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahme, Gilbert J; Luikart, Bryan W; Cheng, Chao; Israel, Mark A

    2018-02-19

    Mouse models of glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive primary brain tumor, are critical for understanding GBM pathology and can contribute to the preclinical evaluation of therapeutic agents. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling has been implicated in the development and pathogenesis of GBM, specifically the proneural subtype. Although multiple mouse models of PDGF-driven glioma have been described, they require transgenic mice engineered to activate PDGF signaling and/or impair tumor suppressor genes and typically represent lower-grade glioma. We designed recombinant lentiviruses expressing both PDGFB and a short hairpin RNA targeting Cdkn2a to induce gliomagenesis following stereotactic injection into the dentate gyrus of adult immunocompetent mice. We engineered these viruses to coexpress CreERT2 with PDGFB, allowing for deletion of floxed genes specifically in transduced cells, and designed another version of this recombinant lentivirus in which enhanced green fluorescent protein was coexpressed with PDGFB and CreERT2 to visualize transduced cells. The dentate gyrus of injected mice showed hypercellularity one week post-injection and subsequently developed bona fide tumors with the pathologic hallmarks of GBM leading to a median survival of 77 days post-injection. Transcriptomic analysis of these tumors revealed a proneural gene expression signature. Informed by the genetic alterations observed in human GBM, we engineered a novel mouse model of proneural GBM. While reflecting many of the advantages of transgenic mice, this model allows for the facile in vivo testing of gene function in tumor cells and makes possible the rapid production of large numbers of immunocompetent tumor-bearing mice for preclinical testing of therapeutics. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  16. Arrhythmia phenotype in mouse models of human long QT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salama, Guy; Baker, Linda; Wolk, Robert; Barhanin, Jacques; London, Barry

    2009-03-01

    Enhanced dispersion of repolarization (DR) was proposed as a unifying mechanism, central to arrhythmia genesis in the long QT (LQT) syndrome. In mammalian hearts, K(+) channels are heterogeneously expressed across the ventricles resulting in 'intrinsic' DR that may worsen in long QT. DR was shown to be central to the arrhythmia phenotype of transgenic mice with LQT caused by loss of function of the dominant mouse K(+) currents. Here, we investigated the arrhythmia phenotype of mice with targeted deletions of KCNE1 and KCNH2 genes which encode for minK/IsK and Merg1 (mouse homolog of human ERG) proteins resulting in loss of function of I(Ks) and I(Kr), respectively. Both currents are important human K(+) currents associated with LQT5 and LQT2. Loss of minK, a protein subunit that interacts with KvLQT1, results in a marked reduction of I(Ks) giving rise to the Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome and the reduced KCNH2 gene reduces MERG and I(Kr). Hearts were perfused, stained with di-4-ANEPPS and optically mapped to compare action potential durations (APDs) and arrhythmia phenotype in homozygous minK (minK(-/-)) and heterozygous Merg1 (Merg(+/-)) deletions and littermate control mice. MinK(-/-) mice has similar APDs and no arrhythmias (n = 4). Merg(+/-) mice had prolonged APDs (from 20 +/- 6 to 32 +/- 9 ms at the base, p mice (60% vs. 10%). A comparison of mouse models of LQT based on K(+) channel mutations important to human and mouse repolarization emphasizes DR as a major determinant of arrhythmia vulnerability.

  17. Enhanced Reconstitution of Human Erythropoiesis and Thrombopoiesis in an Immunodeficient Mouse Model with KitWv Mutations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayano Yurino

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In human-to-mouse xenograft models, reconstitution of human hematopoiesis is usually B-lymphoid dominant. Here we show that the introduction of homozygous KitWv mutations into C57BL/6.Rag2nullIl2rgnull mice with NOD-Sirpa (BRGS strongly promoted human multi-lineage reconstitution. After xenotransplantation of human CD34+CD38− cord blood cells, these newly generated C57BL/6.Rag2nullIl2rgnullNOD-Sirpa KitWv/Wv (BRGSKWv/Wv mice showed significantly higher levels of human cell chimerism and long-term multi-lineage reconstitution compared with BRGS mice. Strikingly, this mouse displayed a robust reconstitution of human erythropoiesis and thrombopoiesis with terminal maturation in the bone marrow. Furthermore, depletion of host macrophages by clodronate administration resulted in the presence of human erythrocytes and platelets in the circulation. Thus, attenuation of mouse KIT signaling greatly enhances the multi-lineage differentiation of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs in mouse bone marrow, presumably by outcompeting mouse HSPCs to occupy suitable microenvironments. The BRGSKWv/Wv mouse model is a useful tool to study human multi-lineage hematopoiesis.

  18. A mouse model of mammary hyperplasia induced by oral hormone ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Methods and Materials: To address the mechanism, we developed a mouse model of mammary hyperplasia. We gave mice estradiol valerate tablets and progesterone capsules sequentially for one month by intragastric administration. Results: Mice treated by this method had a series of pathological changes which are ...

  19. [Gefitineb inhibits the growth and induces the apoptosis of mouse I-10 Leydig testicular cancer cells in vitro].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Jie; Tong, Xu-hui; Zhang, Xin-yu; Gao, Qin; Li, Bei-bei; Wu, Xiao-xiang

    2015-09-01

    To observe the inhibitory effect of gefitineb on the proliferation and its inducing effect on the apoptosis of mouse I-10 Leydig testicular cancer cells in vitro. We treated I-10 Leydig testicular cancer cells of mice with gefitineb at 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 µmol/L. Then we determined the inhibitory effect of gefitineb on the growth of the cells by MTT, detected their early and late apoptosis by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide double staining and Hoechst 33258 nuclear staining, respectively, and observed the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Bax and caspase 3/9 by Western blot. Compared with the blank control group, gefitineb significantly inhibited the proliferation of the I-10 cells at 10 and 20 µmol/L (P testicular cancer cells of mice and induce their apoptosis via the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis signaling pathway.

  20. Studying skin tumourigenesis and progression in immunocompetent hairless SKH1-hr mice using chronic 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene topical applications to develop a useful experimental skin cancer model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thomas, Giju; Tuk, Bastiaan; Song, Ji-Ying; Truong, Hoa; Gerritsen, Hans C.; de Gruijl, Frank R.; Sterenborg, Henricus J. C. M.

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have established that 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) can initiate skin tumourigenesis in conventional furred mouse models by acting on hair follicle stem cells. However, further cancer progression depends on repeated applications of tumour promoter agents. This study

  1. Fisetin inhibits liver cancer growth in a mouse model: Relation to dopamine receptor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiang-Feng; Long, Hai-Jiao; Miao, Xiong-Ying; Liu, Guo-Li; Yao, Hong-Liang

    2017-07-01

    Fisetin (3,3',4',7-tetrahydroxyflavone), a natural abundant flavonoid, is produced in different vegetables and fruits. Fisetin has been reported to relate to various positive biological effects, including anti-proliferative, anticancer, anti-oxidative and neuroprotective effects. Dopamine receptors (DRs) belonging to G protein‑coupled receptor family, are known as the target of ~50% of all modern medicinal drugs. DRs consist of various proteins, functioning as transduction of intracellular signals for extracellular stimuli. We found that fisetin performed as DR2 agonist to suppress liver cancer cells proliferation, migration and invasion. Caspase-3 signaling was activated to induce apoptosis for fisetin administration. Furthermore, TGF‑β1 was also inhibited in fisetin-treated liver cancer cells, reducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Additionally, fisetin downregulated VEGFR1, p-ERK1/2, p38 and pJNK, ameliorating liver cancer progression. In vivo, the orthotopically implanted tumors from mice were inhibited by fisetin adminisatration accompanied by prolonged survival rate and higher levels of dopamine. Together, the results indicated a novel therapeutic strategy to suppress liver cancer progression associated with DR2 regulation, indicating that dopamine might be of importance in liver cancer progression.

  2. ATM-deficiency increases genomic instability and metastatic potential in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drosos, Yiannis; Escobar, David; Chiang, Ming-Yi; Roys, Kathryn; Valentine, Virginia; Valentine, Marc B; Rehg, Jerold E; Sahai, Vaibhav; Begley, Lesa A; Ye, Jianming; Paul, Leena; McKinnon, Peter J; Sosa-Pineda, Beatriz

    2017-09-11

    Germline mutations in ATM (encoding the DNA-damage signaling kinase, ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated) increase Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC) susceptibility, and ATM somatic mutations have been identified in resected human pancreatic tumors. Here we investigated how Atm contributes to pancreatic cancer by deleting this gene in a murine model of the disease expressing oncogenic Kras (Kras G12D ). We show that partial or total ATM deficiency cooperates with Kras G12D to promote highly metastatic pancreatic cancer. We also reveal that ATM is activated in pancreatic precancerous lesions in the context of DNA damage and cell proliferation, and demonstrate that ATM deficiency leads to persistent DNA damage in both precancerous lesions and primary tumors. Using low passage cultures from primary tumors and liver metastases we show that ATM loss accelerates Kras-induced carcinogenesis without conferring a specific phenotype to pancreatic tumors or changing the status of the tumor suppressors p53, p16 Ink4a and p19 Arf . However, ATM deficiency markedly increases the proportion of chromosomal alterations in pancreatic primary tumors and liver metastases. More importantly, ATM deficiency also renders murine pancreatic tumors highly sensitive to radiation. These and other findings in our study conclusively establish that ATM activity poses a major barrier to oncogenic transformation in the pancreas via maintaining genomic stability.

  3. Animal models for studying neural crest development: is the mouse different?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barriga, Elias H; Trainor, Paul A; Bronner, Marianne; Mayor, Roberto

    2015-05-01

    The neural crest is a uniquely vertebrate cell type and has been well studied in a number of model systems. Zebrafish, Xenopus and chick embryos largely show consistent requirements for specific genes in early steps of neural crest development. By contrast, knockouts of homologous genes in the mouse often do not exhibit comparable early neural crest phenotypes. In this Spotlight article, we discuss these species-specific differences, suggest possible explanations for the divergent phenotypes in mouse and urge the community to consider these issues and the need for further research in complementary systems. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  4. Isorhapontigenin (ISO) Inhibits Invasive Bladder Cancer Formation In Vivo and Human Bladder Cancer Invasion In Vitro by Targeting STAT1/FOXO1 Axis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Guosong; Wu, Amy D; Huang, Chao; Gu, Jiayan; Zhang, Liping; Huang, Haishan; Liao, Xin; Li, Jingxia; Zhang, Dongyun; Zeng, Xingruo; Jin, Honglei; Huang, Haojie; Huang, Chuanshu

    2016-07-01

    Although our most recent studies have identified Isorhapontigenin (ISO), a novel derivative of stilbene that isolated from a Chinese herb Gnetum cleistostachyum, for its inhibition of human bladder cancer growth, nothing is known whether ISO possesses an inhibitory effect on bladder cancer invasion. Thus, we addressed this important question in current study and discovered that ISO treatment could inhibit mouse-invasive bladder cancer development following bladder carcinogen N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN) exposure in vivo We also found that ISO suppressed human bladder cancer cell invasion accompanied by upregulation of the forkhead box class O 1 (FOXO1) mRNA transcription in vitro Accordingly, FOXO1 was profoundly downregulated in human bladder cancer tissues and was negatively correlated with bladder cancer invasion. Forced expression of FOXO1 specifically suppressed high-grade human bladder cancer cell invasion, whereas knockdown of FOXO1 promoted noninvasive bladder cancer cells becoming invasive bladder cancer cells. Moreover, knockout of FOXO1 significantly increased bladder cancer cell invasion and abolished the ISO inhibition of invasion in human bladder cancer cells. Further studies showed that the inhibition of Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) phosphorylation at Tyr701 was crucial for ISO upregulation of FOXO1 transcription. Furthermore, this study revealed that metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) was a FOXO1 downstream effector, which was also supported by data obtained from mouse model of ISO inhibition BBN-induced mouse-invasive bladder cancer formation. These findings not only provide a novel insight into the understanding of mechanism of bladder cancer's propensity to invasion, but also identify a new role and mechanisms underlying the natural compound ISO that specifically suppresses such bladder cancer invasion through targeting the STAT1-FOXO1-MMP-2 axis. Cancer Prev Res; 9(7); 567-80. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American

  5. The feasibility research of galactosyl-anti-mouse CD3 monoclonal antibody being used as carrier of immunotherapy after surgical operation of liver cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yunchun; Guan Changtian; Yang Xiaochuan; He Sheng; Jiang Ping; Yuan Lin

    2000-01-01

    Objective: To probe into the feasibility of galactosyl-anti-mouse CD 3 monoclonal antibody (Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb) being used as carrier of immunotherapy after surgical operation of liver cancer. Methods: Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb was prepared by the covalent coupling of anti-mouse CD 3 monoclonal antibody (Ant-CD 3 McAb) with a bifunctional reagent, 2-imino-2-methoxyethyl-1-thio-galactose. After Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb and Ant-CD 3 McAb were labelled with 131 I or 125 I, the data of biodistribution in mice, and of imaging in rabbit were obtained. After tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb were coupled into Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb-TIL, its liver taxis and cytotoxic activity against autologous cancer cells were measured in vitro. Results: Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb had remarkable livertaxis and its uptake in per gram liver was (59.0 +- 2.1)% that was more than two-fold higher than that of Ant-CD 3 McAb. Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb-TIL had an obvious liver taxis and cytotoxic activity against autologous cancer cells in vitro. Conclusion: Gal-Ant-CD 3 McAb can be used as the carrier of immunotherapy after surgical operation of liver cancer

  6. Cancer chemoprevention by ginseng in mouse liver and other organs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishino, H; Tokuda, H; Ii, T; Takemura, M; Kuchide, M; Kanazawa, M; Mou, X Y; Bu, P; Takayasu, J; Onozuka, M; Masuda, M; Satomi, Y; Konoshima, T; Kishi, N; Baba, M; Okada, Y; Okuyama, T

    2001-01-01

    Oral administration of red ginseng extracts (1% in diet for 40 weeks) resulted in the significant suppression of spontaneous liver tumor formation in C3H/He male mice. Average number of tumors per mouse in control group was 1.06, while that in red ginseng extracts-treated group was 0.33 (p<0.05). Incidence of liver tumor development was also lower in red ginseng extracts-treated group, although the difference from control group was not statistically significant. Anti-carcinogenic activity of white ginseng extracts, besides red ginseng extracts, was also investigated. In the present study, the administration of white ginseng extracts was proven to suppress tumor promoter-induced phenomena in vitro and in vivo. It is of interest that oral administration of the extracts of Ren-Shen-Yang- Rong-Tang, a white ginseng-containing Chinese medicinal prescription, resulted in the suppression of skin tumor promotion by 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-initiated CD-1 mice. These results suggest the usefulness of ginseng in the field of cancer prevention. PMID:11748379

  7. Androgenic dependence of exophytic tumor growth in a transgenic mouse model of bladder cancer: a role for thrombospondin-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao Jorge L

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Steroid hormones influence mitogenic signaling pathways, apoptosis, and cell cycle checkpoints, and it has long been known that incidence of bladder cancer (BC in men is several times greater than in women, a difference that cannot be attributed to environmental or lifestyle factors alone. Castration reduces incidence of chemically-induced BC in rodents. It is unclear if this effect is due to hormonal influences on activation/deactivation of carcinogens or a direct effect on urothelial cell proliferation or other malignant processes. We examined the effect of castration on BC growth in UPII-SV40T transgenic mice, which express SV40 T antigen specifically in urothelium and reliably develop BC. Furthermore, because BC growth in UPII-SV40T mice is exophytic, we speculated BC growth was dependent on angiogenesis and angiogenesis was, in turn, androgen responsive. Methods Flat panel detector-based cone beam computed tomography (FPDCT was used to longitudinally measure exophytic BC growth in UPII-SV40T male mice sham-operated, castrated, or castrated and supplemented with dihydrotestosterone (DHT. Human normal bladder and BC biopsies and mouse bladder were examined quantitatively for thrombospondin-1 (TSP1 protein expression. Results Mice castrated at 24 weeks of age had decreased BC volumes at 32 weeks compared to intact mice (p = 0.0071 and castrated mice administered DHT (p = 0.0233; one-way ANOVA, JMP 6.0.3, SAS Institute, Inc.. Bladder cancer cell lines responded to DHT treatment with increased proliferation, regardless of androgen receptor expression levels. TSP1, an anti-angiogenic factor whose expression is inhibited by androgens, had decreased expression in bladders of UPII-SV40T mice compared to wild-type. Castration increased TSP1 levels in UPII-SV40T mice compared to intact mice. TSP1 protein expression was higher in 8 of 10 human bladder biopsies of normal versus malignant tissue from the same patients. Conclusion

  8. Detection of Mouse Mammary Tumour Virus in house mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steffensen, Lise K; Leirs, Herwig; Heiberg, Ann-Charlotte

    The prevalence of human breast cancer (HBC) is affected by several parameters. For the past decades MMTV, Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus, known to cause breast cancer in mice, has been hypothesized to affect the frequency of hormone dependent HBC. Though conclusive evidence has not been produced, still...

  9. Bioenergetic Defects and Oxidative Damage in Transgenic Mouse Models of Neurodegenerative Disorders

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Brown, Susan

    1999-01-01

    ... (HE) and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS), using transgenic mouse models. Studies in this first year employed C-14-2-deoxyglucose in vivo autoradiography and spectrophotometric metabolic enzyme assays...

  10. High-fertility phenotypes: two outbred mouse models exhibit substantially different molecular and physiological strategies warranting improved fertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langhammer, Martina; Michaelis, Marten; Hoeflich, Andreas; Sobczak, Alexander; Schoen, Jennifer; Weitzel, Joachim M

    2014-01-01

    Animal models are valuable tools in fertility research. Worldwide, there are more than 400 transgenic or knockout mouse models available showing a reproductive phenotype; almost all of them exhibit an infertile or at least subfertile phenotype. By contrast, animal models revealing an improved fertility phenotype are barely described. This article summarizes data on two outbred mouse models exhibiting a 'high-fertility' phenotype. These mouse lines were generated via selection over a time period of more than 40 years and 161 generations. During this selection period, the number of offspring per litter and the total birth weight of the entire litter nearly doubled. Concomitantly with the increased fertility phenotype, several endocrine parameters (e.g. serum testosterone concentrations in male animals), physiological parameters (e.g. body weight, accelerated puberty, and life expectancy), and behavioral parameters (e.g. behavior in an open field and endurance fitness on a treadmill) were altered. We demonstrate that the two independently bred high-fertility mouse lines warranted their improved fertility phenotype using different molecular and physiological strategies. The fertility lines display female- as well as male-specific characteristics. These genetically heterogeneous mouse models provide new insights into molecular and cellular mechanisms that enhance fertility. In view of decreasing fertility in men, these models will therefore be a precious information source for human reproductive medicine. Translated abstract A German translation of abstract is freely available at http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/147/4/427/suppl/DC1.

  11. Effects of environmental enrichment on the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorrells, A D; Corcoran-Gomez, K; Eckert, K A; Fahey, A G; Hoots, B L; Charleston, L B; Charleston, J S; Roberts, C R; Markowitz, H

    2009-04-01

    The manner in which an animal's environment is furnished may have significant implications for animal welfare as well as research outcomes. We evaluated four different housing conditions to determine the effects of what has been considered standard rodent enrichment and the exercise opportunities those environments allow on disease progression in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mouse model. Forty-eight copper/zinc superoxide dismutase mice (strain: B6SJL-TgN [SOD1-G931]1Gur) (SOD1) and 48 control (C) (strain: B6SJL-TgN[SOD1]2Gur) male mice were randomly assigned to four different conditions where 12 SOD1 and 12 C animals were allotted to each condition (n = 96). Conditions tested the effects of standard housing, a forced exercise regime, access to a mouse house and opportunity for ad libitum exercise on a running wheel. In addition to the daily all-occurrence behavioural sampling, mice were weighed and tested twice per week on gait and Rotor-Rod performance until the mice reached the age of 150 days (C) or met the criteria for our humane endpoint (SOD1). The SOD1 mice exposed to the forced exercise regime and wheel access did better in average lifespan and Rotor-Rod performance, than SOD1 mice exposed to the standard cage and mouse house conditions. In SOD1 mice, stride length remained longest throughout the progression of the disease in mice exposed to the forced exercise regime compared with other SOD1 conditions. Within the control group, mice in the standard cage and forced exercise regime conditions performed significantly less than the mice with the mouse house and wheels on the Rotor-Rod. Alpha motor neuron counts were highest in mice with wheels and in mice exposed to forced exercise regime in both mouse strains. All SOD1 mice had significantly lower alpha neuron counts than controls (P model, and may have implications for the effects of these strategies on experimental outcomes.

  12. From Immunodeficiency to Humanization: The Contribution of Mouse Models to Explore HTLV-1 Leukemogenesis

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    Eléonore Pérès

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The first discovered human retrovirus, Human T-Lymphotropic Virus type 1 (HTLV-1, is responsible for an aggressive form of T cell leukemia/lymphoma. Mouse models recapitulating the leukemogenesis process have been helpful for understanding the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of this retroviral-induced disease. This review will focus on the recent advances in the generation of immunodeficient and human hemato-lymphoid system mice with a particular emphasis on the development of mouse models for HTLV-1-mediated pathogenesis, their present limitations and the challenges yet to be addressed.

  13. Dissecting epigenetic silencing complexity in the mouse lung cancer suppressor gene Cadm1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stella Marie Reamon-Buettner

    Full Text Available Disease-oriented functional analysis of epigenetic factors and their regulatory mechanisms in aberrant silencing is a prerequisite for better diagnostics and therapy. Yet, the precise mechanisms are still unclear and complex, involving the interplay of several effectors including nucleosome positioning, DNA methylation, histone variants and histone modifications. We investigated the epigenetic silencing complexity in the tumor suppressor gene Cadm1 in mouse lung cancer progenitor cell lines, exhibiting promoter hypermethylation associated with transcriptional repression, but mostly unresponsive to demethylating drug treatments. After predicting nucleosome positions and transcription factor binding sites along the Cadm1 promoter, we carried out single-molecule mapping with DNA methyltransferase M.SssI, which revealed in silent promoters high nucleosome occupancy and occlusion of transcription factor binding sites. Furthermore, M.SssI maps of promoters varied within and among the different lung cancer cell lines. Chromatin analysis with micrococcal nuclease also indicated variations in nucleosome positioning to have implications in the binding of transcription factors near nucleosome borders. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that histone variants (H2A.Z and H3.3, and opposing histone modification marks (H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 all colocalized in the same nucleosome positions that is reminiscent of epigenetic plasticity in embryonic stem cells. Altogether, epigenetic silencing complexity in the promoter region of Cadm1 is not only defined by DNA hypermethylation, but high nucleosome occupancy, altered nucleosome positioning, and 'bivalent' histone modifications, also likely contributed in the transcriptional repression of this gene in the lung cancer cells. Our results will help define therapeutic intervention strategies using epigenetic drugs in lung cancer.

  14. Ultrasonic vocalizations: a tool for behavioural phenotyping of mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders

    OpenAIRE

    Scattoni, Maria Luisa; Crawley, Jacqueline; Ricceri, Laura

    2008-01-01

    In neonatal mice ultrasonic vocalizations have been studied both as an early communicative behavior of the pup-mother dyad and as a sign of an aversive affective state. Adult mice of both sexes produce complex ultrasonic vocalization patterns in different experimental/social contexts. All these vocalizations are becoming an increasingly valuable assay for behavioral phenotyping throughout the mouse life-span and alterations of the ultrasound patterns have been reported in several mouse models...

  15. Rasagiline ameliorates olfactory deficits in an alpha-synuclein mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

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    Géraldine H Petit

    Full Text Available Impaired olfaction is an early pre-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease. The neuropathology underlying olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson's disease is unknown, however α-synuclein accumulation/aggregation and altered neurogenesis might play a role. We characterized olfactory deficits in a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease expressing human wild-type α-synuclein under the control of the mouse α-synuclein promoter. Preliminary clinical observations suggest that rasagiline, a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor, improves olfaction in Parkinson's disease. We therefore examined whether rasagiline ameliorates olfactory deficits in this Parkinson's disease model and investigated the role of olfactory bulb neurogenesis. α-Synuclein mice were progressively impaired in their ability to detect odors, to discriminate between odors, and exhibited alterations in short-term olfactory memory. Rasagiline treatment rescued odor detection and odor discrimination abilities. However, rasagiline did not affect short-term olfactory memory. Finally, olfactory changes were not coupled to alterations in olfactory bulb neurogenesis. We conclude that rasagiline reverses select olfactory deficits in a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease. The findings correlate with preliminary clinical observations suggesting that rasagiline ameliorates olfactory deficits in Parkinson's disease.

  16. Genetic mouse models of brain ageing and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilkei-Gorzo, Andras

    2014-05-01

    Progression of brain ageing is influenced by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Analysis of genetically modified animals with uniform genetic backgrounds in a standardised, controlled environment enables the dissection of critical determinants of brain ageing on a molecular level. Human and animal studies suggest that increased load of damaged macromolecules, efficacy of DNA maintenance, mitochondrial activity, and cellular stress defences are critical determinants of brain ageing. Surprisingly, mouse lines with genetic impairment of anti-oxidative capacity generally did not show enhanced cognitive ageing but rather an increased sensitivity to oxidative challenge. Mouse lines with impaired mitochondrial activity had critically short life spans or severe and rapidly progressing neurodegeneration. Strains with impaired clearance in damaged macromolecules or defects in the regulation of cellular stress defences showed alterations in the onset and progression of cognitive decline. Importantly, reduced insulin/insulin-like growth factor signalling generally increased life span but impaired cognitive functions revealing a complex interaction between ageing of the brain and of the body. Brain ageing is accompanied by an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Transgenic mouse models expressing high levels of mutant human amyloid precursor protein showed a number of symptoms and pathophysiological processes typical for early phase of Alzheimer's disease. Generally, therapeutic strategies effective against Alzheimer's disease in humans were also active in the Tg2576, APP23, APP/PS1 and 5xFAD lines, but a large number of false positive findings were also reported. The 3xtg AD model likely has the highest face and construct validity but further studies are needed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Inhibiting Effects of Achyranthes Bidentata Polysaccharide and Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharide on Nonenzyme Glycation in D-galactose Induced Mouse Aging Model

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    HONG-BIN DENG; DA-PENG CUI; JIAN-MING JIANG; YAN-CHUN FENG; NIAN-SHENG CAI; DIAN-DONG LI

    2003-01-01

    To investigate the inhibiting effects and mechanism of achyranthes bidentata polysaccharide (ABP) and lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) on nonenzyme glycation in D-galactose induced mouse aging model. Methods Serum AGE levels were determined by AGE-ELISA, MTT method was used to determine lymphocyte proliferation, IL-2 activity was determined by a bioassay method. Spontaneous motor activity was used to detect mouse's neuromuscular movement, latency of step-through method was used to examine learning and memory abilities of mouse, colormetric assay was used to determine hydroxyproline concentration in mouse skin, pyrogallol autoxidation method was used to determine superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of erythrocytes. Results Decreased levels of serum AGE, hydroxyproline concentration in mouse skin and spontaneous motor activity in D-galactose mouse aging model were detected after treated with ABP or LBP, while lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 activity, learning and memory abilities,SOD activity of erythrocytes, were enhanced. Conclusions ABP and LBP could inhibit nonenzyme glycation in D-galactose induced mouse aging model in vivo and ABP has a better inhibiting effect than LBP.

  18. An integrated disease/pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model suggests improved interleukin-21 regimens validated prospectively for mouse solid cancers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moran Elishmereni

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Interleukin (IL-21 is an attractive antitumor agent with potent immunomodulatory functions. Yet thus far, the cytokine has yielded only partial responses in solid cancer patients, and conditions for beneficial IL-21 immunotherapy remain elusive. The current work aims to identify clinically-relevant IL-21 regimens with enhanced efficacy, based on mathematical modeling of long-term antitumor responses. For this purpose, pharmacokinetic (PK and pharmacodynamic (PD data were acquired from a preclinical study applying systemic IL-21 therapy in murine solid cancers. We developed an integrated disease/PK/PD model for the IL-21 anticancer response, and calibrated it using selected "training" data. The accuracy of the model was verified retrospectively under diverse IL-21 treatment settings, by comparing its predictions to independent "validation" data in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma-challenged mice (R(2>0.90. Simulations of the verified model surfaced important therapeutic insights: (1 Fractionating the standard daily regimen (50 µg/dose into a twice daily schedule (25 µg/dose is advantageous, yielding a significantly lower tumor mass (45% decrease; (2 A low-dose (12 µg/day regimen exerts a response similar to that obtained under the 50 µg/day treatment, suggestive of an equally efficacious dose with potentially reduced toxicity. Subsequent experiments in melanoma-bearing mice corroborated both of these predictions with high precision (R(2>0.89, thus validating the model also prospectively in vivo. Thus, the confirmed PK/PD model rationalizes IL-21 therapy, and pinpoints improved clinically-feasible treatment schedules. Our analysis demonstrates the value of employing mathematical modeling and in silico-guided design of solid tumor immunotherapy in the clinic.

  19. Mouse neuroblastoma cell-based model and the effect of epileptic events on calcium oscillations and neural spikes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Suhwan; Jung, Unsang; Baek, Juyoung; Lee, Sangwon; Jung, Woonggyu; Kim, Jeehyun; Kang, Shinwon

    2013-01-01

    Recently, mouse neuroblastoma cells have been considered as an attractive model for the study of human neurological and prion diseases, and they have been intensively used as a model system in different areas. For example, the differentiation of neuro2a (N2A) cells, receptor-mediated ion current, and glutamate-induced physiological responses have been actively investigated with these cells. These mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells are of interest because they grow faster than other cells of neural origin and have a number of other advantages. The calcium oscillations and neural spikes of mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells in epileptic conditions are evaluated. Based on our observations of neural spikes in these cells with our proposed imaging modality, we reported that they can be an important model in epileptic activity studies. We concluded that mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells produce epileptic spikes in vitro in the same way as those produced by neurons or astrocytes. This evidence suggests that increased levels of neurotransmitter release due to the enhancement of free calcium from 4-aminopyridine causes the mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells to produce epileptic spikes and calcium oscillations.

  20. DISC1 mouse models as a tool to decipher gene-environment interactions in psychiatric disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tyler eCash-Padgett

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available DISC1 was discovered in a Scottish pedigree in which a chromosomal translocation that breaks this gene segregates with psychiatric disorders, mainly depression and schizophrenia. Linkage and association studies in diverse populations support DISC1 as a susceptibility gene to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Many Disc1 mouse models have been generated to study its neuronal functions. These mouse models display variable phenotypes, some of them relevant to schizophrenia, others to depression.The Disc1 mouse models are popular genetic models for studying gene-environment interactions in schizophrenia. Five different Disc1 models have been combined with environmental factors. The environmental stressors employed can be classified as either early immune activation or later social paradigms. These studies cover major time points along the neurodevelopmental trajectory: prenatal, early postnatal, adolescence, and adulthood. Various combinations of molecular, anatomical and behavioral methods have been used to assess the outcomes. Additionally, three of the studies sought to rescue the resulting abnormalities.Here we provide background on the environmental paradigms used, summarize the results of these studies combining Disc1 mouse models with environmental stressors and discuss what we can learn and how to proceed. A major question is how the genetic and environmental factors determine which psychiatric disorder will be clinically manifested. To address this we can take advantage of the many Disc1 models available and expose them to the same environmental stressor. The complementary experiment would be to expose the same model to different environmental stressors. DISC1 is an ideal gene for this approach, since in the Scottish pedigree the same chromosomal translocation results in different psychiatric conditions.

  1. Effect of induced peritoneal endometriosis on oocyte and embryo quality in a mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, J; Ziyyat, A; Naoura, I; Chabbert-Buffet, N; Aractingi, S; Darai, E; Lefevre, B

    2015-02-01

    To assess the impact of peritoneal endometriosis on oocyte and embryo quality in a mouse model. Peritoneal endometriosis was surgically induced in 33 B6CBA/F1 female mice (endometriosis group, N = 17) and sham-operated were used as control (sham group, N = 16). Mice were superovulated 4 weeks after surgery and mated or not, to collect E0.5-embryos or MII-oocytes. Evaluation of oocyte and zygote quality was done by immunofluorescence under spinning disk confocal microscopy. Endometriosis-like lesions were observed in all mice of endometriosis group. In both groups, a similar mean number of MII oocytes per mouse was observed in non-mated mice (30.2 vs 32.6), with a lower proportion of normal oocytes in the endometriosis group (61 vs 83 %, p endometriosis group (21 vs 35.5, p = 0.02) without difference in embryo quality. Our results support that induced peritoneal endometriosis in a mouse model is associated with a decrease in oocyte quality and embryo number. This experimental model allows further studies to understand mechanisms of endometriosis-associated infertility.

  2. Measuring oxygen tension modulation, induced by a new pre-radiotherapy therapeutic, in a mammary window chamber mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schafer, Rachel; Gmitro, Arthur F.

    2015-03-01

    Tumor regions under hypoxic or low oxygen conditions respond less effectively to many treatment strategies, including radiation therapy. A novel investigational therapeutic, NVX-108 (NuvOx Pharma), has been developed to increase delivery of oxygen through the use of a nano-emulsion of dodecofluoropentane. By raising pO2 levels prior to delivering radiation, treatment efficacy may be improved. To aid in evaluating the novel drug, oxygen tension was quantitatively measured, spatially and temporally, to record the effect of administrating NVX-108 in an orthotopic mammary window chamber mouse model of breast cancer. The oxygen tension was measured through the use of an oxygen-sensitive coating, comprised of phosphorescent platinum porphyrin dye embedded in a polystyrene matrix. The coating, applied to the surface of the coverslip of the window chamber through spin coating, is placed in contact with the mammary fat pad to record the oxygenation status of the surface tissue layer. Prior to implantation of the window chamber, a tumor is grown in the SCID mouse model by injection of MCF-7 cells into the mammary fat pad. Two-dimensional spatial distributions of the pO2 levels were obtained through conversion of measured maps of phosphorescent lifetime. The resulting information on the spatial and temporal variation of the induced oxygen modulation could provide valuable insight into the optimal timing between administration of NVX-108 and radiation treatment to provide the most effective treatment outcome.

  3. A methionine-choline-deficient diet elicits NASH in the immunodeficient mouse featuring a model for hepatic cell transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelz, Sandra; Stock, Peggy; Brückner, Sandra; Christ, Bruno

    2012-02-01

    Non-alcoholic staetohepatitis (NASH) is associated with fat deposition in the liver favoring inflammatory processes and development of fibrosis, cirrhosis and finally hepatocellular cancer. In Western lifestyle countries, NASH has reached a 20% prevalence in the obese population with escalating tendency in the future. Very often, liver transplantation is the only therapeutic option. Recently, transplantation of hepatocyte-like cells differentiated from mesenchymal stem cells was suggested a feasible alternative to whole organ transplantation to ameliorate donor organ shortage. Hence, in the present work an animal model of NASH was established in immunodeficient mice to investigate the feasibility of human stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cell transplantation. NASH was induced by feeding a methionine/choline-deficient diet (MCD-diet) for up to 5 weeks. Animals developed a fatty liver featuring fibrosis and elevation of the proinflammatory markers serum amyloid A (SAA) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα). Hepatic triglycerides were significantly increased as well as alanine aminotransferase demonstrating inflammation-linked hepatocyte damage. Elevation of αSMA mRNA and collagen I as well as liver architecture deterioation indicated massive fibrosis. Both short- and long-term post-transplantation human hepatocyte-like cells resided in the mouse host liver indicating parenchymal penetration and most likely functional engraftment. Hence, the NASH model in the immunodeficient mouse is the first to allow for the assessment of the therapeutic impact of human stem cell-derived hepatocyte transplantation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Effects of gypenosides on anxiety disorders in MPTP-lesioned mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Keon Sung; Zhao, Ting Ting; Choi, Hyun Sook; Hwang, Bang Yeon; Lee, Chong Kil; Lee, Myung Koo

    2014-06-03

    Ethanol extract (GP-EX) of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (GP) ameliorates chronic stress-induced anxiety in mice. The present study investigated the effects of gypenoside-enriched components (GPS), GP-EX and water extract of GP (GP-WX) on MPTP lesion-induced affective disorders in C57BL/6 mice. GPS (50mg/kg) and GP-EX (50mg/kg) for 21 day-treatment period improved the symptom of anxiety disorders in the MPTP-lesioned mouse model of PD with or without L-DOPA treatment, which was examined by the elevated plus-maze and marble burying tests. In these states, treatments with GPS (50mg/kg) and GP-EX (50mg/kg) significantly increased the brain levels of dopamine and serotonin in the MPTP-lesioned mouse model of PD with or without l-DOPA treatment. In addition, treatments with GPS (50mg/kg) and GP-EX (50mg/kg) showed protective effects on dopaminergic neurons in MPTP-lesioned mouse model of PD with or without L-DOPA treatment. In contrast, GPS (30 mg/kg) and GP-WX (50mg/kg) showed anxiolytic effects in the same animal models, but it was not significant. These results suggest that GPS (50mg/kg) and GP-EX (50mg/kg) showed anxiolytic effects on affective disorders and protective effects on dopaminergic neurons by modulating the brain levels of dopamine and serotonin in the MPTP-lesioned mouse model of PD with or without l-DOPA treatment. Clinical trials of GPS and GP-EX need to be conducted further so as to develop adjuvant therapeutic agents for PD patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Food withdrawal lowers energy expenditure and induces inactivity in long-chain fatty acid oxidation-deficient mouse models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diekman, Eugene F; van Weeghel, Michel; Wanders, Ronald J A; Visser, Gepke; Houten, Sander M

    2014-07-01

    Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency is an inherited disorder of mitochondrial long-chain fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO). Patients with VLCAD deficiency may present with hypoglycemia, hepatomegaly, cardiomyopathy, and myopathy. Although several mouse models have been developed to aid in the study of the pathogenesis of long-chain FAO defects, the muscular phenotype is underexposed. To address the muscular phenotype, we used a newly developed mouse model on a mixed genetic background with a more severe defect in FAO (LCAD(-/-); VLCAD(+/-)) in addition to a validated mouse model (LCAD(-/-); VLCAD(+/+)) and compared them with wild-type (WT) mice. We found that both mouse models show a 20% reduction in energy expenditure (EE) and a 3-fold decrease in locomotor activity in the unfed state. In addition, we found a 1.7°C drop in body temperature in unfed LCAD(-/-); VLCAD(+/+) mice compared with WT body temperature. We conclude that food withdrawal-induced inactivity, hypothermia, and reduction in EE are novel phenotypes associated with FAO deficiency in mice. Unexpectedly, inactivity was not explained by rhabdomyolysis, but rather reflected the overall reduced capacity of these mice to generate heat. We suggest that mice are partly protected against the negative consequence of an FAO defect.-Diekman, E. F., van Weeghel, M., Wanders, R. J. A., Visser, G., Houten, S. M. Food withdrawal lowers energy expenditure and induces inactivity in long-chain fatty acid oxidation-deficient mouse models. © FASEB.

  6. Therapeutic efficacy of MUC1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and CD137 co-stimulation in a spontaneous breast cancer model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Pinku; Tinder, Teresa L; Basu, Gargi D; Pathangey, Latha B; Chen, Lieping; Gendler, Sandra J

    2004-01-01

    To study immunology in breast tumors, we have utilized a mammary gland adenocarcinoma model in which mice develop spontaneous tumors of the mammary gland which are initiated at puberty and express a human tumor antigen, MUC1. MUC1 (CD227) is over-expressed in 90% of human breast cancers and its glycosylation status and pattern of expression in cancer cells is altered. Humoral and cellular responses to MUC1 have been reported in breast cancer patients and therefore, MUC1 is being evaluated as a target for immune intervention. This mouse model of spontaneous breast cancer allows the evaluation of anti-MUC1 immune responses at all stages of the disease. In this report, we review the model as it pertains to a) the development of the tumor, b) MUC1 expression, and the native immune responses against MUC1 as tumors progress, and c) the immune suppressive microenvironment within the developing tumor. Finally, we report our latest findings describing the therapeutic efficacy of adoptively transferred MUC1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (MUC1-CTL) in these mice and discuss ways to increase their effectiveness by agonistic monoclonal antibody against CD137 T cell costimulatory molecule.

  7. A Longitudinal Motor Characterisation of the HdhQ111 Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yhnell, Emma; Dunnett, Stephen B; Brooks, Simon P

    2016-05-31

    Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare, incurable neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG trinucleotide expansion with the first exon of the huntingtin gene. Numerous knock-in mouse models are currently available for modelling HD. However, before their use in scientific research, these models must be characterised to determine their face and predictive validity as models of the disease and their reliability in recapitulating HD symptoms. Manifest HD is currently diagnosed upon the onset of motor symptoms, thus we sought to longitudinally characterise the progression and severity of motor signs in the HdhQ111 knock-in mouse model of HD, in heterozygous mice. An extensive battery of motor tests including: rotarod, inverted lid test, balance beam, spontaneous locomotor activity and gait analysis were applied longitudinally to a cohort of HdhQ111 heterozygous mice in order to progressively assess motor function. A progressive failure to gain body weight was demonstrated from 11 months of age and motor problems in all measures of balance beam performance were shown in HdhQ111 heterozygous animals in comparison to wild type control animals from 9 months of age. A decreased latency to fall from the rotarod was demonstrated in HdhQ111 heterozygous animals in comparison to wild type animals, although this was not progressive with time. No genotype specific differences were demonstrated in any of the other motor tests included in the test battery. The HdhQ111 heterozygous mouse demonstrates a subtle and progressive motor phenotype that begins at 9 months of age. This mouse model represents an early disease stage and would be ideal for testing therapeutic strategies that require elongated lead-in times, such as viral gene therapies or striatal transplantation.

  8. A Bone-Implant Interaction Mouse Model for Evaluating Molecular Mechanism of Biomaterials/Bone Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wenlong; Dan, Xiuli; Wang, Ting; Lu, William W; Pan, Haobo

    2016-11-01

    The development of an optimal animal model that could provide fast assessments of the interaction between bone and orthopedic implants is essential for both preclinical and theoretical researches in the design of novel biomaterials. Compared with other animal models, mice have superiority in accessing the well-developed transgenic modification techniques (e.g., cell tracing, knockoff, knockin, and so on), which serve as powerful tools in studying molecular mechanisms. In this study, we introduced the establishment of a mouse model, which was specifically tailored for the assessment of bone-implant interaction in a load-bearing bone marrow microenvironment and could potentially allow the molecular mechanism study of biomaterials by using transgenic technologies. The detailed microsurgery procedures for developing a bone defect (Φ = 0.8 mm) at the metaphysis region of the mouse femur were recorded. According to our results, the osteoconductive and osseointegrative properties of a well-studied 45S5 bioactive glass were confirmed by utilizing our mouse model, verifying the reliability of this model. The feasibility and reliability of the present model were further checked by using other materials as objects of study. Furthermore, our results indicated that this animal model provided a more homogeneous tissue-implant interacting surface than the rat at the early stage of implantation and this is quite meaningful for conducting quantitative analysis. The availability of transgenic techniques to mechanism study of biomaterials was further testified by establishing our model on Nestin-GFP transgenic mice. Intriguingly, the distribution of Nestin + cells was demonstrated to be recruited to the surface of 45S5 glass as early as 3 days postsurgery, indicating that Nestin + lineage stem cells may participate in the subsequent regeneration process. In summary, the bone-implant interaction mouse model could serve as a potential candidate to evaluate the early stage tissue

  9. Defining ATM-Independent Functions of the Mre11 Complex with a Novel Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balestrini, Alessia; Nicolas, Laura; Yang-Lott, Katherine; Guryanova, Olga A; Levine, Ross L; Bassing, Craig H; Chaudhuri, Jayanta; Petrini, John H J

    2016-02-01

    The Mre11 complex (Mre11, Rad50, and Nbs1) occupies a central node of the DNA damage response (DDR) network and is required for ATM activation in response to DNA damage. Hypomorphic alleles of MRE11 and NBS1 confer embryonic lethality in ATM-deficient mice, indicating that the complex exerts ATM-independent functions that are essential when ATM is absent. To delineate those functions, a conditional ATM allele (ATM(flox)) was crossed to hypomorphic NBS1 mutants (Nbs1(ΔB/ΔB) mice). Nbs1(ΔB/ΔB) Atm(-/-) hematopoietic cells derived by crossing to vav(cre) were viable in vivo. Nbs1(ΔB/ΔB) Atm(-/-) (VAV) mice exhibited a pronounced defect in double-strand break repair and completely penetrant early onset lymphomagenesis. In addition to repair defects observed, fragile site instability was noted, indicating that the Mre11 complex promotes genome stability upon replication stress in vivo. The data suggest combined influences of the Mre11 complex on DNA repair, as well as the responses to DNA damage and DNA replication stress. A novel mouse model was developed, by combining a vav(cre)-inducible ATM knockout mouse with an NBS1 hypomorphic mutation, to analyze ATM-independent functions of the Mre11 complex in vivo. These data show that the DNA repair, rather than DDR signaling functions of the complex, is acutely required in the context of ATM deficiency to suppress genome instability and lymphomagenesis. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

  10. Annexin A7 suppresses lymph node metastasis of hepatocarcinoma cells in a mouse model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Yanling; Wang, Shaoqing; Chen, Wenjing; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Bo; Guan, Hongwei; Tang, Jianwu

    2013-01-01

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in China. This study investigated the effects of Annexin A7 (ANXA7) on the inhibition of HCC lymph node metastasis in a mouse model. The stable knockup and knockdown of Annexin A7-expressing HCC cells using Annexin A7 cDNA and shRNA vectors, respectively, were injected into a mouse footpad to establish primary and metastatic tumors in mice. On the 14th, 21st, and 28th days after HCC cells inoculation, the mice were sacrificed for inspection of primary and secondary tumors and immunohistochemistry of Annexin A7 expression. The lymph node metastasis rate of the F ANXA7-control group was 77%, and the lymph node metastasis rate of the F ANXA7-down group was 100% (p < 0.05). In contrast, the lymph node metastasis rate of the P ANXA7-up group was 0% and that of the P ANXA7-control group was 36% (p < 0.05). Furthermore, immunohistochemistry experiments revealed that the subcellular localization of Annexin A7 protein in both primary and lymph node-metastasized tumors was mainly in the cytosol. In addition, the expression of the 47 kDa and 51 kDa isoforms of Annexin A7 protein changed during tumor progression. This study indicated that Annexin A7 expression was able to inhibit HCC lymph node metastasis, whereas knockdown of Annexin A7 expression significantly induced HCC metastasis to local lymph nodes

  11. Endocrine therapy of human breast cancer grown in nude mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brünner, N; Osborne, C K; Spang-Thomsen, M

    1987-01-01

    mice bearing transplanted human breast tumors have been proposed as such a model. This review therefore discusses the use of the athymic nude mouse model of the study of human breast cancer biology, and focuses on four subjects: 1. biological characteristics of heterotransplanted breast tumors; 2...

  12. Psychosocially influenced cancer: diverse early-life stress experiences and links to breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuler, Linda A; Auger, Anthony P

    2010-11-01

    This perspective on Boyd et al. (beginning on page 1398 in this issue of the journal) discusses recent published research examining the interplay between social stress and breast cancer. Cross-disciplinary studies using genetically defined mouse models and established neonatal and peripubertal paradigms of social stress are illuminating biological programming by diverse early-life experiences for the risk of breast cancer. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this programming can lead to the identification of risk factors and sensitive developmental windows, enabling improved prevention and treatment strategies for this devastating disease. ©2010 AACR.

  13. Metaplasia in the Stomach-Precursor of Gastric Cancer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinoshita, Hiroto; Hayakawa, Yoku; Koike, Kazuhiko

    2017-09-27

    Despite a significant decrease in the incidence of gastric cancer in Western countries over the past century, gastric cancer is still one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Most human gastric cancers develop after long-term Helicobacter pylori infection via the Correa pathway: the progression is from gastritis, atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, to cancer. However, it remains unclear whether metaplasia is a direct precursor of gastric cancer or merely a marker of high cancer risk. Here, we review human studies on the relationship between metaplasia and cancer in the stomach, data from mouse models of metaplasia regarding the mechanism of metaplasia development, and the cellular responses induced by H. pylori infection.

  14. Metaplasia in the Stomach—Precursor of Gastric Cancer?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroto Kinoshita

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Despite a significant decrease in the incidence of gastric cancer in Western countries over the past century, gastric cancer is still one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Most human gastric cancers develop after long-term Helicobacter pylori infection via the Correa pathway: the progression is from gastritis, atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, to cancer. However, it remains unclear whether metaplasia is a direct precursor of gastric cancer or merely a marker of high cancer risk. Here, we review human studies on the relationship between metaplasia and cancer in the stomach, data from mouse models of metaplasia regarding the mechanism of metaplasia development, and the cellular responses induced by H. pylori infection.

  15. Targeting mesothelin receptors with drug-loaded bacterial nanocells suppresses human mesothelioma tumour growth in mouse xenograft models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed A Alfaleh

    Full Text Available Human malignant mesothelioma is a chemoresistant tumour that develops from mesothelial cells, commonly associated with asbestos exposure. Malignant mesothelioma incidence rates in European countries are still rising and Australia has one of the highest burdens of malignant mesothelioma on a population basis in the world. Therapy using systemic delivery of free cytotoxic agents is associated with many undesirable side effects due to non-selectivity, and is thus dose-limited which limits its therapeutic potential. Therefore, increasing the selectivity of anti-cancer agents has the potential to dramatically enhance drug efficacy and reduce toxicity. EnGeneIC Dream Vectors (EDV are antibody-targeted nanocells which can be loaded with cytotoxic drugs and delivered to specific cancer cells via bispecific antibodies (BsAbs which target the EDV and a cancer cell-specific receptor, simultaneously. BsAbs were designed to target doxorubicin-loaded EDVs to cancer cells via cell surface mesothelin (MSLN. Flow cytometry was used to investigate cell binding and induction of apoptosis, and confocal microscopy to visualize internalization. Mouse xenograft models were used to assess anti-tumour effects in vivo, followed by immunohistochemistry for ex vivo evaluation of proliferation and necrosis. BsAb-targeted, doxorubicin-loaded EDVs were able to bind to and internalize within mesothelioma cells in vitro via MSLN receptors and induce apoptosis. In mice xenografts, the BsAb-targeted, doxorubicin-loaded EDVs suppressed the tumour growth and also decreased cell proliferation. Thus, the use of MSLN-specific antibodies to deliver encapsulated doxorubicin can provide a novel and alternative modality for treatment of mesothelioma.

  16. Roles of stromal microenvironment in colon cancer progression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taketo, Makoto Mark

    2012-05-01

    Although our understanding of epithelial cancer cells has advanced significantly, our understanding of the cancer microenvironment is still fragmentary. In contrast to our intuitive impression that our body always suppresses cancer growth, recent pieces of evidence show that cancer often exploits our body reactions to expand, invade local tissues and metastasize to distant organs. Accordingly, investigations of such body reactions in the tumour microenvironment should help us to design novel therapeutic strategies that can be combined with the traditional therapeutics targeted at the cancer cells themselves. In this article, I am going to review our recent efforts in search of novel therapeutic strategies against colon cancer using mouse models.

  17. Piperlongumine inhibits LMP1/MYC-dependent mouse B-lymphoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Seong-Su; Tompkins, Van S.; Son, Dong-Ju; Kamberos, Natalie L.; Stunz, Laura L.; Halwani, Ahmad; Bishop, Gail A.; Janz, Siegfried

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Mouse model of human Burkitt lymphoma revealed cancer inhibition by PL. •Treatment with PL led to apoptosis of malignant but not normal B cells. •PL inhibited LMP1–NF-κB–Myc-dependent target genes including p21-encoding Cdkn1a. •PL holds promise for new interventions approaches to hematologic malignancies. -- Abstract: Piperlongumine (PL), isolated from the fruit of Long pepper, Piper longum, is a cancer-inhibiting compound that selectively kills tumor cells while sparing their normal counterparts. Here we evaluated the efficacy with which PL suppresses malignant B cells derived from a newly developed, double-transgenic mouse model of human endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL), designated mCD40-LMP1/iMyc Eμ . PL inhibited tumor cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner and induced apoptosis of neoplastic but not normal B cells. Treatment with PL resulted in downregulation of EBV-encoded LMP1, cellular Myc, constitutive NF-κB activity, and a host of LMP1-Myc-NF-κB-regulated target genes including Aurka, Bcat1, Bub1b, Ccnb1, Chek1, Fancd2, Tfrc and Xrcc6. Of note, p21 Cip1 -encoding Cdkn1a was suppressed independent of changes in Trp53 mRNA levels and p53 DNA-binding activity. Considering the central role of the LMP1–NF-κB–Myc axis in B-lineage neoplasia, these findings further our understanding of the mechanisms by which PL inhibits B-lymphoma and provide a preclinical rationale for the inclusion of PL in new interventions in blood cancers

  18. Piperlongumine inhibits LMP1/MYC-dependent mouse B-lymphoma cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Seong-Su; Tompkins, Van S. [Department of Pathology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Son, Dong-Ju [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA (United States); Kamberos, Natalie L. [Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Stunz, Laura L. [Deparment of Microbiology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Iowa City VAMC, Iowa City, IA (United States); Halwani, Ahmad [Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Bishop, Gail A. [Deparment of Microbiology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States); Iowa City VAMC, Iowa City, IA (United States); Janz, Siegfried, E-mail: siegfried-janz@uiowa.edu [Department of Pathology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (United States)

    2013-07-12

    Highlights: •Mouse model of human Burkitt lymphoma revealed cancer inhibition by PL. •Treatment with PL led to apoptosis of malignant but not normal B cells. •PL inhibited LMP1–NF-κB–Myc-dependent target genes including p21-encoding Cdkn1a. •PL holds promise for new interventions approaches to hematologic malignancies. -- Abstract: Piperlongumine (PL), isolated from the fruit of Long pepper, Piper longum, is a cancer-inhibiting compound that selectively kills tumor cells while sparing their normal counterparts. Here we evaluated the efficacy with which PL suppresses malignant B cells derived from a newly developed, double-transgenic mouse model of human endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL), designated mCD40-LMP1/iMyc{sup Eμ}. PL inhibited tumor cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner and induced apoptosis of neoplastic but not normal B cells. Treatment with PL resulted in downregulation of EBV-encoded LMP1, cellular Myc, constitutive NF-κB activity, and a host of LMP1-Myc-NF-κB-regulated target genes including Aurka, Bcat1, Bub1b, Ccnb1, Chek1, Fancd2, Tfrc and Xrcc6. Of note, p21{sup Cip1}-encoding Cdkn1a was suppressed independent of changes in Trp53 mRNA levels and p53 DNA-binding activity. Considering the central role of the LMP1–NF-κB–Myc axis in B-lineage neoplasia, these findings further our understanding of the mechanisms by which PL inhibits B-lymphoma and provide a preclinical rationale for the inclusion of PL in new interventions in blood cancers.

  19. Use of mouse thigh as a radiobiological model of radiation-induced skin reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, A.J.; Hagkyriakou, H.; Martin, R.F.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: The effects of radiation exposure on skin have been widely studied. One of the most useful and relatively easy methods for evaluating radiation-induced skin reactions is the mouse thigh model. This model is non-invasive and has the advantage of not requiring the use of anaesthetic. In the current adaptation of the mouse thigh model, female C3H/HeJ ARC mice (from the Animal Resource Centre, W.A.) were used. The mice were restrained in specially designed jigs where the right leg was held in place by a metal hook. Lead shielding ensured that only the right ventral thigh was exposed to the radiation beam. A 6MeV electron beam from a Varian 2100 Linac (20Gy / minute) was used, thus minimising the time for which the mice were restrained. Eight to twelve days after exposure to the radiation, the first skin reactions can be seen. These are scored according to a scale ranging from 0 (no visible reaction) to 3.5 (breakdown of the entire area with severe exudation). The skin reactions (erythema and moist desquamation) peak approximately 18-22 days after radiation exposure and may remain at peak for only 1-3 days. Therefore, the reactions need to be scored daily and this continues, generally until day 35, or until all moist desquamation has healed. The maximum score in a score versus time profile for each mouse in a group of 5-6 animals are averaged. Radiation-dose response data will be presented. Using the mouse thigh model, hair loss can also be measured (usually on about day 30-35) using a scale from 0-4, where 0 depicts no evident hair loss and 4 represents complete epilation. Leg contraction can also be measured as a late effect by comparison with the length of the unirradiated leg

  20. Imaging noradrenergic influence on amyloid pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winkeler, A.; Waerzeggers, Y.; Klose, A.; Monfared, P.; Thomas, A.V.; Jacobs, A.H.; Schubert, M.; Heneka, M.T.

    2008-01-01

    Molecular imaging aims towards the non-invasive characterization of disease-specific molecular alterations in the living organism in vivo. In that, molecular imaging opens a new dimension in our understanding of disease pathogenesis, as it allows the non-invasive determination of the dynamics of changes on the molecular level. The imaging technology being employed includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear imaging as well as optical-based imaging technologies. These imaging modalities are employed together or alone for disease phenotyping, development of imaging-guided therapeutic strategies and in basic and translational research. In this study, we review recent investigations employing positron emission tomography and MRI for phenotyping mouse models of Alzheimers' disease by imaging. We demonstrate that imaging has an important role in the characterization of mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases. (orig.)

  1. Learning from a paradox: recent insights into Fanconi anaemia through studying mouse models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sietske T. Bakker

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Fanconi anaemia (FA is a rare autosomal recessive or X-linked inherited disease characterised by an increased incidence of bone marrow failure (BMF, haematological malignancies and solid tumours. Cells from individuals with FA show a pronounced sensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL-inducing agents, which manifests as G2-M arrest, chromosomal aberrations and reduced cellular survival. To date, mutations in at least 15 different genes have been identified that cause FA; the products of all of these genes are thought to function together in the FA pathway, which is essential for ICL repair. Rapidly following the discovery of FA genes, mutant mice were generated to study the disease and the affected pathway. These mutant mice all show the characteristic cellular ICL-inducing agent sensitivity, but only partially recapitulate the developmental abnormalities, anaemia and cancer predisposition seen in individuals with FA. Therefore, the usefulness of modelling FA in mice has been questioned. In this Review, we argue that such scepticism is unjustified. We outline that haematopoietic defects and cancer predisposition are manifestations of FA gene defects in mice, albeit only in certain genetic backgrounds and under certain conditions. Most importantly, recent work has shown that developmental defects in FA mice also arise with concomitant inactivation of acetaldehyde metabolism, giving a strong clue about the nature of the endogenous lesion that must be repaired by the functional FA pathway. This body of work provides an excellent example of a paradox in FA research: that the dissimilarity, rather than the similarity, between mice and humans can provide insight into human disease. We expect that further study of mouse models of FA will help to uncover the mechanistic background of FA, ultimately leading to better treatment options for the disease.

  2. 47-mG2a: A Mouse IgG2a-Type of PcMab-47 Useful for Detecting Podocalyxin in Esophageal Cancers by Immunohistochemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaneko, Mika K; Itai, Shunsuke; Yamada, Shinji; Kato, Yukinari

    2018-04-09

    Esophageal cancer is one of the highly malignant cancers. It comprises two of the most common histological tumor types: squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma. SCC accounts for about 90% of esophageal cancers. Despite developments in treatment strategies, the prognosis and survival rate remain poor. Podocalyxin (PODXL) is a highly glycosylated type-I transmembrane protein. It is expressed in normal tissues such as kidney, heart, breast, and pancreas. Upregulation of PODXL correlates with tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis. Therefore, this glycoprotein could be a potential biomarker for predicting the prognosis of some cancers, for instance, brain, colorectal, oral, lung, bladder, prostate, and ovarian cancers. We previously developed a specific and sensitive anti-PODXL monoclonal antibody (mAb), PcMab-47 (mouse IgG 1 , kappa) and its mouse IgG 2a -type (47-mG 2a ). We showed their utility in immunohistochemical analysis of oral cancers. Herein, we demonstrate that PcMab-47 and 47-mG 2a can also be used to detect esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with this technique. These two antibodies, respectively, stained 123/130 (94.6%) and 127/130 (97.7%) ESCC cases, indicating that they can detect PODXL with high sensitivity in this carcinoma. Of more than 3+ cases, 47-mG 2a was more effective than PcMab-47, respectively, staining 56/127 (44.1%) and 41/123 (33.3%). Therefore, 47-mG 2a can be used for the detection of PODXL in ESCC using immunohistochemical analysis.

  3. 3D Models of Immunotherapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    This collaborative grant is developing 3D models of both mouse and human biology to investigate aspects of therapeutic vaccination in order to answer key questions relevant to human cancer immunotherapy.

  4. An athymic mouse model to mimic cobalt-60 cutaneous radiation injury

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mosca, Rodrigo Crespo; Ferreira, Danilo Cardenuto; Napolitano, Celia Marina; Santin, Stefany Plumeri; Dornelles, Leonardo Dalla Porta; Alvarenga, Eluara Ortigoso; Mathor, Monica Beatriz, E-mail: rcmosca@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2013-07-01

    Propose: Cutaneous wound from irradiation is the most common complication in radiotherapy treatment, and can be lead to mortality. We describe an athymic mouse model to mimic cutaneous radiation injury by Cobalt-60. Methods: A protocol was including dosimetry with silicon diodes,10x10x5 cm arrangement made by four lead bricks and PVC pipe designed to immobilize the athymic mouse in order to irradiate one clamped back skin point that was subdivided in four parts. To get the measurements of dose rates on the arrangement in Panoramic Irradiator, it was used a silicon diode encased in an opaque protection for ambient light and connected to an electric cable, forming a dosing probe. The currents generated in diode sensitive volume as a function of time of exposure to gamma radiation coming from the radiator, with dose rate of 0,015 Gy/min in positions 1, 0,021 Gy/min in position 2, 0,55 Gy/min in position 3 and 1,45 Gy/min in position four. After the dosimetry, each athymic mouse was anesthetized using Xylazine and Ketamine dilution and entered into a PVC pipe and a small portion of skin (1 cm{sup 3}) was clamped. This tube was then fixed to arrangement and the athymic mouse was irradiate for 60 min, than it was being returned to its cage. Results: The wound was visualized in all animals and photographed after 5 days of irradiation, with the emergence of ulceration after 9 days. No systemic or lethal sequelae occurred or visualized in any animals. Late clinical signs included a wound healing after 22 days. Conclusion: While still being a baseline study, we created a new functional preclinical animal model that can be used for new therapies and may improve radiotherapy management. (author)

  5. An athymic mouse model to mimic cobalt-60 cutaneous radiation injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosca, Rodrigo Crespo; Ferreira, Danilo Cardenuto; Napolitano, Celia Marina; Santin, Stefany Plumeri; Dornelles, Leonardo Dalla Porta; Alvarenga, Eluara Ortigoso; Mathor, Monica Beatriz

    2013-01-01

    Propose: Cutaneous wound from irradiation is the most common complication in radiotherapy treatment, and can be lead to mortality. We describe an athymic mouse model to mimic cutaneous radiation injury by Cobalt-60. Methods: A protocol was including dosimetry with silicon diodes,10x10x5 cm arrangement made by four lead bricks and PVC pipe designed to immobilize the athymic mouse in order to irradiate one clamped back skin point that was subdivided in four parts. To get the measurements of dose rates on the arrangement in Panoramic Irradiator, it was used a silicon diode encased in an opaque protection for ambient light and connected to an electric cable, forming a dosing probe. The currents generated in diode sensitive volume as a function of time of exposure to gamma radiation coming from the radiator, with dose rate of 0,015 Gy/min in positions 1, 0,021 Gy/min in position 2, 0,55 Gy/min in position 3 and 1,45 Gy/min in position four. After the dosimetry, each athymic mouse was anesthetized using Xylazine and Ketamine dilution and entered into a PVC pipe and a small portion of skin (1 cm 3 ) was clamped. This tube was then fixed to arrangement and the athymic mouse was irradiate for 60 min, than it was being returned to its cage. Results: The wound was visualized in all animals and photographed after 5 days of irradiation, with the emergence of ulceration after 9 days. No systemic or lethal sequelae occurred or visualized in any animals. Late clinical signs included a wound healing after 22 days. Conclusion: While still being a baseline study, we created a new functional preclinical animal model that can be used for new therapies and may improve radiotherapy management. (author)

  6. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy to Countermeasure Cancer in Astronauts during Exploration of Deep Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohi, S.; Kindred, R. P.; Roach, A-N.; Edossa, A.; Kim, B. C.; Gonda, S. R.; Emami, K.

    2004-01-01

    Exposure to cosmic radiation can cause chromosomal mutations, which may lead to cancer in astronauts engaged in space exploration. Therefore, our goals are to develop countermeasures to prevent space-induced cancer using hematopoietic stem cell therapy (HSCT) and gene therapy. This presentation focuses on HSCT for cancer. Our previous experiments on a simulated, space-induced immuno-deficiency model (mouse hind limb unloading ) indicated that transplanted hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) could enhance the host's immunity by effectively eliminating bacterial infection (Ohi S, et. al. J Grav Physiol 10, P63-64, 2003; Ohi S, et. al. Proceedings of the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF) . American Institute of Physics, New York, pp. 938-950, 2004). Hence, we hypothesized that the HSCs might be effective in combating cancer as well. Studies of cocultured mouse HSCs with beta-galactosidase marked rat gliosarcoma spheroids (9L/lacZ), a cancer model, indicated antagonistic interactions , resulting in destruction of the spheroids by HSCs. Trypan Blue dye-exclusion assays were consistent with the conclusion. These results show potential usehlness of HSCT for cancer. Currently, the NASA Hydrodynamic Focusing Bioreactor (HFB), a space analog tissue/cell culture system, is being used to study invasion of the gliosarcoma (GS) spheroids into mouse brain with or without co-cultured HSCs. This may simulate the metastasis of gliosarcoma to brain. There is a tendency for the HSCs to inhibit invasion of GS spheroids into brain, as evidenced by the X-gal staining.

  7. A novel pre-clinical in vivo mouse model for malignant brain tumor growth and invasion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Laura M; Mukherjee, Purna; Huysentruyt, Leanne C; Urits, Ivan; Rosenberg, Joshua A; Seyfried, Thomas N

    2010-09-01

    Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a rapidly progressive disease of morbidity and mortality and is the most common form of primary brain cancer in adults. Lack of appropriate in vivo models has been a major roadblock to developing effective therapies for GBM. A new highly invasive in vivo GBM model is described that was derived from a spontaneous brain tumor (VM-M3) in the VM mouse strain. Highly invasive tumor cells could be identified histologically on the hemisphere contralateral to the hemisphere implanted with tumor cells or tissue. Tumor cells were highly expressive for the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and the proliferation marker Ki-67 and could be identified invading through the pia mater, the vascular system, the ventricular system, around neurons, and over white matter tracts including the corpus callosum. In addition, the brain tumor cells were labeled with the firefly luciferase gene, allowing for non-invasive detection and quantitation through bioluminescent imaging. The VM-M3 tumor has a short incubation time with mortality occurring in 100% of the animals within approximately 15 days. The VM-M3 brain tumor model therefore can be used in a pre-clinical setting for the rapid evaluation of novel anti-invasive therapies.

  8. Model - SEO - serious ovarian cancer | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genetically engineered mouse model Developed in house Genetic aberrations: Inactivation of Rb tumor suppression (via K18-T121 transgene) Tp53 loss or mutation (R172H) Brca1 or Brca2 loss Induction by injection of adenovirus expressing Cre recombinase under the ovrian bursa Pathology:

  9. NKTR-102 Efficacy versus irinotecan in a mouse model of brain metastases of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adkins, Chris E.; Nounou, Mohamed I.; Hye, Tanvirul; Mohammad, Afroz S.; Terrell-Hall, Tori; Mohan, Neel K.; Eldon, Michael A.; Hoch, Ute; Lockman, Paul R.

    2015-01-01

    Brain metastases are an increasing problem in women with invasive breast cancer. Strategies designed to treat brain metastases of breast cancer, particularly chemotherapeutics such as irinotecan, demonstrate limited efficacy. Conventional irinotecan distributes poorly to brain metastases; therefore, NKTR-102, a PEGylated irinotecan conjugate should enhance irinotecan and its active metabolite SN38 exposure in brain metastases leading to brain tumor cytotoxicity. Female nude mice were intracranially or intracardially implanted with human brain seeking breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231Br) and dosed with irinotecan or NKTR-102 to determine plasma and tumor pharmacokinetics of irinotecan and SN38. Tumor burden and survival were evaluated in mice treated with vehicle, irinotecan (50 mg/kg), or NKTR-102 low and high doses (10 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg respectively). NKTR-102 penetrates the blood-tumor barrier and distributes to brain metastases. NKTR-102 increased and prolonged SN38 exposure (>20 ng/g for 168 h) versus conventional irinotecan (>1 ng/g for 4 h). Treatment with NKTR-102 extended survival time (from 35 days to 74 days) and increased overall survival for NKTR-102 low dose (30 % mice) and NKTR-102 high dose (50 % mice). Tumor burden decreased (37 % with 10 mg/kg NKTR-102 and 96 % with 50 mg/kg) and lesion sizes decreased (33 % with 10 mg/kg NKTR-102 and 83 % with 50 mg/kg NKTR-102) compared to conventional irinotecan treated animals. Elevated and prolonged tumor SN38 exposure after NKTR-102 administration appears responsible for increased survival in this model of breast cancer brain metastasis. Further, SN38 concentrations observed in this study are clinically achieved with 145 mg/m 2 NKTR-102, such as those used in the BEACON trial, underlining translational relevance of these results. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1672-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

  10. MDM2 inhibition rescues neurogenic and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yue; Stockton, Michael E; Bhuiyan, Ismat; Eisinger, Brian E; Gao, Yu; Miller, Jessica L; Bhattacharyya, Anita; Zhao, Xinyu

    2016-04-27

    Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, is caused by loss of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). However, the mechanism remains unclear, and effective treatment is lacking. We show that loss of FMRP leads to activation of adult mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) and a subsequent reduction in the production of neurons. We identified the ubiquitin ligase mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) as a target of FMRP. FMRP regulates Mdm2 mRNA stability, and loss of FMRP resulted in elevated MDM2 mRNA and protein. Further, we found that increased MDM2 expression led to reduced P53 expression in adult mouse NSCs, leading to alterations in NSC proliferation and differentiation. Treatment with Nutlin-3, a small molecule undergoing clinical trials for treating cancer, specifically inhibited the interaction of MDM2 with P53, and rescued neurogenic and cognitive deficits in FMRP-deficient mice. Our data reveal a potential regulatory role for FMRP in the balance between adult NSC activation and quiescence, and identify a potential new treatment for fragile X syndrome. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  11. A two-compartment model of VEGF distribution in the mouse.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip Yen

    Full Text Available Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF is a key regulator of angiogenesis--the growth of new microvessels from existing microvasculature. Angiogenesis is a complex process involving numerous molecular species, and to better understand it, a systems biology approach is necessary. In vivo preclinical experiments in the area of angiogenesis are typically performed in mouse models; this includes drug development targeting VEGF. Thus, to quantitatively interpret such experimental results, a computational model of VEGF distribution in the mouse can be beneficial. In this paper, we present an in silico model of VEGF distribution in mice, determine model parameters from existing experimental data, conduct sensitivity analysis, and test the validity of the model. The multiscale model is comprised of two compartments: blood and tissue. The model accounts for interactions between two major VEGF isoforms (VEGF(120 and VEGF(164 and their endothelial cell receptors VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and co-receptor neuropilin-1. Neuropilin-1 is also expressed on the surface of parenchymal cells. The model includes transcapillary macromolecular permeability, lymphatic transport, and macromolecular plasma clearance. Simulations predict that the concentration of unbound VEGF in the tissue is approximately 50-fold greater than in the blood. These concentrations are highly dependent on the VEGF secretion rate. Parameter estimation was performed to fit the simulation results to available experimental data, and permitted the estimation of VEGF secretion rate in healthy tissue, which is difficult to measure experimentally. The model can provide quantitative interpretation of preclinical animal data and may be used in conjunction with experimental studies in the development of pro- and anti-angiogenic agents. The model approximates the normal tissue as skeletal muscle and includes endothelial cells to represent the vasculature. As the VEGF system becomes better characterized in

  12. A novel minimal invasive mouse model of extracorporeal circulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Shuhua; Tang, Menglin; Du, Lei; Gong, Lina; Xu, Jin; Chen, Youwen; Wang, Yabo; Lin, Ke; An, Qi

    2015-01-01

    Extracorporeal circulation (ECC) is necessary for conventional cardiac surgery and life support, but it often triggers systemic inflammation that can significantly damage tissue. Studies of ECC have been limited to large animals because of the complexity of the surgical procedures involved, which has hampered detailed understanding of ECC-induced injury. Here we describe a minimally invasive mouse model of ECC that may allow more extensive mechanistic studies. The right carotid artery and external jugular vein of anesthetized adult male C57BL/6 mice were cannulated to allow blood flow through a 1/32-inch external tube. All animals (n = 20) survived 30 min ECC and subsequent 60 min observation. Blood analysis after ECC showed significant increases in levels of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6, and neutrophil elastase in plasma, lung, and renal tissues, as well as increases in plasma creatinine and cystatin C and decreases in the oxygenation index. Histopathology showed that ECC induced the expected lung inflammation, which included alveolar congestion, hemorrhage, neutrophil infiltration, and alveolar wall thickening; in renal tissue, ECC induced intracytoplasmic vacuolization, acute tubular necrosis, and epithelial swelling. Our results suggest that this novel, minimally invasive mouse model can recapitulate many of the clinical features of ECC-induced systemic inflammatory response and organ injury.

  13. A Novel Minimal Invasive Mouse Model of Extracorporeal Circulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuhua Luo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Extracorporeal circulation (ECC is necessary for conventional cardiac surgery and life support, but it often triggers systemic inflammation that can significantly damage tissue. Studies of ECC have been limited to large animals because of the complexity of the surgical procedures involved, which has hampered detailed understanding of ECC-induced injury. Here we describe a minimally invasive mouse model of ECC that may allow more extensive mechanistic studies. The right carotid artery and external jugular vein of anesthetized adult male C57BL/6 mice were cannulated to allow blood flow through a 1/32-inch external tube. All animals (n=20 survived 30 min ECC and subsequent 60 min observation. Blood analysis after ECC showed significant increases in levels of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6, and neutrophil elastase in plasma, lung, and renal tissues, as well as increases in plasma creatinine and cystatin C and decreases in the oxygenation index. Histopathology showed that ECC induced the expected lung inflammation, which included alveolar congestion, hemorrhage, neutrophil infiltration, and alveolar wall thickening; in renal tissue, ECC induced intracytoplasmic vacuolization, acute tubular necrosis, and epithelial swelling. Our results suggest that this novel, minimally invasive mouse model can recapitulate many of the clinical features of ECC-induced systemic inflammatory response and organ injury.

  14. Lymphatic vessel density and function in experimental bladder cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saban, Marcia R; Wu, Xue-Ru; Saban, Ricardo; Towner, Rheal; Smith, Nataliya; Abbott, Andrew; Neeman, Michal; Davis, Carole A; Simpson, Cindy; Maier, Julie; Mémet, Sylvie

    2007-01-01

    The lymphatics form a second circulatory system that drains the extracellular fluid and proteins from the tumor microenvironment, and provides an exclusive environment in which immune cells interact and respond to foreign antigen. Both cancer and inflammation are known to induce lymphangiogenesis. However, little is known about bladder lymphatic vessels and their involvement in cancer formation and progression. A double transgenic mouse model was generated by crossing a bladder cancer-induced transgenic, in which SV40 large T antigen was under the control of uroplakin II promoter, with another transgenic mouse harboring a lacZ reporter gene under the control of an NF-κB-responsive promoter (κB-lacZ) exhibiting constitutive activity of β-galactosidase in lymphatic endothelial cells. In this new mouse model (SV40-lacZ), we examined the lymphatic vessel density (LVD) and function (LVF) during bladder cancer progression. LVD was performed in bladder whole mounts and cross-sections by fluorescent immunohistochemistry (IHC) using LYVE-1 antibody. LVF was assessed by real-time in vivo imaging techniques using a contrast agent (biotin-BSA-Gd-DTPA-Cy5.5; Gd-Cy5.5) suitable for both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near infrared fluorescence (NIRF). In addition, IHC of Cy5.5 was used for time-course analysis of co-localization of Gd-Cy5.5 with LYVE-1-positive lymphatics and CD31-positive blood vessels. SV40-lacZ mice develop bladder cancer and permitted visualization of lymphatics. A significant increase in LVD was found concomitantly with bladder cancer progression. Double labeling of the bladder cross-sections with LYVE-1 and Ki-67 antibodies indicated cancer-induced lymphangiogenesis. MRI detected mouse bladder cancer, as early as 4 months, and permitted to follow tumor sizes during cancer progression. Using Gd-Cy5.5 as a contrast agent for MRI-guided lymphangiography, we determined a possible reduction of lymphatic flow within the tumoral area. In addition, NIRF

  15. Myc Decoy Oligodeoxynucleotide Inhibits Growth and Modulates Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells as a Model of Cancer Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johari, Behrooz; Ebrahimi-Rad, Mina; Maghsood, Faezeh; Lotfinia, Majid; Saltanatpouri, Zohreh; Teimoori-Toolabi, Ladan; Sharifzadeh, Zahra; Karimipoor, Morteza; Kadivar, Mehdi

    2017-01-01

    Myc (c-Myc) alone activates the embryonic stem cell-like transcriptional module in both normal and transformed cells. Its dysregulation might lead to increased cancer stem cells (CSCs) population in some tumor cells. In order to investigate the potential of Myc decoy oligodeoxynucleotides for differentiation therapy, mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were used in this study as a model of CSCs. To our best of knowledge this is the first report outlining the application of Myc decoy in transcription factor decoy "TFD" strategy for inducing differentiation in mESCs. A 20-mer double-stranded Myc transcription factor decoy and scrambled oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) were designed, analyzed by electrophoretic mobility shift (EMSA) assay and transfected into the mESCs under 2 inhibitors (2i) condition. Further investigations were carried out using fluorescence and confocal microscopy, cell proliferation and apoptosis analysis, alkaline phosphatase and embryoid body formation assay, real-time PCR and western blotting. EMSA data showed that Myc decoy ODNs bound specifically to c-Myc protein. They were found to be localized in both cytoplasm and nucleus of mESCs. Our results revealed the potential capability of Myc decoy ODNs to decrease cell viability by (16.1±2%), to increase the number of cells arrested in G0/G1 phases and apoptosis by (14.2±3.1%) and (12.1±3.2%), respectively regarding the controls. Myc decoy could also modulate differentiation in mESCs despite the presence of 2i/LIF in our medium the presence of 2i/LIF in our medium. The optimized Myc decoy ODNs approach might be considered as a promising alternative strategy for differentiation therapy investigations. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  16. Evaluation of [18F]-ATRi as PET tracer for in vivo imaging of ATR in mouse models of brain cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlucci, Giuseppe; Carney, Brandon; Sadique, Ahmad; Vansteene, Axel; Tang, Jun; Reiner, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Rationale: Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) threonine serine kinase is one of the key elements in orchestrating the DNA damage response (DDR). As such, inhibition of ATR can amplify the effects of chemo- and radiation-therapy, and several ATR inhibitors (ATRi) have already undergone clinical testing in cancer. For more accurate patient selection, monitoring and staging, real-time in vivo imaging of ATR could be invaluable; the development of appropriate imaging agents has remained a major challenge. Methods: 3-amino-N-(4-[ 18 F]phenyl)-6-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl) pyrazine-2-carboxamide ([ 18 F]-ATRi), a close analogue of Ve-821, (a clinical ATRi candidate), was readily accomplished similarly to already established synthetic procedures. Structurally, 18 F was introduced at the 4-position of the aromatic ring of Ve-821 for generating a labeled ATR inhibitor. In vitro experiments were conducted in U251 MG glioblastoma cell lines and ex vivo biodistribution were performed in subcutaneous U251 MG xenograft bearing athymic nude mice following microPET imaging. Results: [ 18 F]-ATRi has a similar pharmacokinetic profile to that of Ve-821. Using an U251 MG glioblastoma mouse model, we evaluated the in vivo binding efficiency of [ 18 F]-ATRi. Blood and tumor showed a statistically significant difference between mice injected with only the probe or following blocking experiment with Ve-821 (1.48 ± 0.40%ID/g vs. 0.46 ± 0.12%ID/g in tumor and 1.85 ± 0.47%ID/g vs. 0.84 ± 0.3%ID/g in blood respectively). Conclusions: [ 18 F]-ATRi represents the first 18 F positron emission tomography (PET) ATR imaging agent, and is designed on a low nanomolar and clinically relevant ATR inhibitor.

  17. Mouse models: the ketogenic diet and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Karin

    2008-11-01

    Literature on the anticonvulsant effects of the ketogenic diet (KD) in mouse seizure models is summarized. Recent data show that a KD balanced in vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant content is anticonvulsant in mice, confirming that the KD's effect in mice can be attributed to the composition of the diet and not other dietary factors. Given that the anticonvulsant mechanism of the KD is still unknown, the anticonvulsant profile of the diet in different seizure models may help to decipher this mechanism. The implications of the findings that the KD is anticonvulsant in electrical seizure models are indicated. Further, the potential involvement of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the KD's anticonvulsant mechanism is discussed.

  18. The calm mouse: an animal model of stress reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurfein, Blake T; Stamm, Andrew W; Bacchetti, Peter; Dallman, Mary F; Nadkarni, Nachiket A; Milush, Jeffrey M; Touma, Chadi; Palme, Rupert; Di Borgo, Charles Pozzo; Fromentin, Gilles; Lown-Hecht, Rachel; Konsman, Jan Pieter; Acree, Michael; Premenko-Lanier, Mary; Darcel, Nicolas; Hecht, Frederick M; Nixon, Douglas F

    2012-05-09

    Chronic stress is associated with negative health outcomes and is linked with neuroendocrine changes, deleterious effects on innate and adaptive immunity, and central nervous system neuropathology. Although stress management is commonly advocated clinically, there is insufficient mechanistic understanding of how decreasing stress affects disease pathogenesis. Therefore, we have developed a "calm mouse model" with caging enhancements designed to reduce murine stress. Male BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: control (Cntl), standard caging; calm (Calm), large caging to reduce animal density, a cardboard nest box for shelter, paper nesting material to promote innate nesting behavior, and a polycarbonate tube to mimic tunneling; control exercise (Cntl Ex), standard caging with a running wheel, known to reduce stress; and calm exercise (Calm Ex), calm caging with a running wheel. Calm, Cntl Ex and Calm Ex animals exhibited significantly less corticosterone production than Cntl animals. We also observed changes in spleen mass, and in vitro splenocyte studies demonstrated that Calm Ex animals had innate and adaptive immune responses that were more sensitive to acute handling stress than those in Cntl. Calm animals gained greater body mass than Cntl, although they had similar food intake, and we also observed changes in body composition, using magnetic resonance imaging. Together, our results suggest that the Calm mouse model represents a promising approach to studying the biological effects of stress reduction in the context of health and in conjunction with existing disease models.

  19. Tissue specific mutagenic and carcinogenic responses in NER defective mouse models.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijnhoven, Susan W P; Hoogervorst, Esther M; Waard, Harm de; Horst, Gijsbertus T J van der; Steeg, Harry van

    2007-01-01

    Several mouse models with defects in genes encoding components of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway have been developed. In NER two different sub-pathways are known, i.e. transcription-coupled repair (TC-NER) and global-genome repair (GG-NER). A defect in one particular NER protein can

  20. Efficacy of Enrofloxacin in a Mouse Model of Sepsis

    OpenAIRE

    Slate, Andrea R; Bandyopadhyay, Sheila; Francis, Kevin P; Papich, Mark G; Karolewski, Brian; Hod, Eldad A; Prestia, Kevin A

    2014-01-01

    We examined the efficacy of enrofloxacin administered by 2 different routes in a mouse model of sepsis. Male CD1 mice were infected with a bioluminescent strain of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and treated with enrofloxacin either by injection or in drinking water. Peak serum levels were evaluated by using HPLC. Mice were monitored for signs of clinical disease, and infections were monitored by using bioluminescence imaging. Serum levels of enrofloxacin and the active metabolite ciproflox...

  1. The German cervical cancer screening model: development and validation of a decision-analytic model for cervical cancer screening in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siebert, Uwe; Sroczynski, Gaby; Hillemanns, Peter; Engel, Jutta; Stabenow, Roland; Stegmaier, Christa; Voigt, Kerstin; Gibis, Bernhard; Hölzel, Dieter; Goldie, Sue J

    2006-04-01

    We sought to develop and validate a decision-analytic model for the natural history of cervical cancer for the German health care context and to apply it to cervical cancer screening. We developed a Markov model for the natural history of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening in the German health care context. The model reflects current German practice standards for screening, diagnostic follow-up and treatment regarding cervical cancer and its precursors. Data for disease progression and cervical cancer survival were obtained from the literature and German cancer registries. Accuracy of Papanicolaou (Pap) testing was based on meta-analyses. We performed internal and external model validation using observed epidemiological data for unscreened women from different German cancer registries. The model predicts life expectancy, incidence of detected cervical cancer cases, lifetime cervical cancer risks and mortality. The model predicted a lifetime cervical cancer risk of 3.0% and a lifetime cervical cancer mortality of 1.0%, with a peak cancer incidence of 84/100,000 at age 51 years. These results were similar to observed data from German cancer registries, German literature data and results from other international models. Based on our model, annual Pap screening could prevent 98.7% of diagnosed cancer cases and 99.6% of deaths due to cervical cancer in women completely adherent to screening and compliant to treatment. Extending the screening interval from 1 year to 2, 3 or 5 years resulted in reduced screening effectiveness. This model provides a tool for evaluating the long-term effectiveness of different cervical cancer screening tests and strategies.

  2. MiR-148a functions to suppress metastasis and serves as a prognostic indicator in triple-negative breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xin; Zhang, Yun; Jasper, Jeff; Lykken, Erik; Alexander, Peter B; Markowitz, Geoffrey J; McDonnell, Donald P; Li, Qi-Jing; Wang, Xiao-Fan

    2016-04-12

    Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents a major challenge in the clinic due to its lack of reliable prognostic markers and targeted therapies. Accumulating evidence strongly supports the notion that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in tumorigenesis and could serve as biomarkers for diagnostic purposes. To identify miRNAs that functionally suppress metastasis of TNBC, we employed a concerted approach with selecting miRNAs that display differential expression profiles from bioinformatic analyses of breast cancer patient databases and validating top candidates with functional assays using breast cancer cell lines and mouse models. We have found that miR-148a exhibits properties as a tumor suppressor as its expression is inversely correlated with the ability of both human and mouse breast cancer cells to colonize the lung in mouse xenograft tumor models. Mechanistically, miR-148a appears to suppress the extravasation process of cancer cells, likely by targeting two genes WNT1 and NRP1 in a cell non-autonomous manner. Importantly, lower expression of miR-148a is detected in higher-grade tumor samples and correlated with increased likelihood to develop metastases and poor prognosis in subsets of breast cancer patients, particularly those with TNBC. Thus, miR-148a is functionally defined as a suppressor of breast cancer metastasis and may serve as a prognostic biomarker for this disease.

  3. Mlh1 deficiency in normal mouse colon mucosa associates with chromosomally unstable colon cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pussila, Marjaana; Törönen, Petri; Einarsdottir, Elisabet; Katayama, Shintaro; Krjutškov, Kaarel; Holm, Liisa; Kere, Juha; Peltomäki, Päivi; Mäkinen, Markus J; Linden, Jere; Nyström, Minna

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) genome is unstable and different types of instabilities, such as chromosomal instability (CIN) and microsatellite instability (MSI) are thought to reflect distinct cancer initiating mechanisms. Although 85% of sporadic CRC reveal CIN, 15% reveal mismatch repair (MMR) malfunction and MSI, the hallmarks of Lynch syndrome with inherited heterozygous germline mutations in MMR genes. Our study was designed to comprehensively follow genome-wide expression changes and their implications during colon tumorigenesis. We conducted a long-term feeding experiment in the mouse to address expression changes arising in histologically normal colonic mucosa as putative cancer preceding events, and the effect of inherited predisposition (Mlh1+/−) and Western-style diet (WD) on those. During the 21-month experiment, carcinomas developed mainly in WD-fed mice and were evenly distributed between genotypes. Unexpectedly, the heterozygote (B6.129-Mlh1tm1Rak) mice did not show MSI in their CRCs. Instead, both wildtype and heterozygote CRC mice showed a distinct mRNA expression profile and shortage of several chromosomal segregation gene-specific transcripts (Mlh1, Bub1, Mis18a, Tpx2, Rad9a, Pms2, Cenpe, Ncapd3, Odf2 and Dclre1b) in their colon mucosa, as well as an increased mitotic activity and abundant numbers of unbalanced/atypical mitoses in tumours. Our genome-wide expression profiling experiment demonstrates that cancer preceding changes are already seen in histologically normal colon mucosa and that decreased expressions of Mlh1 and other chromosomal segregation genes may form a field-defect in mucosa, which trigger MMR-proficient, chromosomally unstable CRC. PMID:29701748

  4. Nanoscale nuclear architecture for cancer diagnosis by spatial-domain low-coherence quantitative phase microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Pin; Bista, Rajan K.; Khalbuss, Walid E.; Qiu, Wei; Staton, Kevin D.; Zhang, Lin; Brentnall, Teresa A.; Brand, Randall E.; Liu, Yang

    2011-03-01

    Alterations in nuclear architecture are the hallmark diagnostic characteristic of cancer cells. In this work, we show that the nuclear architectural characteristics quantified by spatial-domain low-coherence quantitative phase microscopy (SL-QPM), is more sensitive for the identification of cancer cells than conventional cytopathology. We demonstrated the importance of nuclear architectural characteristics in both an animal model of intestinal carcinogenesis - APC/Min mouse model and human cytology specimens with colorectal cancer by identifying cancer from cytologically noncancerous appearing cells. The determination of nanoscale nuclear architecture using this simple and practical optical instrument is a significant advance towards cancer diagnosis.

  5. DNA-mediated adjuvant immunotherapy extends survival in two different mouse models of myeloid malignancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Pogam, Carole; Patel, Satyananda; Gorombei, Petra; Guerenne, Laura; Krief, Patricia; Omidvar, Nader; Tekin, Nilgun; Bernasconi, Elena; Sicre, Flore; Schlageter, Marie-Helene; Chopin, Martine; Noguera, Maria-Elena; West, Robert; Abu, Ansu; Mathews, Vikram; Pla, Marika; Fenaux, Pierre; Chomienne, Christine; Padua, Rose Ann

    2015-10-20

    We have previously shown that a specific promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML-RARA) DNA vaccine combined with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) increases the number of long term survivors with enhanced immune responses in a mouse model of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). This study reports the efficacy of a non-specific DNA vaccine, pVAX14Flipper (pVAX14), in both APL and high risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS) models. PVAX14 is comprised of novel immunogenic DNA sequences inserted into the pVAX1 therapeutic plasmid. APL mice treated with pVAX14 combined with ATRA had increased survival comparable to that obtained with a specific PML-RARA vaccine. Moreover, the survival advantage correlated with decreased PML-RARA transcript levels and increase in anti-RARA antibody production. In HR-MDS mice, pVAX14 significantly improved survival and reduced biomarkers of leukemic transformation such as phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) 1. In both preclinical models, pVAX14 vaccine significantly increased interferon gamma (IFNγ) production, memory T-cells (memT), reduced the number of colony forming units (CFU) and increased expression of the adapter molecule signalling to NF-κB, MyD88. These results demonstrate the adjuvant properties of pVAX14 providing thus new approaches to improve clinical outcome in two different models of myeloid malignancies, which may have potential for a broader applicability in other cancers.

  6. Quantification of Lung Metastases from In Vivo Mouse Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chang, Joan; Erler, Janine T

    2016-01-01

    Cancer research has made significant progress in terms of understanding and targeting primary tumors; however, the challenge remains for the successful treatment of metastatic cancers. This highlights the importance to use in vivo models to study the metastatic process, as well as for preclinical...

  7. Proteus mirabilis inhibits cancer growth and pulmonary metastasis in a mouse breast cancer model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong; Diao, Hongxiu; Jia, Lixin; Yuan, Yujing; Thamm, Douglas H; Wang, Huanan; Jin, Yipeng; Pei, Shimin; Zhou, Bin; Yu, Fang; Zhao, Linna; Cheng, Nan; Du, Hongchao; Huang, Ying; Zhang, Di; Lin, Degui

    2017-01-01

    A variety of bacteria have been used as agents and vectors for antineoplastic therapy. A series of mechanisms, including native bacterial toxicity, sensitization of the immune system and competition for nutrients, may contribute to antitumor effects. However, the antitumor effects of Proteus species have been minimally studied, and it is not clear if bacteria can alter tumor hypoxia as a component of their antineoplastic effect. In the present study, Proteus mirabilis bacteria were evaluated for the ability to proliferate and accumulate in murine tumors after intravenous injection. To further investigate the efficacy and safety of bacterial injection, mice bearing 4T1 tumors were treated with an intravenous dose of 5×107 CFU Proteus mirabilis bacteria via the tail vein weekly for three treatments. Histopathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western analysis were then performed on excised tumors. The results suggested Proteus mirabilis localized preferentially to tumor tissues and remarkably suppressed the growth of primary breast cancer and pulmonary metastasis in murine 4T1 models. Results showed that the expression of NKp46 and CD11c was significantly increased after bacteria treatment. Furthermore, tumor expression of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) and hypoxia inducible factor-1a (HIF-1a), surrogates for hypoxia, was significantly lower in the treated group than the control group mice as assessed by IHC and western analysis. These findings demonstrated that Proteus mirabilis may a promising bacterial strain for used against primary tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis, and the immune system and reduction of tumor hypoxia may contribute to the antineoplastic and antimetastatic effects observed.

  8. A Transgenic Mouse Model of Poliomyelitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koike, Satoshi; Nagata, Noriyo

    2016-01-01

    Transgenic mice (tg mice) that express the human poliovirus receptor (PVR), CD155, are susceptible to poliovirus and develop a neurological disease that resembles human poliomyelitis. Assessment of the neurovirulence levels of poliovirus strains, including mutant viruses produced by reverse genetics, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, and vaccine candidates, is useful for basic research of poliovirus pathogenicity, the surveillance of circulating polioviruses, and the quality control of oral live poliovirus vaccines, and does not require the use of monkeys. Furthermore, PVR-tg mice are useful for studying poliovirus tissue tropism and host immune responses. PVR-tg mice can be bred with mice deficient in the genes involved in viral pathogenicity. This report describes the methods used to analyze the pathogenicity and immune responses of poliovirus using the PVR-tg mouse model.

  9. A mouse model of prenatal ethanol exposure using a voluntary drinking paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Andrea M; Chynoweth, Julie; Tyler, Lani A; Caldwell, Kevin K

    2003-12-01

    The incidence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is estimated to be as high as 1 in 100 births. Efforts to better understand the basis of prenatal ethanol-induced impairments in brain functioning, and the mechanisms by which ethanol produces these defects, will rely on the use of animal models of fetal alcohol exposure (FAE). Using a saccharin-sweetened alcohol solution, we developed a free-choice, moderate alcohol access model of prenatal alcohol exposure. Stable drinking of a saccharin solution (0.066%) was established in female mice. Ethanol then was added to the saccharin in increasing concentrations (2%, 5%, 10% w/v) every 2 days. Water was always available, and mice consumed standard pellet chow. Control mice drank saccharin solution without ethanol. After a stable baseline of ethanol consumption (14 g/kg/day) was obtained, females were impregnated. Ethanol consumption continued throughout pregnancy and then was decreased to 0% in a step-wise fashion over a period of 6 days after pups were delivered. Characterization of the model included measurements of maternal drinking patterns, blood alcohol levels, food consumption, litter size, pup weight, pup retrieval times for the dams, and effects of FAE on performance in fear-conditioned learning and novelty exploration. Maternal food consumption, maternal care, and litter size and number were all found to be similar for the alcohol-exposed and saccharin control animals. FAE did not alter locomotor activity in an open field but did increase the time spent inspecting a novel object introduced into the open field. FAE mice displayed reduced contextual fear when trained using a delay fear conditioning procedure. The mouse model should be a useful tool in testing hypotheses about the neural mechanisms underlying the learning deficits present in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Moreover, a mouse prenatal ethanol model should increase the opportunity to use the power of genetically defined and genetically altered mouse

  10. Mathematical modeling of cancer metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, Miguel Ángel

    2018-04-01

    Systemic approaches are needed and useful for the study of the very complex issue of cancer. Modeling has a central position in these systemic approaches. Metabolic reprogramming is nowadays acknowledged as an essential hallmark of cancer. Mathematical modeling could contribute to a better understanding of cancer metabolic reprogramming and to identify new potential ways of therapeutic intervention. Herein, I review several alternative approaches to metabolic modeling and their current and future impact in oncology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. A mouse model for MERS coronavirus-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockrell, Adam S; Yount, Boyd L; Scobey, Trevor; Jensen, Kara; Douglas, Madeline; Beall, Anne; Tang, Xian-Chun; Marasco, Wayne A; Heise, Mark T; Baric, Ralph S

    2016-11-28

    Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel virus that emerged in 2012, causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe pneumonia-like symptoms and multi-organ failure, with a case fatality rate of ∼36%. Limited clinical studies indicate that humans infected with MERS-CoV exhibit pathology consistent with the late stages of ARDS, which is reminiscent of the disease observed in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Models of MERS-CoV-induced severe respiratory disease have been difficult to achieve, and small-animal models traditionally used to investigate viral pathogenesis (mouse, hamster, guinea-pig and ferret) are naturally resistant to MERS-CoV. Therefore, we used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to modify the mouse genome to encode two amino acids (positions 288 and 330) that match the human sequence in the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 receptor, making mice susceptible to MERS-CoV infection and replication. Serial MERS-CoV passage in these engineered mice was then used to generate a mouse-adapted virus that replicated efficiently within the lungs and evoked symptoms indicative of severe ARDS, including decreased survival, extreme weight loss, decreased pulmonary function, pulmonary haemorrhage and pathological signs indicative of end-stage lung disease. Importantly, therapeutic countermeasures comprising MERS-CoV neutralizing antibody treatment or a MERS-CoV spike protein vaccine protected the engineered mice against MERS-CoV-induced ARDS.

  12. Musical Electroacupuncture May Be a Better Choice than Electroacupuncture in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

    OpenAIRE

    Jiang, Jing; Liu, Gang; Shi, Suhua; Li, Zhigang

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. To compare musical electroacupuncture and electroacupuncture in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Methods. In this study, 7.5-month-old male senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice were used as an Alzheimer's disease animal model. In the normal control paradigm, 7.5-month-old male SAMR1 mice were used as the blank control group (N group). After 15 days of treatment, using Morris water maze test, micro-PET, and immunohistochemistry, the differences among the musical e...

  13. The Role of Akt Isoforms in Colorectal Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-01

    AD_________________ Award Number: W81XWH-13-1-0198 TITLE: The Role of Akt Isoforms in Colorectal Cancer PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Jatin Roper...CONTRACT NUMBER The Role of Akt Isoforms in Colorectal Cancer 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-13-1-0198 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER...substantially reduces colorectal tumorigenesis in our genetically engineered mouse model. We also successfully ablated novel downstream targets of Akt in our

  14. An antibiotic-responsive mouse model of fulminant ulcerative colitis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia S Kang

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The constellation of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which both display a wide spectrum in the severity of pathology. One theory is that multiple genetic hits to the host immune system may contribute to the susceptibility and severity of IBD. However, experimental proof of this concept is still lacking. Several genetic mouse models that each recapitulate some aspects of human IBD have utilized a single gene defect to induce colitis. However, none have produced pathology clearly distinguishable as either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, in part because none of them reproduce the most severe forms of disease that are observed in human patients. This lack of severe IBD models has posed a challenge for research into pathogenic mechanisms and development of new treatments. We hypothesized that multiple genetic hits to the regulatory machinery that normally inhibits immune activation in the intestine would generate more severe, reproducible pathology that would mimic either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We generated a novel mouse line (dnKO that possessed defects in both TGFbetaRII and IL-10R2 signaling. These mice rapidly and reproducibly developed a disease resembling fulminant human ulcerative colitis that was quite distinct from the much longer and more variable course of pathology observed previously in mice possessing only single defects. Pathogenesis was driven by uncontrolled production of proinflammatory cytokines resulting in large part from T cell activation. The disease process could be significantly ameliorated by administration of antibodies against IFNgamma and TNFalpha and was completely inhibited by a combination of broad-spectrum antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we develop to our knowledge the first mouse model of fulminant ulcerative colitis by combining multiple genetic hits in immune regulation and demonstrate that the resulting

  15. LBH589, A Hydroxamic Acid-Derived HDAC Inhibitor, is Neuroprotective in Mouse Models of Huntington's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chopra, Vanita; Quinti, Luisa; Khanna, Prarthana; Paganetti, Paolo; Kuhn, Rainer; Young, Anne B; Kazantsev, Aleksey G; Hersch, Steven

    2016-12-15

    Modulation of gene transcription by HDAC inhibitors has been shown repeatedly to be neuroprotective in cellular, invertebrate, and rodent models of Huntington's disease (HD). It has been difficult to translate these treatments to the clinic, however, because existing compounds have limited potency or brain bioavailability. In the present study, we assessed the therapeutic potential of LBH589, an orally bioavailable hydroxamic acid-derived nonselective HDAC inhibitor in mouse models of HD. The efficacy of LBH589 is tested in two HD mouse models using various biochemical, behavioral and neuropathological outcome measures. We show that LBH589 crosses the blood brain barrier; induces histone hyperacetylation and prevents striatal neuronal shrinkage in R6/2 HD mice. In full-length knock-in HD mice LBH589-treatment improves motor performance and reduces neuronal atrophy. Our efficacious results of LBH589 in fragment and full-length mouse models of HD suggest that LBH589 is a promising candidate for clinical assessment in HD patients and provides confirmation that non-selective HDAC inhibitors can be viable clinical candidates.

  16. Inhibition of Inflammation-Associated Olfactory Loss by Etanercept in an Inducible Olfactory Inflammation Mouse Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Yong Gi; Lane, Andrew P

    2016-06-01

    To determine the effect of a soluble human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) receptor blocker (etanercept) on an inducible olfactory inflammation (IOI) mouse model. An in vivo study using a transgenic mouse model. Research laboratory. To study the impact of chronic inflammation on the olfactory system, a transgenic mouse model of chronic rhinosinusitis-associated olfactory loss was utilized (IOI mouse), expressing TNF-α in a temporally controlled fashion within the olfactory epithelium. In one group of mice (n = 4), etanercept was injected intraperitoneally (100 μg/dose, 3 times/week) concurrent with a 2-week period of TNF-α expression. A second group of mice (n = 2) underwent induction of TNF-α expression for 8 weeks, with etanercept treatment administered during the final 2 weeks of inflammation. Olfactory function was assayed by elecro-olfactogram (EOG), and olfactory tissue was processed for histology and immunohistochemical staining. Each group was compared with an equal-number control group. Compared with nontreated IOI mice, etanercept-treated IOI mice showed significantly improved EOG responses after 2 weeks (P loss of olfactory epithelium and no EOG response in nontreated IOI mice. However, in etanercept-treated mice, regeneration of olfactory epithelium was observed. Concomitant administration of etanercept in IOI mice results in interruption of TNF-α-induced olfactory loss and induction of neuroepithelial regeneration. This demonstrates that etanercept has potential utility as a tool for elucidating the role of TNF-α in other olfactory inflammation models. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2016.

  17. The mouse as a model organism in aging research: usefulness, pitfalls and possibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhooren, Valerie; Libert, Claude

    2013-01-01

    The mouse has become the favorite mammalian model. Among the many reasons for this privileged position of mice is their genetic proximity to humans, the possibilities of genetically manipulating their genomes and the availability of many tools, mutants and inbred strains. Also in the field of aging, mice have become very robust and reliable research tools. Since laboratory mice have a life expectancy of only a few years, genetic approaches and other strategies for intervening in aging can be tested by examining their effects on life span and aging parameters during the relatively short period of, for example, a PhD project. Moreover, experiments on mice with an extended life span as well as on mice demonstrating signs of (segmental) premature aging, together with genetic mapping strategies, have provided novel insights into the fundamental processes that drive aging. Finally, the results of studies on caloric restriction and pharmacological anti-aging treatments in mice have a high degree of relevance to humans. In this paper, we review a number of recent genetic mapping studies that have yielded novel insights into the aging process. We discuss the value of the mouse as a model for testing interventions in aging, such as caloric restriction, and we critically discuss mouse strains with an extended or a shortened life span as models of aging. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Comprehensive and Holistic Analysis of HT-29 Colorectal Cancer Cells and Tumor-Bearing Nude Mouse Model: Interactions Among Fractions Derived From the Chinese Medicine Formula Tian Xian Liquid in Effects on Human Colorectal Carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leigh, Annballaw Bridget; Cheung, Ho Pan; Lin, Li-Zhu; Ng, Tzi Bun; Lao, Lixing; Zhang, Yanbo; Zhang, Zhang-Jin; Tong, Yao; Sze, Stephen Cho Wing

    2017-09-01

    The Chinese medicine formula Tian Xian Liquid (TXL) has been used clinically for cancer therapy in China for more than 25 years. However, the comprehensive and holistic effects of its bioactive fractions for various antitumor therapeutic effects have not been unraveled. This is the first study to scientifically elucidate the holistic effect of Chinese medicine formula for treating colon cancer, hence allowing a better understanding of the essence of Chinese medicine formula, through the comparison of the actions of TXL and its functional constituent fractions, including ethyl acetate (EA), butanol (BU), and aqueous (WA) fractions. Tissue-specific proliferative/antiproliferative effects of these fractions on human colorectal carcinoma HT-29 cells and splenocytes were studied by using the MTT assay. Their modulations on the expression of markers of antiproliferation, antimetastasis, reversion of multidrug resistance in treated HT-29 cells were examined with real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, and their modulations in a xenografted nude mouse model were examined by Western blot analysis. Results revealed that EA fraction slightly inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 cells, but tissue-specifically exerted the most potent antiproliferative effect on splenocytes. On the contrary, only TXL and BU fraction tissue-specifically contributed to the proliferation of splenocytes, but inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 cells. WA fraction exerted the most potent antiproliferative effect on HT-29 cells and also the strongest inhibitory action on tumor size in the nude mouse model in our previous study. In the HT-29 model, TXL and WA fraction exerted the most pronounced effect on upregulation of p21 mRNA and protein; TXL, and EA and WA fractions exerted the effect on downregulation of G1 phase cell cycle protein, cyclin D1 mRNA and protein; EA and BU fractions exerted the most prominent anti-invasive effect on anti-invasion via downregulation of MMP-1 m

  19. Phage Therapy Is Effective in a Mouse Model of Bacterial Equine Keratitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furusawa, Takaaki; Iwano, Hidetomo; Hiyashimizu, Yutaro; Matsubara, Kazuki; Higuchi, Hidetoshi; Nagahata, Hajime; Niwa, Hidekazu; Katayama, Yoshinari; Kinoshita, Yuta; Hagiwara, Katsuro; Iwasaki, Tomohito; Tanji, Yasunori; Yokota, Hiroshi; Tamura, Yutaka

    2016-09-01

    Bacterial keratitis of the horse is mainly caused by staphylococci, streptococci, and pseudomonads. Of these bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa sometimes causes rapid corneal corruption and, in some cases, blindness. Antimicrobial resistance can make treatment very difficult. Therefore, new strategies to control bacterial infection are required. A bacteriophage (phage) is a virus that specifically infects and kills bacteria. Since phage often can lyse antibiotic-resistant bacteria because the killing mechanism is different, we examined the use of phage to treat horse bacterial keratitis. We isolated Myoviridae or Podoviridae phages, which together have a broad host range. They adsorb efficiently to host bacteria; more than 80% of the ΦR18 phage were adsorbed to host cells after 30 s. In our keratitis mouse model, the administration of phage within 3 h also could kill bacteria and suppress keratitis. A phage multiplicity of infection of 100 times the host bacterial number could kill host bacteria effectively. A cocktail of two phages suppressed bacteria in the keratitis model mouse. These data demonstrated that the phages in this study could completely prevent the keratitis caused by P. aeruginosa in a keratitis mouse model. Furthermore, these results suggest that phage may be a more effective prophylaxis for horse keratitis than the current preventive use of antibiotics. Such treatment may reduce the use of antibiotics and therefore antibiotic resistance. Further studies are required to assess phage therapy as a candidate for treatment of horse keratitis. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are emerging all over the world. Bacteriophages have great potential for resolution of this problem. A bacteriophage, or phage, is a virus that infects bacteria specifically. As a novel therapeutic strategy against racehorse keratitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we propose the application of phages for treatment. Phages isolated in this work had in vitro effectiveness for a broad

  20. Human immune system mouse models of Ebola virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spengler, Jessica R; Prescott, Joseph; Feldmann, Heinz; Spiropoulou, Christina F

    2017-08-01

    Human immune system (HIS) mice, immunodeficient mice engrafted with human cells (with or without donor-matched tissue), offer a unique opportunity to study pathogens that cause disease predominantly or exclusively in humans. Several HIS mouse models have recently been used to study Ebola virus (EBOV) infection and disease. The results of these studies are encouraging and support further development and use of these models in Ebola research. HIS mice provide a small animal model to study EBOV isolates, investigate early viral interactions with human immune cells, screen vaccines and therapeutics that modulate the immune system, and investigate sequelae in survivors. Here we review existing models, discuss their use in pathogenesis studies and therapeutic screening, and highlight considerations for study design and analysis. Finally, we point out caveats to current models, and recommend future efforts for modeling EBOV infection in HIS mice. Published by Elsevier B.V.