The chick embryo as an experimental system for melanoma cell invasion.
BACKGROUND
A primary cutaneous melanoma will not kill the patient, but its metastases. Since in vitro studies on melanoma cells in 2-D cultures do often not reflect reality, 3-D models might come closer to the physiological situation in the patient during cancer initiation and progression.


RESULTS
Here, we describe the chick embryo model for in vivo studies of melanoma cell migration and invasion. After transplantation of neural crest-derived melanoma cells into the neural tube, the melanoma cells resume neural crest cell migration along the medial and lateral pathways and finally undergo apoptosis in the target areas. Upon transplantation into ectopic areas such as the hindbrain or the optic cup malignant invasion and local tissue destruction occurs. In contrast, melanocytes are not able to spontaneously resume neural crest cell migration. However, malignant invasion can be induced in melanocytes by pre-treatment with the TGF-beta family members bone morphegenetic protein-2 or nodal. Transplantation of MCF7 breast cancer cells yields a different growth pattern in the rhombencephalon than melanoma cells.


CONCLUSIONS
The chick embryo model is a feasible, cost-effective in vivo system to study invasion by cancer cells in an embryonic environment. It may be useful to study invasive behavior induced by embryonic oncogenes and for targeted manipulation of melanoma or breast cancer cells aiming at ablation of invasive properties.
Section of Dermato-Oncology, Department of Dermatology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Christian.Busch@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Christian
C
Busch
Jelena
J
Krochmann
Ulrich
U
Drews
D000818:Animals; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D012249:Rhombencephalon / Q000473:pathology; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000494:pharmacology
D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta