The In Ovo Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) Assay as an Efficient Xenograft Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
The chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) begins to develop by day 7 after fertilization and matures by day 12. The CAM is naturally immunodeficient and highly vascularized, making it an ideal system for tumor implantation. Furthermore, the CAM contains extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, laminin, collagen, integrin alpha(v)beta3, and MMP-2, making it an attractive model to study tumor invasion and metastasis. Scientists have long taken advantage of the physiology of the CAM by using it as a model of angiogenesis. More recently, the CAM assay has been modified to work as an in vivo xenograft model system for various cancers that bridges the gap between basic in vitro work and more complex animal cancer models. The CAM assay allows for the study of tumor growth, anti-tumor therapies, and pro-tumor molecular pathways in a biologically relevant system that is both cost- and time-effective. Here, we describe the development of CAM xenograft model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with embryonic survival rates of up to 93% and reliable tumor take leading to growth of three-dimensional, vascularized tumors.
Department of Medicine, Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Department of Otolaryngology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Michael
M
Li
Bobby R. Alford Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine.
Ravi R
RR
Pathak
Division of Nephrology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Esther
E
Lopez-Rivera
Department of Medicine, Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Scott L
SL
Friedman
Departments of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; julio.aguirre-ghiso@mssm.edu.
Julio A
JA
Aguirre-Ghiso
Bobby R. Alford Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine; Andrew.Sikora@bcm.edu.
Andrew G
AG
Sikora
D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002642:Chick Embryo; D049033:Chorioallantoic Membrane / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays / Q000379:methods*
D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins