Therapeutic Hypothesis Testing With Rodent Brain Tumor Models.
The development and application of rodent models for preclinical testing of novel therapeutics and approaches for treating brain tumors has been a mainstay of neuro-oncology preclinical research for decades, and is likely to remain so into the foreseeable future. These models serve as an important point of entry for analyzing the potential efficacy of experimental therapies that are being considered for clinical trial evaluation. Although rodent brain tumor models have seen substantial change, particularly since the introduction of genetically engineered mouse models, certain principles associated with the use of these models for therapeutic testing are enduring, and form the basis for this review. Here we discuss the most common rodent brain tumor models while directing specific attention to their usefulness in preclinical evaluation of experimental therapies. These models include genetically engineered mice that spontaneously or inducibly develop brain tumors; syngeneic rodent models in which cultured tumor cells are engrafted into the same strain of rodent from which they were derived; and patient-derived xenograft models in which human tumor cells are engrafted in immunocompromised rodents. The emphasis of this review is directed to the latter.
Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.|Department of Medicine-Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Derek A
DA
Wainwright
Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.|Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Craig M
CM
Horbinski
Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Rintaro
R
Hashizume
Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. charles.james@northwestern.edu.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. charles.james@northwestern.edu.
C David
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2219-1173
CD
James
D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D051381:Rats; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
Immunocompetent vs. immunocompromised; Spontaneous vs. engraftment; Syngeneic; Xenograft