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Establishment and Propagation of Human Retinoblastoma Tumors in Immune Deficient Mice
Published on: August 4, 2011
Matrigel promotes retinoblastoma cell growth in vitro and in vivo
A Albini1, A Melchiori, A Garofalo
1Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy.
Abstract:
Cells derived from retinoblastomas grow slowly in vitro and only very rarely form tumors in nude mice. Matrigel, a mixture of components normally found in basement membranes, promotes the growth of Y-79 and WERI-Rb1 retinoblastoma (Rb) cells when added to suspension cultures of the 2 Rb cell lines. It also substantially increases cell adhesion in vitro. Y-79 cells, seeded into a Matrigel matrix, form round colonies over a 3-week period similar to those of control, weakly metastatic murine melanoma cells. In vivo, s.c. co-injection of Matrigel with either Y-79 or WERI-Rb 1 cells into nude mice promotes retinoblastoma tumor formation. Transplantation of as few as 1,000 cells allows for xenografting under these conditions, while no tumors were observed in the absence of Matrigel, even at 10 x 10(6) cells/inoculum. The tumors produced have the expected morphology and express an mRNA for a highly specific retina/retinoblastoma marker protein, the interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein. Thus, the xenografts obtained maintain the original morphological and molecular characteristics of the injected cells and represent a useful model for in vivo studies of retinoblastoma growth and treatment.
Insights
Matrigel significantly enhances retinoblastoma (Rb) cell growth and tumor formation in vivo. This basement membrane component enables xenografting of Rb cells, creating a valuable model for studying retinoblastoma.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cell Biology
- Biomaterials
Background:
- Retinoblastoma (Rb) cells exhibit slow in vitro growth and rare tumor formation in vivo.
- Standard methods for studying Rb tumor growth in vivo are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of Matrigel on retinoblastoma (Rb) cell growth and tumor formation.
- To establish a reliable in vivo model for retinoblastoma research.
Main Methods:
- Culturing Y-79 and WERI-Rb1 retinoblastoma cells in vitro with and without Matrigel.
- Assessing cell adhesion and colony formation in vitro.
- Subcutaneous co-injection of Rb cells and Matrigel into nude mice to evaluate tumor formation.
- Analyzing xenograft morphology and molecular markers (interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein mRNA).
Main Results:
- Matrigel promoted the growth and in vitro adhesion of Y-79 and WERI-Rb1 Rb cells.
- Co-injection of Matrigel with Rb cells led to significant in vivo tumor formation in nude mice.
- As few as 1,000 Rb cells with Matrigel formed xenografts, whereas no tumors formed without Matrigel.
- Xenografts retained the original morphological and molecular characteristics of the Rb cells.
Conclusions:
- Matrigel significantly enhances retinoblastoma cell growth and tumor formation in vivo.
- Matrigel facilitates the establishment of retinoblastoma xenografts in nude mice.
- These Matrigel-supported xenografts provide a robust model for in vivo retinoblastoma studies.
