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Updated: Oct 2, 2025
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Discovery of Metastatic Regulators using a Rapid and Quantitative Intravital Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane Model
Published on: February 3, 2021
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Experimental metastasis assays in the chick embryo
Sylvia M Wilson1, Ann F Chambers
1London Regional Cancer Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
Current Protocols in Cell Biology
|January 30, 2008
Summary
The chicken embryo model offers a cost-effective and rapid alternative to mouse models for studying experimental metastasis. This assay quantifies cancer cell growth in secondary organs, aiding cancer research.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Developmental Biology
- Animal Models
Background:
- Experimental metastasis assays evaluate cancer cell colonization in distant organs.
- Traditional mouse models are widely used but can be costly and time-consuming.
- Alternative models are needed to study cancer metastasis efficiently.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail the experimental metastasis assay using the chick embryo model.
- To provide protocols for utilizing chick embryos as a platform for metastasis research.
Main Methods:
- Fertilized chicken eggs were maintained and 11-day-old embryos received cell injections into circulation.
- Cancer cells were recovered from chick liver using the ouabain plating assay.
- Fluorescent nanospheres labeled cells, and intravital videomicroscopy monitored metastasis in the chorioallantoic membrane.
Main Results:
- The chick embryo assay allows for recovery and quantification of cancer cells from secondary organs.
- Cellular processes of metastasis can be monitored in real-time within the chick embryo.
- This model provides a rapid and accessible method for metastasis studies.
Conclusions:
- The chick embryo experimental metastasis assay is a viable, cost-effective alternative to mouse models.
- This model facilitates rapid and accessible research into the mechanisms of cancer metastasis.
- The described protocols enable detailed study of cancer cell dissemination and growth.
