An in vivo mouse model for human prostate cancer metastasis

We developed a sensitive real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) assay that allows us to track early lodging/homing events in vivo. We used this technology to develop a metastasis assay of human prostate cancer (PCa) growth in severe combined immunodeficient mice. For this purpose, marked human PCa cell lines were implanted subcutaneously or in the prostate (orthotopically) of severe combined immunodeficient mice as models of primary tumors. Mice were then sacrificed at various time points, and distant tissues were investigated for the presence of metastatic cells. At 3 weeks, a number of tissues were recovered and evaluated by QPCR for the presence of metastatic cells. The data demonstrate that several PCa cell lines are able to spread from the primary lesion and take up residence in distant sites. If the primary tumors were resected at 3 weeks, in several cases, metastatic lesions were identified over the course of 9 months. We propose that this new model may be particularly useful in exploring the molecular events in early metastasis, identifying the metastatic niche, and studying issues pertaining to dormancy.