In vivo imaging of T cell lymphoma infiltration process at the colon

The infiltration and proliferation of cancer cells in the secondary organs are of great interest, since they contribute to cancer metastasis. However, cancer cell dynamics in the secondary organs have not been elucidated at single-cell resolution. In the present study, we established an in vivo model using two-photon microscopy to observe how infiltrating cancer cells form assemblages from single T-cell lymphomas, EL4 cells, in the secondary organs. Using this model, after inoculation of EL4 cells in mice, we discovered that single EL4 cells infiltrated into the colon. In the early stage, sporadic elongated EL4 cells became lodged in small blood vessels. Real-time imaging revealed that, whereas more than 70% of EL4 cells did not move during a 1-hour observation, other EL4 cells irregularly moved even in small vessels and dynamically changed shape upon interacting with other cells. In the late stages, EL4 cells formed small nodules composed of several EL4 cells in blood vessels as well as crypts, suggesting the existence of diverse mechanisms of nodule formation. The present in vivo imaging system is instrumental to dissect cancer cell dynamics during metastasis in other organs at the single-cell level.