Live Imaging of Microtubule Dynamics in Glioblastoma Cells Invading the Zebrafish Brain

With a dismal median survival time in real populations-between 6 to 15 months-glioblastoma (GBM) is the most devastating malignant brain tumor. Treatment failure is mainly due to the invasiveness of GBM cells, which speaks for the need for a better understanding of GBM motile properties. To investigate the molecular mechanism supporting GBM invasion, new physiological models enabling in-depth characterization of protein dynamics during invasion are required. These observations would pave the way to the discovery of novel targets to block tumor infiltration and improve patient outcomes. This paper reports how an orthotopic xenograft of GBM cells in the zebrafish brain permits subcellular intravital live imaging. Focusing on microtubules (MTs), we describe a procedure for MT labeling in GBM cells, microinjecting GBM cells in the transparent brain of 3 days post fertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae, intravital imaging of MTs in the disseminating xenografts, altering MT dynamics to assess their role during GBM invasion, and analyzing the acquired data.