Isolation of tumor interstitial fluid for metabolic determinations

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Oncology
• Cancer Metabolism

Background:

• Neoplastic cells exhibit altered metabolism, including the Warburg effect, characterized by increased glycolysis.
• This metabolic shift results in elevated lactate levels, an oncometabolite that promotes tumor progression, angiogenesis, immune escape, and metastasis.
• Lactate's role in cancer highlights the need for accurate measurement methods within the tumor microenvironment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe centrifugation and elution protocols for isolating interstitial fluid from experimental tumors.
• To enable the measurement of lactate in the tumor microenvironment.
• To provide adaptable methods for studying other oncometabolites and advancing cancer research.

Main Methods:

• Development of specific centrifugation and elution protocols.
• Isolation of interstitial fluid from experimental tumors (MC38 colon cancer cell line in immunocompetent mice).
• Lactate measurement within the isolated interstitial fluid.

Main Results:

• Successful isolation of interstitial fluid from experimental tumors.
• Quantification of lactate levels in the tumor microenvironment.
• Validation of protocols for potential adaptation to other cell lines and oncometabolites.

Conclusions:

• The described methods effectively isolate interstitial fluid and measure lactate in experimental tumors.
• These protocols are adaptable for studying various human and murine tumor models.
• The methodology holds potential for detecting other oncometabolites, impacting cancer research and therapeutics.