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Orthotopic xenografts of RCC retain histological, immunophenotypic and genetic features of tumours in patients
Author(s) -
Grisanzio Chiara,
Seeley Apryle,
Chang Michelle,
Collins Michael,
Di Napoli Arianna,
Cheng SuChun,
Percy Andrew,
Beroukhim Rameen,
Signoretti Sabina
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.2929
Subject(s) - renal cell carcinoma , pathology , cancer , malignancy , medicine , in vivo , kidney cancer , carcinogenesis , kidney , biology , cancer research , genetics
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an aggressive malignancy with limited responsiveness to existing treatments. In vivo models of human cancer, including RCC, are critical for developing more effective therapies. Unfortunately, current RCC models do not accurately represent relevant properties of the human disease. The goal of this study was to develop clinically relevant animal models of RCC for preclinical investigations. We transplanted intact human tumour tissue fragments orthotopically in immunodeficient mice. The xenografts were validated by comparing the morphological, phenotypic and genetic characteristics of the kidney tumour tissues before and after implantation. Twenty kidney tumours were transplanted into mice. Successful tumour growth was detected in 19 cases (95%). The histopathological and immunophenotypic features of the xenografts and those of the original tumours largely overlapped in all cases. Evaluation of genetic alterations in a subset of 10 cases demonstrated that the grafts largely retained the genetic features of the pre‐implantation RCC tissues. Indeed, primary tumours and corresponding grafts displayed identical VHL mutations. Moreover, an identical pattern of DNA copy amplification or loss was observed in 6/10 cases (60%). In summary, orthotopic engrafting of RCC tissue fragments can be successfully used to generate animal models that closely resemble RCC in patients. These models will be invaluable for in vivo preclinical drug testing and for deeper understanding of kidney carcinogenesis. The raw data of the SNP array analysis has been submitted to the GEO database (Accession No. GSE29062). Copyright © 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.