A novel orthotopic and metastatic mouse model of breast cancer in human mammary microenvironment

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010 Apr;120(2):337-44. doi: 10.1007/s10549-009-0391-4. Epub 2009 Apr 7.

Abstract

The studies of breast cancer heavily rely on the availability of experimental animal models. An ideal model of breast cancer is not only required to mimic the whole processes of tumor progress and metastasis, but also required to provide a normal human mammary microenvironment for the breast cancer cells to proliferate and metastasize. Numerous mouse models have been introduced in the literature but failed to achieve the two requirements simultaneously. In this study, we developed a novel human breast tissue-derived orthotopic and metastatic (BOM) mouse model of breast cancer, in which the normal human breast tissues were implanted subcutaneously to create a normal human mammary microenvironment, after which the human breast cancer cells were inoculated into the implants. The BOM model not only mimicked the whole processes of tumor progress and metastasis, but also allowed the orthotopic human breast cancer cells to proliferate in the normal human mammary microenvironment, and finally metastasize preferentially to the distant human tissues. Consequently, the BOM model contributed to the orthotopic tumor formation of 100% (11/11) and the metastatic tumor formation of 72.7% (8/11).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Female
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Humans
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / genetics
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / pathology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, SCID
  • Neoplasm Transplantation / methods*
  • Transfection

Substances

  • Green Fluorescent Proteins