Establishing an animal model of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis is one of the important approaches for nasopharyngeal carcinoma research, as it is prone to lymph node, liver, lung, and bone metastasis.
[Modeling mechanism] Using animal in vivo passaging methods, select highly metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastatic tumor cell lines, inoculate them subcutaneously or in the nasopharynx of nude mice or rabbits, and observe the metastatic characteristics of nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor cells.
[Method of Modeling]
1. Screening of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines (such as 5-8F-EGFP) using nude mouse lymph node metastasis animal models, cultured in 10% FCS-RPMI1640 medium at 5% CO2 and 37 ℃ saturated humidity. When the cell density reached 80%, digested with 0.25% trypsin and counted under a microscope to prepare a 1 × 10000000/ml cell suspension. Select 6-8 week old nude mice and inject 0.1ml subcutaneously (or in immunocompromised areas) into the tail root. Observe tumor growth every day. When the nude mice develop cachexia, the animals are euthanized. The primary culture of lymph node metastases is taken from the overall imaging system, and nude mice are inoculated. After repeated screening three times, nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines with lymph node metastasis potential (such as 5-8F-LN) are obtained. The suspension is inoculated into the paw pads of nude mice with 0.1ml, and after 20 days, palpable metastatic nodules can be seen in the popliteal fossa of nude mice. The selected cell suspension (5-8-LN) was inoculated into nude mice by in situ injection to establish a nasopharyngeal carcinoma in situ inoculation model, and the growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis of the in situ tumor were visualized and observed.
2. Rabbit nasopharyngeal transplantation cancer model: Anesthetize the VX2 tumor cell line bearing rabbits, remove the tumor from the tumor bearing site of the rabbit, rinse with physiological saline, remove necrotic tissue, cut into pieces, homogenize in a homogenizer, dilute with physiological saline to 1 × 10000000/ml cell suspension, inject 0.2ml cell suspension subcutaneously into the groin of the rabbit hind leg, and make passaging rabbits. After about 2 weeks, a substantial mass can be formed, and the tumor can continue to be passaged when it grows to a diameter of 2cm. Select New Zealand rabbits aged 2-4 months, both male and female. After anesthesia, the rabbits should be placed on their backs with their mouths fixed. The puncture needle should be inserted through the soft palate into the nasopharynx, and the needle position should be observed by CT scan. After satisfaction, 0.4ml of tumor cell suspension should be injected. After 3-4 weeks, a nasopharyngeal mass can be found and multiple tumor cell metastases can occur.
[Model Features]
1. Naked mouse lymph node metastasis animal model: Using the method of in vivo passage of immunodeficient animals, different organ affinity tumor cell subtypes were screened, and the mechanism of tumor metastasis was explored by observing the specificity of metastasis and related influencing factors. Transfection technology can also be used to transplant tumor cells stably expressing luciferase into nude mice in situ or ectopically, and visualize the growth, development, and metastasis process of nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor cells through in vivo fluorescence imaging technology.
2. Rabbit nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis model: After tumor formation, this model rapidly infiltrates and grows into the surrounding area, with a high cervical lymph node metastasis rate (93.3%). In the late stage, lung metastasis may occur, similar to the growth process of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The rodent nasopharyngeal carcinoma model is not suitable for imaging examination to observe subtle structural changes due to its small size and smaller nasopharynx. Rabbits have a relatively large body size and can clearly display the structures of the nasopharynx, nasopharyngeal masses, and the relationships between surrounding tissues in CT, MRI, and PET-CT imaging examinations.
Model evaluation and application: Tumor metastasis is one of the most important biological characteristics of malignant tumors, and the study of tumor metastasis mechanisms and anti-tumor research must establish corresponding human tumor animal metastasis models. Both nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis models have the characteristics of high metastasis rate and relatively strong targeted lymph node metastasis. The selected tumor cell lines have stable biological characteristics and the modeling process is relatively simple and easy to implement. The rabbit metastasis model is a tumor cell growth characteristic that matches the growth characteristics of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma
It seems to be a convenient model for conducting relevant imaging examinations, which is a very convenient means for exploring the mechanism of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis and the prevention and treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The visualization of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis models is of great significance for research on radiotherapy, chemotherapy segmentation, drug screening, and other treatments for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.