[Modeling mechanism] A liver cancer model formed by transplanting liver cancer tissue, cell lines, or other malignant tumors derived from animals or humans into animal bodies.
The commonly used transplantation sites for this model include subcutaneous tissue on the dorsal side, liver, abdominal cavity, etc. The transplantation methods mainly include homologous transplantation and heterologous transplantation.
Rats: The transplantation method of this model can only be homologous transplantation, including induced BERH-2 transplantation rats and Walker-256 rats with spontaneous liver sarcoma. The construction method often involves transplantation of tumor tissue under the liver capsule, or injection of cell homogenate into the liver. The injection site is located 1-2cm near the edge of the left outer lobe of the liver, and sufficient hemostasis should be emphasized after implantation.
Nude mice: Direct inoculation of human liver cancer cell lines (such as Huh7) or cancer tissue into nude mice is considered as xenotransplantation. The common implantation sites are intrahepatic transplantation, subcutaneous transplantation, and abdominal transplantation. The transplantation methods include tissue block transplantation, suspension transplantation, and tissue homogenate transplantation.
Mice: BALB/c mice were anesthetized with pentobarbital, and H22 liver cancer cell line 1 × 10000000 cells/ml was used for in situ inoculation of 20 μ l.
Transplanted rabbit VX2 liver cancer model: The VX2 tumor cell line originated from Shope virus induced rabbit papillary tumor derived squamous cell carcinoma and was formally established after 72 transplantation passages. Prepare VX2 tumor tissue blocks into cell suspension, take about 1ml and inject it into the inner thigh muscle of the rabbit. After 3 weeks of general anesthesia in the tumor bearing rabbit, peel off the tumor tissue and cut it into pieces with a diameter of about 1-2mm as much as possible. After general anesthesia of rabbits, ophthalmic forceps were used to puncture the liver tissue at the thicker part of the left central lobe of the liver and form a sinus tract with a small opening (3-5mm) and a large base (5-8mm). 2-3 fragmented tumor strains were implanted into the sinus tract, and gelatin sponge fragments were used to fill the sinus opening.
[Model Features] The transplanted rat liver cancer model has the advantages of simple animal feeding, simple transplantation method, high success rate of transplantation, fast tumor growth, short survival period of affected mice, stable and uniform tumor biological characteristics, and is similar to the blood supply mode of human primary liver cancer. The cancer tissue transplanted into the abdominal cavity mainly grows in large blocks between the liver and stomach, and may develop into cancerous ascites in the late stage. Subcutaneous transplant tumors are superficial and localized. The tumor transplanted into the liver is located inside the liver and is round or oval in shape, with expansive and invasive growth, and a high incidence of ascites.
The nude mouse implantation model retained the morphology, function, and secretion characteristics of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) in human liver cancer. Pathologically, in the rabbit VX2 implantation model, the tumor is a giant solid tumor with invasive growth and abundant blood supply, similar to giant hepatocellular carcinoma.
The rat implantation model and VX2 implantation model are commonly used in imaging experiments and local intervention therapy research. In addition, subcutaneous implantation in rats has a high spontaneous regression rate and is generally used to study the mechanism of tumor spontaneous regression. Intrahepatic implantation is a good model for studying local treatment of liver cancer. Nude mice are commonly used for studying the biological characteristics and pathogenesis of liver cancer.