In vivo Tumor Growth and Spontaneous Metastasis Assays Using A549 Lung Cancer Cells
Lei Qi,
Teresa Knifley,
Dava Piecoro,
Piotr Rychahou,
Jianrong Wu,
Kathleen O'Connor,
Min Chen
Affiliations
Lei Qi
Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USA
Teresa Knifley
Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USA
Dava Piecoro
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0298, USA
Piotr Rychahou
Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USADepartment of Surgery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USA
Jianrong Wu
Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USADepartment of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0093, USA
Kathleen O'Connor
Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USADepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USA
Min Chen
Markey Cancer Center, University of kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USADepartment of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40536-0679, USA
Metastasis accounts for the majority of cancer related deaths. The genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models and cell line-based subcutaneous and orthotopic mouse xenografts have been developed to study the metastatic process. By using lung cancer cell line A549 as an example, we present a modified protocol to establish the cell line-based xenograft. Our protocol ensures sufficient establishment of the mouse xenografts and allows us to monitor tumor growth and spontaneous metastasis. This protocol could be adapted to other types of established cancer cell lines or primary cancer cells to study the mechanism of metastatic process as well as to test the effect of the potential anti-cancer agents on tumor growth and metastatic capacity.
