ex vivoでのライブ肺転移のイメージングとその微小環境
Summary
We describe a relatively simple method for ex vivo live imaging of the tumor cell-stroma interactions within lung metastasis, utilizing fluorescent reporters in mice. Using spinning-disk confocal microscopy, this technique enables visualization of live cells for at least 4 hr and could be adapted to study other inflammatory lung conditions.
Abstract
転移は、癌関連の罹患率および死亡率の主要な原因です。転移は多段階プロセスであり、その複雑さのために、転移性播種と成長を支配する正確な細胞および分子プロセスはまだとらえどころのないです。ライブイメージングは、細胞とその微小環境の動的なと空間の相互作用の可視化を可能にします。固形腫瘍は、一般的に肺に転移します。しかし、肺の解剖学的位置は、生体イメージングへの挑戦を提起します。このプロトコルは、肺転移内の腫瘍細胞とその周囲の間質間の動的相互作用の ex vivoライブイメージングのための比較的単純かつ迅速な方法を提供します。この方法を使用して、癌細胞の運動性ならびにそれらの微小環境中の癌細胞と間質細胞の間の相互作用は、いくつかの時間をリアルタイムで可視化することができます。トランスジェニック蛍光レポーターマウスを用いて、蛍光細胞株は、注射可能な蛍光標識分子および/または抗体は、肺の微小環境の複数のコンポーネントは、血管及び免疫細胞のように、可視化することができます。異なる細胞型の画像に、迅速な、四色の画像取得との長期の連続撮影を可能にする回転ディスク共焦点顕微鏡が用いられています。複数の位置と焦点面上で収集した画像からコンパイルタイムラプスムービーは、少なくとも4時間のライブ転移性および免疫細胞間の相互作用を示しています。この技術はさらに、化学療法または標的療法を試験するために使用することができます。また、この方法は、肺の微小環境に影響を及ぼし得る他の肺関連病理の研究のために適合させることができます。
Introduction
The deadliest aspect of cancer is metastasis, which accounts for more than 90% of cancer-related morbidity and mortality1. Metastasis is a multistep process and due to its complexity, the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern metastatic dissemination and growth are still elusive. To metastasize, tumor cells in the primary tumor must detach from their neighboring cells and basement membrane, cross through the extracellular matrix, intravasate, travel via blood or lymphatic vessels, extravasate at the secondary site, and finally, survive and establish secondary tumors. In addition to the properties of the tumor cells, the contribution from the microenvironment, which includes the adjacent stroma along with the normal counterparts of the cancer cells, is crucial for the seeding and establishment of metastatic lesions2.
Traditional methods to study metastatic seeding and growth examine static states, as tissues are excised and sectioned for histology. These data only generate a snapshot of this highly dynamic process. Although some useful information can be gained from these studies, the complicated process by which tumor and stromal cells interact during metastatic formation cannot be adequately assessed by these methods. Furthermore, it is not possible to gain insights into tumor or stromal cell migration patterns, which are important in establishing a colony at the distant site. In order to effectively study the metastatic process, it is essential to visualize various interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment in a continuous manner and at real time.
The lung is a common site for metastases from solid tumors as breast, colorectal, pancreatic cancer, melanoma and sarcoma3. Intravital imaging was previously used to study cell-cell interaction in various primary tumor and metastatic models4,5. Methods of lung imaging in mice, including intravital imaging, lung section imaging, and an ex vivo pulmonary metastasis assay have been published6–9. Intravital imaging of mouse lungs utilizes a thoracic suction window to stabilize the lungs6. This method is used for time-lapse imaging of the lung microcirculation and alveolar spaces. The anatomical location of the lungs poses a challenge to intravital imaging. In order to access the lungs, the chest cavity must be opened which leads to loss of negative pressure and collapsed lungs. This method only allows the visualization of a small part of the lungs and is technically demanding; an unnecessary complication in studies that examine processes that are independent of blood flow. Moreover, this method also requires gating out movement caused by breathing. This is done either by collecting images between breaths or during post image acquisition analyses10. The alternative ex vivo lung section imaging provides stability and depth, and also prepares lung parenchyma for immunostaining7. However, the lengthy sectioning process leads to an extensive delay between the time of animal sacrifice and the start of the imaging session. Moreover, the process of sectioning a mouse lung causes considerable amount of cell death8, thus interfering with the quality and quantity of imaging samples and perhaps needlessly altering tumor-stroma interactions. In order to technically bridge between the methods of intravital imaging and lung section imaging, while exploiting the advantages of the two techniques, a relatively fast and easy method for ex vivo lung imaging was developed. This method was achieved by imaging of non-sectioned whole lung lobes. Using this method, the motility of cancer cells as well as interactions between cancer cells and stromal cells in their microenvironment can be visualized in real time for several hours.
Protocol
Representative Results
Discussion
This manuscript describes a detailed method for ex vivo live imaging of lung metastasis in mouse models of metastasis. This imaging protocol provides a direct visualization of the dynamic and spatial tumor cell-stroma interactions within the lung microenvironment. It is a relatively easy and fast method that allows reliable imaging of lung metastasis for at least 4 hr. Movies acquired from these experiments can be used to track dynamic processes as cell motility and cellular interactions.
<p class="jove_cont…Disclosures
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
We thank Nguyen H. Nguyen for her technical help and Audrey O’Neill for support with the Zeiss Cell Observer spinning-disk confocal microscope. This work was supported by a Department of Defense postdoctoral fellowship (W81XWH-11-01-0139) and the Weizmann Institute of Science-National Postdoctoral Award Program for Advancing Women in Science (to V.P.).
Materials
| MMTV-PyMT/FVB mice | Jackson Laboratory | 2374 | Female mice |
| ACTB-ECFP/FVB mice | UCSF Werb lab | Female mice | |
| c-fms-EGFP/FVB mice | UCSF Werb lab | Female mice | |
| FVB mice | Jackson Laboratory | 1800 | Female mice |
| GFP+ VO-PyMT cells | UCSF Werb lab | ||
| 70,000 kDa Dextran, rhodamine-conjugated | Invitrogen | D1818 | Dilute to 4mg/ml in 1 x PBS and store at -20 °C. Use 0.4 mg per animal. |
| 10,000 kDa Dextran, Alexa Fluor 647 conjugated | Invitrogen | D22914 | Dilute to 4mg/ml in 1 x PBS and store at -20 °C. Use 0.4 mg per animal. |
| Anti-mouse Gr-1 antibody Alexa Fluor 647 | UCSF Monoclonal antibody core | Stock 1mg/ml. Use 7 ug per animal. | |
| Anesthetic | Anesthesia approved by IACUC, used for anesthesia and/or euthanesia | ||
| 1X PBS | UCSF cell culture facility | ||
| PBS, USP sterile | Amresco INC | K813-500ML | Ultra pure grade for i.v. injection |
| Styrofoam platform | Will be used as dissection board | ||
| Fine scissors sharp | Fine Science Tools | 14060-11 | |
| Forceps | Roboz Surgical Store | RS-5135 | |
| Hot bead sterilizer | Fine Science Tools | 18000-45 | Turn ON 30min before use |
| Air | UCSF | ||
| Oxygen | UCSF | ||
| Carbon dioxide | UCSF | ||
| 1 mL syringe without needle | BD | 309659 | |
| 27 G x 1/2 needle | BD | 305109 | for i.v. injection |
| 20 G x 1 needle, short bevel | BD | 305178 | |
| Low-melting-temperature agarose | Lonza | 50111 | To make 10 ml of solution, weigh 0.2 g of agarose, add to 10 ml 1 x PBS, and heat to dissolve. Agarose will solidify at room temperature, so maintain in a 37 °C water bath until used for inflation. |
| RPMI-1640 medium without phenol red | Life Technologies | 11835-030 | |
| 24 well Imaging plate | E&K scientific | EK-42892 | |
| Glass cover slides, 15 mm | Fisher Scientific | 22-031-144 | |
| Digital CO2 and temperature controller | Okolab | DGTCO2BX | http://www.oko-lab.com |
| Climate chamber | Okolab | http://www.oko-lab.com | |
| Cell Observer spinning disk confocal microscope | Zeiss | ||
| Zen software | Zeiss | ||
| Inverted microscope | Carl Zeiss Inc | Zeiss Axiovert 200M | |
| ICCD camera | Stanford Photonics | XR-Mega-10EX S-30 | |
| Spinning disk confocal scan-head | Yokogawa Corporation | CSU-10b | |
| Imaris | Bitplane | ||
| mManager | Vale lab, UCSF | Open-source software |
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