Tumor in the egg

An international team of researchers led by Dr. Fuyuhiko Tamanoi from Kyoto University has proposed a powerful, versatile and convenient model for the analysis of human malignant tumors.

The authors developed a "tumor model in a chicken egg", for which cultured ovarian cancer cells were transplanted onto the surface of the membrane surrounding a 10-day-old chicken embryo. The tumor forms on the membrane surface within three days after transplantation.

Similar results were obtained using samples of patients' tumor tissue, which indicates the feasibility of using this model to reproduce human tumors. The researchers note that they were surprised by the rate of tumor formation, since mouse models require several weeks for this. The use of a chicken egg will allow testing personalized antitumor therapy in record time – within one week.

In addition, the authors, together with colleagues from France and Saudi Arabia, have developed a new type of biodegradable silicon nanoparticles made of periodically mesoporous organosilicon or PMO (from the English periodic mesoporous organosilica), the size of which is 200 nanometers. The nanoparticles were loaded with the antitumor drug doxorubicin and tested on human ovarian tumors grown in chicken eggs.

Figure from an article in Scientific Reports

Such a combined drug quickly destroyed tumors without damaging the organs of the chicken embryo. When a smaller dose of a drug not encapsulated inside nanoparticles was introduced into the model, severe damage to various organs was observed. This indicates the ability of nanoparticles to prevent the development of side effects by directly affecting the tumor.

The authors highlight several advantages of the chicken egg model over existing animal models, such as mouse. Firstly, tumors form much faster due to the nutrient-rich environment and the inferiority of the immune system at the stage of embryonic development. Secondly, fertilized chicken eggs are much easier and cheaper to use compared to immunodeficient mice, which makes the model more suitable for high-throughput experiments.

Article by Binh Thanh Vu et al. Chick chorioallantoic membrane assay as an in vivo model to study the effect of nanoparticle-based anticancer drugs in ovarian cancer is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Evgenia Ryabtseva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru