Department of Surgery, University of Erlangen, Krankenhausstrasse 12, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany.
Pathol Oncol Res. 2009 Sep;15(3):417-22. doi: 10.1007/s12253-008-9140-y.
Of all processes involved in carcinogenesis, local invasion and the formation of metastases are the clinically most relevant but the scientifically least well understood at their molecular level. Recent experimental progress has identified that tumour hypoxia not only induces tumour angiogenesis, but also modulates the expression of several genes that have been implicated in tumour invasion and metastasis. Here we developed an in vivo model to understand a number of molecular pathways and cellular mechanisms for tumour invasion in hypoxia. For this purpose fertilized chicken eggs were incubated for 10 days in normoxic conditions. Subsequently colon carcinoma cells (SW-480) were placed on the chorioallantoic membrane. During the following 6 days the eggs were incubated either in normoxic conditions or in stepwise decreasing hypoxic conditions. SW-480 colon carcinoma cells did not invade the epithelial layer in normoxic conditions. In contrast an invasion through the epithelial layer in to the mesoderm was already seen after 3 days when incubated in hypoxic conditions. The chorioallantoic membrane assay described in this paper allows investigating tumour invasion and its cellular mechanisms under defined hypoxic conditions.
在致癌过程的所有涉及的环节中，局部浸润和转移的形成是临床方面最相关的，但其在分子水平上的科学理解是最不充分的。最近的实验进展已经确定，肿瘤缺氧不仅诱导肿瘤血管生成，而且还调节几个已经涉及肿瘤浸润和转移的基因的表达。在这里，我们开发了一种体内模型来理解肿瘤浸润的一些分子途径和细胞机制。为此，受精鸡蛋在常氧条件下孵育 10 天。随后将结肠癌细胞（SW-480）置于尿囊膜上。在接下来的 6 天里，鸡蛋分别在常氧条件或逐步降低的缺氧条件下孵育。在常氧条件下，SW-480 结肠癌细胞不会浸润上皮层。相比之下，在缺氧条件下孵育 3 天时，已经可以看到穿过上皮层进入中胚层的浸润。本文描述的尿囊膜实验允许在明确的缺氧条件下研究肿瘤浸润及其细胞机制。
