A model for xenotransplantation of human malignant astrocytomas into the brain of normal adult rats.

Transplantation of human brain tumours into the brain of normal laboratory animals is still considered to be unsatisfactory by many researchers, despite the fact that the brain is considered an immunologically privileged site. We present in this paper a model of xenotransplantation fo human astrocytomas grade III-IV into the brain of normal, adult Sprague-Dawley rats with good take rates, i.e. takes in two thirds of the animals, half of these with large, infiltrating tumours. The transplants are placed using a microsurgical technique in the vessel-rich choroidal fissure in the host brain from where rapid vascularization occurs. The technique has previously been used for CNS-regeneration studies. This model should provide an excellent opportunity to study human malignant astrocytomas in a milieu as natural as possible.