Using the Chick Embryo Brain as a Model for In Vivo and Ex Vivo Analyses of Human Glioblastoma Cell Behavior

Abstract
Summary Chick embryos are used for studying human glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumors in ovo and in ex vivo brain slice co-cultures. GBM cell behavior can be recorded by time-lapse microscopy in ex vivo co-cultures, and both preparations can be analyzed at the experimental endpoint by detailed 3D confocal analysis. Abstract The chick embryo has been an ideal model system for the study of vertebrate development, particularly for experimental manipulations. Use of the chick embryo has been extended for studying the formation of human glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumors in vivo and the invasiveness of tumor cells into surrounding brain tissue. GBM tumors can be formed by injection of a suspension of fluorescently labeled cells into the E5 midbrain (optic tectum) ventricle in ovo. Depending on the GBM cells, compact tumors randomly form in the ventricle and within the brain wall, and groups of cells invade the brain wall tissue. Thick tissue sections (350 µm) of fixed E15 tecta with tumors can be immunostained to reveal that invading cells often migrate along blood vessels when analyzed by 3D reconstruction of confocal z-stack images. Live E15 midbrain and forebrain slices (250-350 µm) can be cultured on membrane inserts, where fluorescently labeled GBM cells can be introduced into non-random locations to provide ex vivo co-cultures to analyze cell invasion, which also can occur along blood vessels, over a period of about 1 week. These ex vivo co-cultures can be monitored by widefield or confocal fluorescence time-lapse microscopy to observe live cell behavior. Co-cultured slices then can be fixed, immunostained, and analyzed by confocal microscopy to determine whether or not the invasion occurred along blood vessels or axons. Additionally, the co-culture system can be used for investigating potential cell-cell interactions by placing aggregates of different cell types and colors in different precise locations and observing cell movements. Drug treatments can be performed on ex vivo cultures, whereas these treatments are not compatible with the in ovo system. These two complementary approaches allow for detailed and precise analyses of human GBM cell behavior and tumor formation in a highly manipulatable vertebrate brain environment.
Description
This article was originally published in Journal of Visualized Experiments . The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.3791/65199. Copyright © 2023 JoVE Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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Citation
Pastorino, Nicole G., Saori Tomatsu, Amy Lin, Jackson Doerr, Zachary Waterman, Krisztina Sershen, Pulak Ray, Analiz Rodriguez, and Deni S. Galileo. “Using the Chick Embryo Brain as a Model for In Vivo and Ex Vivo Analyses of Human Glioblastoma Cell Behavior.” JoVE, no. 195 (May 26, 2023): e65199. https://doi.org/10.3791/65199.