Sarcoma Xenograft

Altogen Labs validated Sarcoma Xenograft animal models:

SJSA-1,  S180,  HT1080

Sarcoma is a type of cancer that arises from cells that make up the body’s connective tissues, including bones, muscles, cartilage, and other types of soft tissues. Sarcomas are rare compared to other types of cancer, and they can occur anywhere in the body. Some of the most common subtypes of sarcoma include osteosarcoma, which affects bone tissue; chondrosarcoma, which affects cartilage; and leiomyosarcoma, which affects smooth muscle tissue. Sarcomas can be difficult to diagnose, as they often do not cause any symptoms in their early stages. When symptoms do occur, they may include pain, swelling, and stiffness in the affected area, as well as unexplained weight loss and fatigue. Treatment for sarcoma typically involves a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The choice of treatment will depend on the location and stage of the cancer, as well as the overall health of the patient.

Sarcoma refers to cancer of the mesenchymal connective tissue, which includes cartilage, muscle, fat, cancellous bone, vasculature and hematopoietic tissues. Most tissues are, on the other hand, carcinomas, which are defined as being epithelial of origin. Because sarcomas can affect many tissue types, there are accordingly many subtypes and symptoms of sarcomas. Most sarcoma treatment involves primarily surgical resection with chemotherapy being used to improve prognosis and symptoms. Adjuvant radiotherapy is also a common option. Some main types of sarcomas include liposarcoma (fat-like), rhapdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma (bone-like), leiomyosarcoma (smooth muscle-like), clear cell sarcoma, angiosarcoma (blood vessel-like), fibrosarcoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumors, fibrobyxoid sarcoma and chondrosarcoma (cartilage-like). Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are also considered a type of sarcoma. Sarcomas are known to present differently, for example as spindle-cell, epithelioid or mast cell sarcomas. Mast cell sarcomas are extremely rare and aggressive with an extremely poor prognosis. Spindle-cell sarcomas are spindle-shaped; spindle-cells are typically a healthy response to injury where rapid division is helpful for healing. Epithelial sarcomas are also rare as they are mesenchymal tissues with epithelial cell features such as expression of cytokeratins, vimentin, CD34 and epithelial membrane antigen. Epithelial sarcomas also often overexpress VEGF, c-MET, CA125, mTOR, EGFR, Sonic hedgehog and Notch pathways, CD109 and cyclin D1. Treatments of epithelioid sarcomas often include hypoxic tumor targeting, acidic microenvironment targeting, vaccine therapy, adoptive immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors TKI inhibitors, oncolytic viral therapy and anti-angiogenic drugs, among other treatments.

Using xenograft models of sarcomais a powerful research tool, and there are several sarcoma xenograft models to choose from. The goal of xenografts and murine models is to mirror human pathology and disease as closely as possible so that accurate insights into cellular events are achieved. This aspect is particularly critical with preclinical drug testing for accurately evaluating compound efficacy.

Cell Line Characteristics
SJSA-1 ·    Human fibroblast cell line from a primary osteosarcoma / primitive femur multipotential sarcoma·    Overexpresses MDM2 and gli proto-oncogene
S180 ·    Swiss Webster murine soft tissue sarcoma derived from metastatic ascites·    Exhibits rapid growth and proliferation
Cell Line Characteristics
HT1080 ●        Human epithelial connective tissue cancer (fibrosarcoma)●        Pseudodiploid karyotype

●        Positive for the N-ras oncogene

Altogen Labs provides years of expert research in xenograft experiments taking advantage of the comprehensive expertise the company has developed in the use of human tumor xenografts for research and clinical purposes. Altogen Labs offers a complete suite of laboratory services, including:

  • xenotransplantation study design
  • selection of appropriate cancer model/cell line
  • host animal selection
  • subcutaneous or orthotopic xenografting
  • daily observation of experimental subjects
  • post-experiment analysis, including serum collection and histology

Xenotransplantation studies have been a backbone of oncology research for four decades, and provide an effective research and evaluation environment for novel pharmaceutical compounds. Typically, these studies involve the implantation of tumorigenic human cell lines into immunocompromised mice, providing scientists with an in vivo model of tumor behavior in which to perform experiments including screening of novel cancer therapies, studies of cell behavior, and examination of metastasis.

Mouse strains available at Altogen Labs:

Mouse type T cells B cells NK cells Coat Other Notes
CD1 No Yes Yes White/albino Outbred
B6 Yes Yes Yes White/albino Inbred
Balb/c No Yes Yes Nude, albino Inbred
Balb/SCID No No Yes White Inbred
NOD/SCID No No Impaired White Inbred
Nu/nu No Yes Yes Nude Outbred
CD57BL Yes Yes Yes Dark brown/black Inbred
CB17 Yes Yes Yes White Inbred
NSG No No No White Inbred
Swiss Nude No Yes Yes Nude Outbred

About the models

CD1

This model originates from a non-inbred Swiss stock of the 1920s from the Centre Anticancerux Romand (Lausanne, Switzerland). Outbred stocks are generally used for their genetic variability.

B6

This strain of mouse arose from a spontaneous mutation in the C57BL/6 strain resulting in a coisogenic albino mutant. These mice have a mutant tyrosinase gene.

Balb/c

This strain of nude mouse was developed in the 1980s through many crosses and backcrosses and remains to be an inbred model. Balb/c mice do not have a thymus and therefore cannot produce T-cells and are considered immunodeficient. Balb/c mice are often used for their easy breeding and similar weights (low-variation) of males and females. They are also used for monoclonal antibody production.

Balb/SCID

This mouse model lacks functioning T and B cells but do have functioning NK cells which limits engraftment. These mice are sensitive to irradiation and have functioning macrophages, dendritic cells and complement activity. Some cancer cell lines show improved engraftment over nude models in Balb/SCID mice.

NOD/SCID

The homozygous SCID mutation results in impaired T cell and B cell lymphocyte development. The NOD characteristic results in impaired natural killer cell function. NOD/SCID mice also lack macrophage and dendritic cell activity as well as reduced complement activity. These mice have a non-obese diabetic and insulitis background and low cytokine production. NOD/SCID mice exhibit a 36-week median survival due to the development of thymic lymphomas, which limits their use to short-term experiments.

Nu/nu

These mice originate from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Originally thought to be BALB/C congenic mice, once it was discovered that these mice were outbred they were determined to be of their own strain. These mice do not have a thymus, or T-cells, and are nude immunodeficient models.

CD57BL/6

This laboratory mouse strain was the 2nd mammalian species to ever have its genome published in entirety. They originate from the Bussey Institute for Research in Applied Biology in 1921. These mice are often selected for easy breeding and availability of congenic strains. These mice are particularly sensitive to odors, noise, pain, cold, alcohol and morphine addiction.

CB17

CB17 mice are of a congenic strain that carry the immunoglobulin heavy chain allele (Igh-1b) from a C57BL/Ka on a BALB/c background. They are an ideal control for the CB17/SCID immunodeficient mouse model

NSG

Also known as NOD scid gamma, these mice are deficient in NK, T and B cells as well as multiple cytokine pathways. They also have reduced dendritic cell function and defective macrophage activity and lack a complement system. They are one of the most immunodeficient models available and unlike NOD/SCID mice, NSG mice do not develop thymic lymphomas and can be used for long-term experiments.

Swiss Nude

These mice originate from the 1974 Gustave Roussy Institute (Villejuif, France) Swiss stock. They are T cell deficient, nude and albino.