Mouse Models of Brain Tumors and Their Applications in Preclinical Trials

Abstract

Primary brain tumors, including gliomas and medulloblastomas, often represent the most devastating and difficult-to-treat tumors, and are thought to arise from glial cells and/or their precursors or the external granule cell layer, respectively. The majority of genetic alterations characteristic of the human brain tumors are thought to occur in genes encoding proteins involved in signal transduction or cell cycle regulation. Accurate recapitulation of these genetic alterations using genetically engineered mouse models allows for in vivo modeling of brain tumors with similar histopathology, etiology, and biology. These mouse models, in turn, increase our understanding of brain tumor initiation, formation, progression, and metastasis, providing an experimental system to discover novel therapeutic targets and test various therapeutic agents.

Hyaluronic Acid Mediated Enrichment of CD44 Expressing Glioblastoma Stem Cells in U251MG Xenograft Mouse Model

“…Xenograft models give more simultaneity and reproducibility with their high incidence of the tumor formation Also they allow easy tumor visualization for the drug development process and efficient penetrance of the drug interactions with the tumor [35,36]. Further the establishment of the model system will be advantageous for the replenishment of CSC, as in long turn in vitro culture system these cells undergo differentiation to normal cancer cells.…”

Assessing the significance of chromosomal aberrations in cancer: Methodology and application to glioma

“…Glioma is an excellent model in which to test the approach because the functional roles of a substantial number of copy number alterations have already been validated in preclinical models (7,8). We find 32 statistically significant events of genomic amplification or loss.…”

Apparent Diffusion Coefficient of Glial Neoplasms: Correlation with Fluorodeoxyglucose–Positron-Emission Tomography and Gadolinium-Enhanced MR Imaging

“…2 When one is following low-grade tumors, one of the most important events is malignant degeneration, which is triggered by incompletely understood molecular mechanisms. [3][4][5] Malignant degeneration leads to a worsening of the prognosis and often to a change in the clinical management. 2 Routine Gd-enhanced MR imaging plays a crucial role in the assessment of gliomas.…”