An improved in vivo methodology to visualise tumour induced changes in vasculature using the chick chorionic allantoic membrane assay

Background/Aim: Decreasing the vascularity of a tumour has proven to be an effective strategy to suppress tumour growth and metastasis. Anti-angiogenic therapies have revolutionized the treatment of advanced-stage cancers, however there is still demand for further improvement. This necessitates new experimental models that will allow researchers to reliably study aspects of angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to demonstrate an in vivo technique in which the highly vascular and accessible chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of the chick embryo is used to study tumour-induced changes in the macro and microvessels. Materials and Methods: Two cancer cell lines (human melanoma (C8161) and human prostate cancer (PC3)) were selected as model cells. Human dermal fibroblasts were used as a control. One million cells were labelled with green fluorescent protein and implanted on the CAM of the chick embryo at embryonic development day (EDD) 7 and angiogenesis was evaluated at EDDs 10, 12 and 14. A fluorescently-tagged lectin (lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)) was injected intravenously into the chick embryo to label endothelial cells. The LCA is known to label the luminal surface of endothelial cells, or dextrans, in the CAM vasculature. Macrovessels were imaged by a hand-held digital microscope and images were processed for quantification. Microvessels were evaluated by confocal microscopy. Tumour invasion was assessed by histological and optical sectioning. Results: Tumour cells (C8161 and PC3) produced quantifiable increases in the total area covered by blood vessels, compared to fibroblasts when assessed by digital microscopy. Tumour invasion could be demonstrated by both histological and optical sectioning. The most significant changes in tumour vasculature observed were in the microvascular structures adjacent to the tumour cells, which showed an increase in the endothelial cell coverage. Additionally, tumour intravasation and tumour thrombus formation could be detected in the areas adjacent to tumour cells. The fragility of tumour blood vessels could be demonstrated when tumour cells seeded on a synthetic scaffold were grown on CAM. Conclusion: We report on a modification to a well-studied CAM in vivo assay, which can be effectively used to study tumour induced changes in macro and microvasculature.