Characterization of the Hen as a Model for Human Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Abstract : Investigation of basic factors involved in malignant transformation of the ovary has been hampered by the lack of an appropriate animal model. The overall hypothesis of this project is that the hen is an excellent model for human ovarian epithelial cell cancer. We will take a three-pronged approach in this project. First, we will compare differences in spontaneous incidence between two strains of hens as they age and examine for pathological ovarian changes that may indicate site of origin of the tumors. We have not yet compared the incidence of tumors in the two strains of hens because we were not able to obtain 2-year old hens at the start of the experiment. We have begun to histologically analyze the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) as well as ovary proper for pre-tumor lesions. Our second approach was to evaluate possible differences between the strains in response to reproductive manipulations highly correlated to incidence in women. Because we did not have access to 2 year old hens at the initiation of the experiment, we have not yet begun experiments to manipulate the incidence of adenocarcinoma. These experiments will be initiated in the coming year. Our third approach was to examine potential differences in cell signaling that may underlie the different incidence between the strains. We have made the most progress on this task with respect to validating and characterizing our culture system for OSE cells. We have determined that significant quantities of hen OSE cells can be obtained and can be cultured in two commercially available types of media (CM) or (MCDB) for at least 10 days. The cultured OSE cells are positive for cytokeratin and negative for vimentin. In combination with Hoechst staining, these results indicate that the cultures are not contaminated with fibroblasts.