Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) Assay as an In Vivo Model to Study the Effect of Newly Identified Molecules on Ovarian Cancer Invasion and Metastasis

Martin K Oehler,Alison S F Elder,Noor A Lokman,Carmela Ricciardelli

doi:10.3390/ijms13089959

Abstract

The majority of ovarian cancer patients present with advanced disease and despite aggressive treatment, prognosis remains poor. Significant improvement in ovarian cancer survival will require the development of more effective molecularly targeted therapeutics. Commonly, mouse models are used for the in vivo assessment of potential new therapeutic targets in ovarian cancer. However, animal models are costly and time consuming. Other models, such as the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, are therefore an attractive alternative. CAM assays have been widely used to study angiogenesis and tumor invasion of colorectal, prostate and brain cancers. However, there have been limited studies that have used CAM assays to assess ovarian cancer invasion and metastasis. We have therefore developed a CAM assay protocol to monitor the metastatic properties of ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3, SKOV-3 and OV-90) and to study the effect of potential therapeutic molecules in vivo. The results from the CAM assay are consistent with cancer cell motility and invasion observed in in vitro assays. Our results demonstrate that the CAM assay is a robust and cost effective model to study ovarian cancer cell metastasis. It is therefore a very useful in vivo model for screening of potential novel therapeutics.

Highlights

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy
To effectively determine their function, we developed a chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay protocol using a range of ovarian cancer cell lines to allow the monitoring of candidate molecules on ovarian cancer cell invasion in vivo
We found OV-90 cells to be most invasive through an extracellular matrix and migrated faster through 12 μm pores towards a chemo attractant, compared to SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 cells (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage when the cancer cells have already metastasized to the abdominal cavity. Ovarian cancer metastasis is characterized by the ability of ovarian cancer cells to detach from the ovary and to adhere and invade the peritoneal cell layer, which lines the organs in the abdominal cavity [1]. The development of new therapies with the aim to disrupt ovarian cancer metastasis requires the in vivo study of novel targets and molecules. Commonly used murine models are costly and require a large number of animals as well as a long experimental time frame. An attractive alternative is the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay

Methods

Results

Conclusion