EXTH-25. IN VIVO TWO-PHOTON TUMOR IMAGING IN AN ORTHOTOPIC MEDULLOBLASTOMA MOUSE MODEL

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND Medulloblastoma represents the most common primary brain malignancy in pediatric patients and is associated with neuro-cognitive impairment and frequent relapses after aggressive multimodal therapy. Adoptive immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy are currently being investigated, showing promising results in preclinical models but lacking efficacy in first-in-human trials. Refined in vivo models to investigate reasons for treatment failures are therefore urgently needed. METHODS We developed a xenogeneic orthotopic medulloblastoma (MB) model in mice by combining a chronic cerebellar window with repetitive intravital two-photon laser scanning microscopy. Red tdTomato-fluorescent DAOY (SHH MB) tumor cells expressing B7-H3 were implanted intracranially into the cerebellum of immunodeficient mice (n = 7), and tumor cell formation was followed by in vivo-microscopy. Intravenous fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran was used for intravascular plasma staining. B7-H3-directed CAR T-cells were injected into the adjacent brain parenchyma. RESULTS Chronic cranial window implantation was well tolerated and allowed repetitive visualization of the mouse cerebellum. After intracranial tumor cell implantation, continuous tumor growth could be evaluated with epifluorescence as well as 2-photon laser scanning microscopy. Tumor formation was identified as early as day 5 in every mouse and could continuously be followed up to 35 days until mice succumbed due to tumor burden. Window quality and fluorescence intensity remained high until the end of the experiments. Studies on GFP-expressing CAR T-cell injection directed against B7-H3 are currently ongoing. CONCLUSIONS We herein establish a robust orthotopic medulloblastoma mouse model that allows repetitive in vivo tracking of fluorescence-expressing tumor cells, CAR T-cells and blood vessels over weeks. Such models may be used to study medulloblastoma tumor growth under the influence of different immunotherapies and reveal interactions between tumor cells and CAR T-cell therapies on a single-cell level.