Figure 7.

In vivo visualization of xenotransplanted human glioma in mice

(A) Xenotransplantation of the primary cell cultures (1) and neurospheres (2) into cranial windows of immunosuppressed mice (4) using a Hamilton syringe in 3D cell-culture hydrogel GrowDex (3), and MRI visualization 3 weeks after transplantation with Omniscan (gadolinium) as a contrast (5). (B) Fluorescence-assisted in situ visualization of the tumor in mouse brains stained with the Cy5-labeled aptamer Gli-233 during the surgical intervention in vivo (2) supported with the light microscopy (1) of the correspondent area, laser scanning (Cy5-labeled aptamer, red channel; autofluorescence, green channel) (4), and light microscopy of the same tissues stained with hematoxylin and eosin (3). (C) PET/CT visualization (1), autopsy (2, 4), and histological analyses (3, 5) of the main tumor in the brain (2, 3) and its metastasis in the lungs (4, 5). White arrows indicate regions of fluorescent tumors stained with Gli-233Cy5, black and red arrows show astrocytoma cells in brain sections, green arrows show tumor regions in PET/CT and autopsy, and dashed circles include tumor areas. Magnification 4×, 10×, 40×. Scale bars, 100 µm, 200 µm, 500 µm.