Characterization of Tumor Progression and Vascular Remodeling in an Orthotopic Model of Renal Cell Carcinoma
Elizaveta Petrova1, Alexandra Y. Sain1, Oleg A. Kulikov2, Gleb B. Sukhorukov1,3, Olga A. Sindeeva1; 1Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia; 2N.P. Ogarev National Research Mordovia State University, Saransk, Russia; 3LIFT Center LLC, Moscow, Russia
Abstract
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the 12th most common cancer worldwide and is diagnosed in approximately 2% of all cancer patients. High resistance to chemotherapy and increased risk of metastasis are some of the main challenges that are associated with the management of RCC tumors. Targeted therapy has emerged as a promising approach, and its development requires reliable preclinical models. In this study, we conducted a detailed characterization of tumor growth and metastatic spread in an orthotopic RCC model. The model was established in BALB/c mice by injecting Renca cells under the renal capsule to mimic the tumor microenvironment and disease progression in humans. We evaluated how different initial cell burdens influence tumor progression and assessed tumor development at multiple time points to capture the temporal dynamics of disease progression. A key focus of our study was the analysis of tumor-associated vascular changes, which we monitored noninvasively using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI). This technique enabled real-time evaluation of perfusion changes correlated with tumor growth. Our data demonstrate that this model reliably recapitulates key features of RCC progression and that LSCI effectively captures dynamic vascular alterations associated with tumor growth. These findings support the value of this model for preclinical evaluation of targeted therapies.
The study was supported by grant No. 23-75-10070 from the Russian Science Foundation.
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Elizaveta Petrova
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Russia
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