Real-time cancer cell tracking by bioluminescence in a preclinical model of human bladder cancer growth and metastasis

Background

Bladder cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in the Western world and the second most frequently diagnosed genitourinary tumor. In the majority of cases, death from bladder cancer results from metastatic disease. Understanding the multistep process of carcinogenesis and metastasis in urothelial cancers is pivotal to the development of new therapeutic strategies. Molecular imaging of cancer growth and metastasis in preclinical models provides the essential link between cell-based experiments and clinical translation.

Objective

Develop preclinical models for sensitive bladder cancer cell tracking during tumor progression and metastasis.

Design, setting, and participants

A human transitional cell carcinoma UM-UC-3 cell line was generated that stably expresses luciferase 2 (UM-UC-3luc2), a mammalian codon-optimized firefly luciferase with superior expression. Preclinical models were developed with human UM-UC-3luc2 cells xenografted into the bladder (orthotopic model with metastases) or inoculated into the left cardiac ventricle (bone metastasis model) of immunocompromised mice.

Measurements

Noninvasive, sensitive bioluminescent imaging of human firefly luciferase 2-positive bladder cancer in mice using the IVIS100 imaging system.

Results and limitations

In the orthotopic model (intravesical inoculation), tumor growth could be followed directly after inoculation of UM-UC-3luc2 cells. Importantly, micrometastatic lesions originating from orthotopically implanted cancer cells could be detected in the locoregional lymph nodes and in distant organs. In addition, the superior bioluminescent indicator firefly luciferase 2 allows the detection and monitoring of micrometastatic lesions in real time after intracardiac inoculation of human bladder cancer cells in mice. The main disadvantage is the lack of T-cell immunity in the preclinical models.

Conclusions

The new bioluminescence-based preclinical bladder cancer models enable superior, noninvasive, and real-time tracking of cancer cells, tumor progression, and micrometastasis. Because of the significant improvement in detection of small cell numbers, the presented models are ideally suited for functional studies dealing with minimal residual disease as well as real-time imaging of drug response.