Pathway Analysis in Mouse Model for Astrocytoma via Systems Biology Approach

高级别星形细胞瘤代表了最常见的脑恶性肿瘤，可用的治疗选择有限，并且已证实与通常较差的临床结局相关。因此，对疾病病因学的更好理解代表了开发创新诊断和治疗策略的有希望的途径。该项目包括CAPR（货车戴克博士的临床前研究中心）、ESTA（Ryan米勒博士的实验室）和ISB（Leroy Hood博士的实验室）之间的广泛合作，以表征星形细胞瘤发生过程的分子特征和途径，并确定有希望的癌性转化的早期预后标志物以及对治疗的反应。为此，该项目利用了小鼠中诱导性疾病启动的优势，干扰和/或监测致癌过程的能力，以及无偏见系统生物学方法的广泛力量。随着疾病的进展，各种最先进的分子技术将监测组织和血清中的基因组、转录组、蛋白质组和代谢组动态。在可能的情况下，将利用跨物种数据分析来确定结果与人类疾病的相关性。在过去的一年里，CAPR的科学家们开发和优化了育种方法，以维持高级别星形细胞瘤和胶质母细胞瘤的一类诱导遗传模型的殖民地。该模型具有复杂的遗传设置，混合了几个突变等位基因，使功能失调的pRb/p105/p130，K-ras和PTEN/Akt途径单独或以不同的组合。设计并验证了快速鉴定具有所需等位基因组合的个体动物所需的一组测定，以及沿着多种基于组织学、分子生物学和体内成像的临床相关终点，以监测疾病进展阶段。为了证明这一点，CAPR采用了一种升级的方法，允许通过MRI模式同时对多只动物进行成像，从而使整个实验队列的多个纵向成像过程变得可行。在另一系列实验中，CAPR的临床前评价组开发了一种互补的原位颅内异种移植物建模策略，该策略采用人神经胶质瘤细胞系或从从头荷瘤动物中分离的原代AA/GBM细胞，并在体外培养条件下最低限度地维持。到目前为止，这些原位模型已用于几个合作PK/PD项目，旨在通过高通量体外筛选策略（例如Schweinfurthins，与Karlyne Reilly博士的内部CCR合作或与CGMH（台湾）的国际合作，以评估超声辅助药物递送策略）在脑组织中对纳米技术化合物和候选药物进行生物利用度研究。

High grade astrocytomas represent the most common brain malignancies with limited therapeutic options available and proven association with generally poor clinical outcomes. Improved understanding of disease etiology thus represents a promising avenue for developing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The project encompases a broad set of collaborative efforts among CAPR (Dr. Van Dyke's Preclinical Research Center), UNC (Dr. Ryan Miller's lab) and ISB (Dr. Leroy Hood's lab) to characterize molecular signatures and pathways underlying the astrocytomagenesis process and to identify promising early prognostic markers of cancerous transformation as well as response to therapeutic treatment. To this end, the project leverages the advantages of inducible disease initiation in the mouse, the ability to perturb and/or monitor the carcinogenesis process, and the extensive power of unbiased systems biology approach. A variety of state-of-the-art molecular technologies will monitor genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolom dynamics in tissues and blood serum as the disease progresses. Where possible, a cross-species data analysis will be exploited to determine the relevance of findings to human disease. During the past year, CAPR scientists developed and optimized breeding approaches to maintain the colony of one-of-a-kind inducible genetic model for high-grade astrocytoma and glioblastoma. The model features a complex genetic setup that mingles several mutant alleles to render dysfunctional pRb/p105/p130, K-ras, and PTEN/Akt pathways alone or in different combinations. The required set of assays to rapidly identify individual animals with desired allelic combinations has been designed and validates, along with multiple histology-, molecular biology-, and in vivo imaging-based clinically relevant endpoints to monitor disease progression stage. To exemplify, an upgraded approach allowing simultaneous imaging of multiple animals by MRI modality has been adopted by CAPR making feasible multiple longitudinal imaging sessions of the entire experimental cohort. In another line of experiment, the Preclinical Evaluation group of CAPR has developed a complementary orthotopic intracranial xenograft modelling strategy employing either human glioma cell lines or primary AA/GBM cells isolated from de novo tumor bearing animals and minimally maintained under in vitro culturing conditions. These orthotopic models have been utilized thus far in several collaborative PK/PD projects aimed at bioavailability studies in brain tissue for nanotechnology compounds and drug candidates identified through high-throughput in vitro screening strategies (e.g. Schweinfurthins, in intramural CCR collaboration with Dr. Karlyne Reilly or international collaboration with CGMH, Taiwan, to evaluate ultrasound-assiated drug delivery strategy).