Go North: Expanding the use of the chick embryo model in cancer research to a multiuser facility at the University of Strathclyde.

癌症是英国人死亡的主要原因之一。大多数癌症死亡是由侵袭性癌细胞引起的，这些癌细胞通过各种机制抵抗治疗。尽管在靶向癌症方面取得了进展，但迫切需要新的治疗方法来提高患者的生存率，特别是在脑癌、头颈癌或儿童癌症中，由于其严重程度，治疗方法往往受到限制。为了了解癌细胞如何、何时以及为何扩散并评估新的治疗方法，研究中最常用的是小鼠或大鼠癌症模型。为了研究肿瘤的形成和转移，成年小鼠或大鼠通常必须接受侵入性手术。这些会给动物带来疼痛、痛苦和痛苦，可以通过使用不成熟的模型来消除。在此，我们建议用鸡胚肿瘤模型代替小鼠和大鼠实验。根据《动物科学程序法》，鸡胚胎模型被列为不受保护的动物，因此是一种取代活体动物研究的有用技术。与鼠标模型相比，它有许多额外的优势，包括成本效益、可访问性和速度。这是研究肿瘤细胞生长和扩散的一个很好的模型，因为它们可以很容易地移植到“绒毛膜尿囊膜”上。这是一个可接近的表面，位于鸡胚的外面，直接在蛋壳下面，有良好的血管供应。几天之内，一个小肿瘤就会形成，它可以扩散到细胞膜上，有可能进入血管，扩散到特定的器官。重要的是，新的药物治疗可以很容易地在鸡胚胎模型中进行测试，肿瘤细胞随着时间的推移进行成像，以评估它们的生存和行为。在过去的8年里，我们已经成功地开发和使用了这个模型，并将其应用于一系列癌症类型，包括乳腺癌、头颈癌和神经母细胞瘤（一种儿科癌症）。我们已经开发了标准操作程序用于观察肿瘤负荷以及对治疗的反应。虽然它在当地（利物浦）的应用非常出色，但其他感兴趣的各方可能会认为，对专业设备的需求是追踪新的3R投诉方法的障碍。为了克服这一潜在障碍并确保广泛接受，我们将把我们的技能和知识从利物浦的CEF转移到格拉斯哥。为此，我们将对终端用户以及UoS动物部门的专业动物技术人员进行各种方法的培训，同时还将在格拉斯哥建立一个新的小鸡胚胎设施，向所有用户开放。我们将提供免费试用实验，并协助新用户进行实验，从计划到成功完成和/或新方法开发。利物浦的知识库也将得到加强，因为该项目开发的专业放射治疗方案将与那里的用户共享。两个中心之间的紧密联系将确保不断交换协议和应用程序，确保中心的持续发展。特别是对于GBM和NB，我们将探索这一模型，作为测试新放射疗法单独或联合药物的手段。这将使我们能够观察肿瘤负荷对治疗的反应，并有助于开发治疗这种致命疾病的新疗法。至关重要的是，除了这两个地方社区之外，更广泛的癌症研究社区也要意识到这种模式，因为它将加速他们的研究，并使大量动物实验得以替代。因此，我们将向研究界宣传它，并通过传单、网站和几次联合研讨会分享我们建立的标准方案。

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the UK. The majority of cancer deaths are caused by aggressive cancer cells, which resist treatment by various mechanisms. Despite advances in targeting cancer, new therapies are urgently needed to increase patient survival, especially in cancer of the brain, head and neck or in children, where treatment therapies are often limited due to their severity. To understand how, when and why cancer cells spread and evaluate novel therapies, mouse or rat models of cancer are most commonly used in research. To study tumour formation and metastasis, adult mice or rats often have to undergo invasive procedures. These can cause pain, suffering and distress to the animal, which could be eliminated by using an immature model. Here, we propose to replace mouse and rat experiments with the chick embryo tumour model. The chick embryo model is classified as non-protected under the Animals Scientific Procedures Act, and so is a useful technique to replace research in live animals. It has many additional advantages over mouse models, including cost effectiveness, accessibility and speed. It is an excellent model to study the growth and spread of tumour cells, as they can be easily engrafted onto the "chorioallantoic membrane". This is an accessible surface, located outside the chick embryo directly beneath the eggshell, with a good supply of blood vessels. Within a few days, a small tumour develops, which can spread across and into the membrane, potentially accessing blood vessels to spread to specific organs. Importantly, new drug treatments can be readily tested in the chick embryo model, and the tumour cells imaged over time to assess their survival and behaviour.We have successfully developed and used this model during the past 8 years and applied it to a range of cancer types, including cancer of the breast, head and neck and neuroblastoma, a paediatric cancer. We have developed SOPs for its use in observing tumour burden as well as response to therapies. While its uptake locally (Liverpool) has been excellent, other interested parties might see the need of specialised equipment as an obstacle to trail the new 3R complaint method. To overcome this potential hurdle and ensure a wide uptake, we will transfer our skills and knowledge from the CEF in Liverpool to Glasgow. To do this we will train end users as well as a specialised animal technician of the UoS's animal unit in all methods, but also establish a new chick embryo facility in Glasgow that is open to all users. We will enable free trial experiments and assist new users in their experiments, from planning to successful completion and/or novel methodology development. The knowledge pool in Liverpool will also be enhanced as the specialised irradiation therapy protocols developed in this project will be shared with the users there. The strong link between the two CEFs will ensure a constant exchange of protocols and applications ensuring its continued growth. For GBM and NB specifically we will explore this model as a means to test novel radiation therapies alone or in combination with drugs. This will allow us to observe tumour burden in response to treatment and aid the development of novel therapies to treat this deadly disease. It is crucial that apart from the two local communities, the wider cancer research community becomes aware of this model as it would accelerate their research and enable the replacement of a large number of animal experiments. We will therefore advertise it to the research community and share our established standard protocols via a leaflet, website and several joint workshops.