Subcutaneous Xenograft

Overview

Subcutaneous xenograft models involve injecting human cancer cells into the flank of immunodeficient mice (commonly athymic nude or NSG mice) to form palpable tumors. Tumor volume is measured over time with calipers. This model is widely used for in vivo assessment of tumor growth, drug response, and the contribution of specific genes or cell populations to tumor biology.

Used by

  • Subcutaneous xenografts in 4-week-old male BALB/c nude mice (n=6 per group) were established by co-injection of 5×10⁵ GBC-SD cells with gallbladder fibroblasts (1:1 ratio, sh-NT or sh-SEMA7A); co-injection tumors were larger and showed elevated Ki-67, α-SMA, VIM, CD44, EPCAM and reduced CDH1 vs GBC-SD alone; SEMA7A knockdown in fibroblasts partially reversed these effects PMID:24997986
  • CB17 SCID mouse subcutaneous xenografts established from prostate cancer organoid lines MSK-PCa1 and MSK-PCa2; used to test enzalutamide and everolimus in vivo. PMID:25201530
  • 30 serially transplanted breast cancer PDX lines established in NSG and NRG mice via subcutaneous, subrenal capsule, and mammary fat pad implantation over up to 16 generations; clonal selection on engraftment was universal across all 15 WGS-characterized series PMID:25470049
  • Subcutaneous xenograft models used to assess in vivo drug sensitivity in ovarian cancer cell line experiments PMID:26200345
  • ACC patient-derived primagraft (PDX) models in Foxn1nu mice used for in vivo BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 testing (50 mg/kg daily oral); grade-2 primagrafts responded (tumor growth slowed) while grade-3 Notch-activated primagrafts did not PMID:26829750
  • 22Rv1 cell-derived subcutaneous xenografts (CDX) in NOD-SCID mice used to demonstrate in vivo TRMT10A-knockdown olaparib sensitization; combination index (CI = 0.76) for olaparib (50 mg/kg) + spautin-1 (20 mg/kg) PMID:28068672.
  • DU145 and PC3 cells with NOL10 knockdown or USF1 knockdown grown as subcutaneous xenografts in male nude mice; NOL10-knockdown xenografts were significantly smaller by volume and weight, with lower Ki67, lower Vimentin, and higher E-cadherin by IHC PMID:28927585

Notes

  • Co-injection of cancer cells with stromal cells (e.g., fibroblasts) models tumor-stroma crosstalk in vivo.
  • Immunodeficient hosts (nude, SCID, NSG) are required for human cell engraftment but preclude assessment of adaptive immune responses.
  • Tumor size, histology (Ki-67, IHC markers), and endpoint endpoint weight are standard readouts.
  • Orthotopic models (injecting into the organ of origin) better recapitulate the native tumor microenvironment but are technically more demanding.

Sources

This page was processed by crosslinker on 2026-05-14. - PMID:25201530

This page was processed by crosslinker on 2026-05-14. - PMID:25470049

This page was processed by crosslinker on 2026-05-14. - PMID:26200345

This page was processed by wiki-cli on 2026-05-14. - PMID:26829750

This page was processed by wiki-cli on 2026-05-14. - PMID:28068672

This page was processed by wiki-cli on 2026-05-14. - PMID:28927585

This page was processed by wiki-cli on 2026-05-15.