Long-term Intravital Investigation of an Orthotopic Glioma Mouse Model via Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Abstract

Background/aim: Probing brain tumor microvasculature holds significant importance in both basic cancer research and medical practice for tracking tumor development and assessing treatment outcomes. However, few imaging methods commonly used in clinics can noninvasively monitor the brain microvascular network at high precision and without exogenous contrast agents in vivo. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of microvasculature during brain tumor development in an orthotopic glioma mouse model.

Materials and methods: An orthotopic glioma mouse model was established by surgical orthotopic implantation of U87-MG-luc cells into the mouse brain. Then, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was utilized to characterize the microvasculature progression within 14 days.

Results: The orthotopic glioma mouse model evaluated by bioluminescence imaging and MRI was successfully generated. As the tumor grew, the microvessels within the tumor area slowly decreased, progressing from the center to the periphery for 14 days.

Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of OCTA as a useful tool to noninvasively visualize the brain microvascular network at high precision and without any exogenous contrast agents in vivo.

Keywords: Optical coherence tomography angiography; high resolution; long-term monitor; microvasculature; orthotopic glioma mouse model.