Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models provide an excellent platform to understand cancer initiation and development in vivo. In the context of brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs), PDX models allow for characterization of tumor formation, growth, and recurrence, in a clinically relevant in vivo system. Here, we detail procedures to harvest, culture, characterize, and orthotopically inject human BTICs derived from patient samples.
Keywords: Brain tumor-initiating cell (BTIC); Flow cytometry; Immunohistochemistry; In vitro proliferation assay; In vitro self-renewal assay; Intracranial injections; Lentivirus; NOD-SCID; Patient-derived xenograft (PDX).