RESEARCH
Mouse Models of Pancreatic Cancer
PHOTO CREDIT: Research Animal Resources Center (RARC) Training Division
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cancer in humans, and once diagnosed, the prognosis is poor.
In an attempt to find new ways to tackle--and hopefully stop--this disease, researchers at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine have developed a transgenic mouse model of pancreatic cancer that mimics the human disease.
In fact, Dr. Eric Sandgren’s laboratory model is unique.
“In our mice, pancreatic tumors metastasize, or spread, to the same organs as in humans,” says Dr. Melissa Schutten, a graduate student in Dr. Sandgren’s laboratory. “We believe that’s a good sign that we’re targeting the right cells.”
The mice are used to test anti-cancer compounds developed by others on campus. The goal is to eventually design a drug that could target the cancer-causing cell.
Dr. Sandgren’s laboratory is part of a campus-wide National Institutes of Health (NIH) drug discovery consortium in which interdisciplinary groups work on different parts of the same puzzle. Chemists and pharmacologists develop natural compounds that are screened in vitro (in cells). If a compound shows anti-neoplastic (anti-cancer) activity, it is then tried in vivo (in the mouse). Cancer biologists analyze the final results.
PHOTO CREDIT: Research Animal Resources Center (RARC) Training Division
“We follow the mice closely after treatment to see if the cancer has receded,” Dr. Schutten says. “We use specially-designed MRI, PET, and CT scanner beds that accommodate such tiny patients.”
Different laboratories on campus are looking at different kinds of cancer, including breast, colon, and pancreatic. By using transgenic mice, work can progress more efficiently.
If a therapy is found that consistently works in the mouse models, one of the next steps may be to try the therapy in humans.
“Our mice were developed specifically to mirror the same genetic abnormalities that occur in humans with pancreatic cancer, so we’re hopeful,” says Dr. Schutten.
