Fertilized Chicken Eggs: A Novel Platform for Cancer and Regenerative Medicine Research
This invention utilizes fertilized chicken eggs as a unique and inexpensive model to study and target cancer progression and metastasis, as well as for regenerative medicine applications. Its most significant advantage lies in providing a complex in vivo microenvironment that is not immunocompetent, allowing for the growth of human cells and the study of their behavior in a way that is not possible with current in vitro systems or regulated animal models.
Description
The invention leverages fertilized chicken eggs as an in vivo system for growing human cells, including cancer cells and normal stem cells. Unlike traditional models, fertilized chicken eggs are not immunocompetent, meaning they do not reject human cells, thus overcoming a significant barrier in cell growth studies. The developing embryo within the egg provides a rich and complex microenvironment that can drive human cells into active or differentiated states, crucial for studying tumorigenesis, organogenesis, and the transition of cancer cells from dormancy. This system also serves as a sensitive indicator for angiogenic or teratogenic signals produced by injected cellsApplications
- Cancer biology research, particularly for studying tumor progression and metastasis.- Regenerative medicine for studying organogenesis and cell differentiation.
- Development and testing of cellular therapies.
- Identification of tumor cells capable of undergoing EMT.
- Determination of compounds that promote angiogenesis.
- Drug screening for anti-cancer agents and regenerative compounds, including early detection of teratogenic effects.
Advantages
- Enables the growth of human cells without immunological rejection.- Provides a unique in vivo microenvironment for studying cell growth and differentiation that is difficult to replicate in vitro.
- Allows for accelerated study of epithelial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in cancer cells, a critical step in metastasis.
- Offers a cost-effective and abundant model system not subject to the same regulations as vertebrate animals in research.
- Facilitates large-scale testing of cell types and compounds due to ease of handling and no requirement for culture medium.