According to current knowledge , to create experimentally melanoma metastasis in a mause is impossible...

An isolated brain metastasis model would result complicated to develop. You can use a melanom model and look for metastasis, inc. cerebral.

KIm et al.. Combination of poly-gamma-glutamate and cyclophosphamide enhanced antitumor efficacy against tumor growth and metastasis in a murine melanoma model. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2013 Sep 28;23(9):1339-46.

Hi, Check out this

PMID: 23423977

If you are looking for method to directly deliver tumor cells into brain see:

http://www.jove.com/video/3157/a-simple-guide-screw-method-for-intracranial-xenograft-studies-in-mice?id=3157

I use it for glioma model. It is easy and convinient.

Good luck.

Simple method yielding consistent tumors that can be used to assess therapies but not telling you anything about the metastatic process = intracerebral implantation. Human A375 and A2058 melanoma cells grow well in nude rat brain.

Tougher method that gives randomly distributed mets throughout the brain = intracardiac or intracarotid cell infusion (a reference for the intracardiac method for breast cancer brain metastases is Lockman et al 2010 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20829328). In my lab, infusion of a million A2058 cells into the internal carotid artery in nude rats yields hundreds of brain mets.

Here is a review summarising the various model progressions in mice.

http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v128/n10/pdf/jid2008177a.pdf

I am alos looking some paper which are highly related in induced brain tumor.

Yet I did not find any suitable paper. My plan is induces brain tumour by some carcinogen or cehmically induced brain tumor then I will use natural compound to treat the tumor. If this compound would be reduce or kill tumor cell then my plan will be success.

The only problem with current techniques is that you will not have brain mets uniquely. The B16 melanoma cells injected intracardially into C57BL/6 mice works quite well; but you need special devices to run this. I highly recommend you this paper to have a look.

As other authors said, I also would suggest you to think about the intracranial model. My best wishes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23665347

What are the glioma models referred to by others in this thread?

I once developed a model for PNETs / medulloblastomas in the rat brain using neural grafting and oncogene transfer of SV40 Large T - antigen. The question here is different and does not seem to be related to primary tumors developing in the brain, but very specifically for melanoma metastasizing to the brain. I guess the B16 model could work with injections into the arterial circulation. Perhaps, one could derive sublines from the brain metastasis to incrase the metastatic potential into the brain - even After i.v. incections later. Since the b16 cells, in my experiments, could use their VLA4 Integrins to roll and stick on brain-derived endothelial cells via VCAM1, it would be interesting to find other factors for organ-specificity.

Here we had studied the RasB8 transgenic astrocytoma mouse which spontaneously develop glioblastoma alike tumors. Otherwise, if you have access to human brain tumors, you can digest it with papain, and inject the cells in pbs intracranially in nude or Nod Scid mice.

Usually 5 to 10uL of cell solution (not more) and a maximum of 10^6 cells.

In a few weeks you will obtain observable tumors for histology, or you can use that model for in vivo drug testing!

I guess using human tumor cells for drug testing is more reliable because I had problems with mutant mice whose mutation masked my drug effect.

You can use GL261 glioma model. The GL261 mouse glioma cell injected into C57BL/6 mice brain.

Maybe I should start a new thread, but I am looking for genetic models that have a high frequency to form gliomas.

@David Sassoon, you should look for models with EGFR amplification and PTEN loss in the brain.

Hope it helps!

I work with Pten het rats, Tp53 KO rats and Rag2/Il2rg KO rats. We saw pathology in the brains of the Tp53 KOs but they were primary tumors. Here is the paper: http://dmm.biologists.org/content/6/1/269.full

is there any behavioural changes to indicate that tumor has formed in the brain of mice?

So, Rodi, did you find a suitable model for melanoma metastasizing into the brain of mice?

Well Robert, after checking the literature. the common model -as you mentioned before- was the injection of melanoma cells into arterial circulation. However, its hard technically and the level of metastasizing into brain could varies between animals. Recently I am thinking of trying the intracranial injection. Will appreciate any recommendations