An in vivo rat model for visualizing glioma tumor cell invasion using stable persistent expression of the green fluorescent protein

In our studies examining mechanisms of brain tumor cell migration/invasion into host tissue, the RT2 rat glioma cell line was stably transfected utilizing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) DNA construct. Stable transfected RT2 cells demonstrate high GFP expression at initial passages, maintain expression over 30 passages and have similar in vitro and in vivo growth patterns relative to controls. In rat brain tissue, individual tumor cells can be detected without any post-treatment. Using flow cytometry and cell sorting, we are able to retrieve and culture GFP positive cells from tumor core as well as adjacent tissue and contralateral hemisphere of tumor-bearing animals.