Visualization and Quantitative 3D Analysis of Intraocular Melanoma and Its Vascularization in a Hamster Eye

• Main Authors: Bartosz Leszczyński, Martyna Śniegocka, Andrzej Wróbel, Roman Pędrys, Małgorzata Szczygieł, Bożena Romanowska-Dixon, Krystyna Urbańska, Martyna Elas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: imaging; tumor vasculature; ocular tumors; melanoma; hamster; micro-CT; ultrasound
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/2/332

A tumor vasculature network undergoes intense growth and rebuilding during tumor growth. Traditionally, vascular networks are histologically examined using parameters such as vessel density determined from two-dimensional slices of the tumor. Two-dimensional probing of a complicated three-dimensional (3D) structure only provides partial information. Therefore, we propose the use of microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) imaging to analyze the evolution of a tumor vasculature in an experimental ocular tumor model. A Bomirski Hamster Melanoma was implanted in the anterior chamber of a hamster eye. Ultrasound (US) imaging of the same tumor was performed in vivo, and the vascular results obtained using the two methods were compared. Normal ocular tissues, a tumor, and a tumor vascular structure were revealed with high accuracy using micro-CT. The vessels that grew within the tumor were chaotic, leaky, and contained many convoluted micro-vessels and embolizations. They comprised 20–38% of the tumor mass. The blood flow in the larger functional vessels was in the range from 10 to 25 mm/s, as determined by in vivo Doppler US. The micro-CT imaging of the hamster eyeball enabled both qualitative and quantitative 3D analyses of the globe at a histological level. Although the presented images were obtained ex vivo, micro-CT noninvasive imaging is being developed intensively, and high-resolution in vivo imaging is feasible.