Orthotopic murine xenograft model of uveal melanoma with spontaneous liver metastasis

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults. Despite the effective primary treatment, up to 50% of patients with uveal melanoma will develop metastatic lesions mainly in the liver, which are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and lead to patient's death. To date, no orthotopic murine models of uveal melanoma which can develop spontaneous metastasis are available for preclinical studies. Here, we describe a spontaneous metastatic model of uveal melanoma based on the orthotopic injection of human uveal melanoma cells into the suprachoroidal space of immunodeficient NSG mice. All mice injected with bioluminescent OMM2.5 (n = 23) or MP41 (n = 19) cells developed a primary tumor. After eye enucleation, additional bioluminescence signals were detected in the lungs and in the liver. At necropsy, histopathological studies confirmed the presence of lung metastases in 100% of the mice. Liver metastases were assessed in 87 and in 100% of the mice that received OMM2.5 or MP41 cells, respectively. All tumors and metastatic lesions expressed melanoma markers and the signaling molecules insulin-like growth factor type I receptor and myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate, commonly activated in uveal melanoma. The novelty of this orthotopic mouse xenograft model is the development of spontaneous metastases in the liver from the primary site, reproducing the organoespecificity of metastasis observed in uveal melanoma patients. The faster growth and the high metastatic incidence may be attributed at least in part, to the severe immunodeficiency of NSG mice. This model may be useful for preclinical testing of targeted therapies with potential uveal melanoma antimetastatic activity and to study the mechanisms involved in liver metastasis.