Can oral squamous cell carcinoma xenografts tumors mirror the original tumor microenvironment? An immunohistochemical analysis
Abstract This study aimed to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and compare histological findings with primary tumors of origin (PTT). OSCC samples from five donor patients were implanted into NOD/SCID mice (PDX0) and subsequently re-implanted into new animals (PDX1), yielding three groups for analysis: PTT, PDX0, and PDX1 ( n = 5 each). Histological slides with sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for grade analysis and subjected to immunohistochemical reactions with antibodies against SMA, CD4, CD8, CD31, CD34, Claudin-1, Vimentin, and Ki-67. Multiple comparisons were performed between samples (PTT, PDX0, and PDX1). The histological grade of PDX0 and PDX1 tumors showed instability across passages. The expression of SMA, claudin-1, vimentin, and Ki-67 was maintained, with no significant differences between PDX0 and PDX1 when compared with PTT. In contrast, the expression of CD4, CD8, CD31, and CD34 was significantly reduced in PDX0 and PDX1 tumors compared with PTT. OSCC PDX tumors may exhibit instability in the degree of differentiation compared with the donor tumors across passages, as well as alterations in certain components of the TME, including cancer-associated fibroblasts, epithelial–mesenchymal transition–related features, and cellular proliferation characteristics.
Citação
@online{mateus_josé2026,
author = {Mateus José , Dutra and Brendo Vinicius Rodrigues , Louredo
and Sousa-Neto, Sebastião Silvério, De and Hélen Kaline Farias ,
Bezerra and Ana Carolina , Prado-Ribeiro and Leandro Luongo , Matos
and Felipe Martins , Silveira and Manoela Domingues , Martins and
Luiz Paulo , Kowalski and Pablo Agustin , Vargas and Vivian Petersen
, Wagner},
title = {Can oral squamous cell carcinoma xenografts tumors mirror the
original tumor microenvironment? An immunohistochemical analysis},
volume = {488},
number = {3},
date = {2026-03-01},
doi = {10.1007/s00428-026-04399-0},
langid = {pt-BR},
abstract = {Abstract This study aimed to characterize the tumor
microenvironment (TME) in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of
oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and compare histological
findings with primary tumors of origin (PTT). OSCC samples from five
donor patients were implanted into NOD/SCID mice (PDX0) and
subsequently re-implanted into new animals (PDX1), yielding three
groups for analysis: PTT, PDX0, and PDX1 ( n = 5 each). Histological
slides with sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for
grade analysis and subjected to immunohistochemical reactions with
antibodies against SMA, CD4, CD8, CD31, CD34, Claudin-1, Vimentin,
and Ki-67. Multiple comparisons were performed between samples (PTT,
PDX0, and PDX1). The histological grade of PDX0 and PDX1 tumors
showed instability across passages. The expression of SMA,
claudin-1, vimentin, and Ki-67 was maintained, with no significant
differences between PDX0 and PDX1 when compared with PTT. In
contrast, the expression of CD4, CD8, CD31, and CD34 was
significantly reduced in PDX0 and PDX1 tumors compared with PTT.
OSCC PDX tumors may exhibit instability in the degree of
differentiation compared with the donor tumors across passages, as
well as alterations in certain components of the TME, including
cancer-associated fibroblasts, epithelial–mesenchymal
transition–related features, and cellular proliferation
characteristics.}
}