A Minimally Invasive Transthoracic Injection Technique for Reproducible Intrapleural Delivery in Mice

• Published in: Methods and protocols Vol. 8; no. 3; p. 55
• Main Authors: Rovers, Sophie, Farahmand, Pooyeh, Liu, Dana, Brants, Louize, Hermans, Christophe, Peeters, Dieter, McKinven, Danielle, Doig, Jennifer, Lardon, Filip, van Meerbeeck, Jan, Marcq, Elly, Murphy, Daniel J., Smits, Evelien
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.05.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Anesthesia; Asbestos; General anesthesia; Immunocompetence; Injection; Injections; intrapleural injection; Laboratory animals; Lungs; Mesothelioma; Methods; minimally invasive methods; orthotopic models; Pleural cavity; pleural mesothelioma; preclinical models; Protocol; Reproducibility; Surgery; transthoracic injection; Tumors; Belgium; intrapleural injection; transthoracic injection; preclinical models; minimally invasive methods; pleural mesothelioma; orthotopic models
• ISSN: 2409-9279; 2409-9279
• DOI: 10.3390/mps8030055

The development of standardised, reproducible preclinical models is essential for advancing pleural mesothelioma (PM) research. Here, we present a simple and reliable minimally invasive transthoracic intrapleural injection technique that could improve the efficiency of orthotopic PM model generation. By incorporating a simple needle sleeve to control the injection depth, this method eliminates the need for surgery or general anaesthesia, reducing technical complexity and animal stress while ensuring precise delivery into the pleural cavity. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by achieving a 100% tumour engraftment rate following the injection of AE17 tumour cells. Additionally, this technique has been successfully used for asbestos fibre injection in mesothelioma models, highlighting its versatility. By providing a more accessible, standardised alternative to existing methods, this protocol improves the reliability of PM models and facilitates broader adoption by researchers, including those with limited experience in invasive procedures.