How transparent mice help fight cancer

See-through lab rat - 21st August 2023

German researchers, renowned for their pioneering work in developing see-through mice, have recently unveiled a groundbreaking technique for generating 3D maps of internal cellular structures within animals. This revolutionary advancement holds the potential to significantly expedite the timeline of drug development procedures and curtail the need for extensive mouse-based experimentation.

Laboratories used to face arduous and costly methodologies to visualise organs and cells through genetic manipulation of animals. Such procedures proved especially pivotal in cancer research, where understanding the impact of specific drugs on cancerous cells was imperative.

The Helmholtz Munich research team, which garnered acclaim for their 2018 feat in making mice organs transparent using a solvent, has merged this with their latest imaging innovation termed 'wildDISCO'.

This novel methodology entails introducing tagged antibodies into deceased see-through mice. These antibodies diffuse uniformly throughout the mice's bodies, enabling computer algorithms to construct 3D models of targeted organs, molecules and cells.

Professor Ali Ertürk and his adept team devised a compound to ensure the even distribution of antibodies, enhancing the ability to reach every cell within a body.

While imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) offer insights into internal processes, wildDISCO's scans are even more detailed. Ertürk expounded that, "MRI and PET scans would show you only big tumours. Ours show tumours at the single cell, which they absolutely can't."

The innovative application of wildDISCO has led Ertürk's team to construct mice body maps of structures like blood vessels, lymphatic networks, neural frameworks and immune cells. The team also deciphered the tumour-associated spread of breast cancer.

Accessible to fellow researchers via the team's website, these comprehensive maps have already proven instrumental in yielding pivotal data, thereby cutting down on time, resources and animal utilisation for scientists worldwide.

Ertürk's team aspires to use wildDISCO to train advanced AI systems, a pursuit typically hinged on big data. Guided by wildDISCO's comprehensive maps, AI algorithms could foresee the patterns and mechanisms underlying cancer development, opening new avenues in predictive medicine.