Annual Report 2018

Section of Experimental Animals

Yoshikatsu Koga, Kimie Iijima, Taeko Aruga, Daisuke Suga, Rie Takeshita

Introduction

 The basic and translational research undertaken in the Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center (EPOC) and the National Cancer Center Hospital East (NCCHE) is aimed toward future clinical use. To develop anti-cancer drugs based on a novel concept or a novel imaging technology, animal experiments are necessary. Not only cell line derived xenograft (CDX) models in which human cancer cells are transplanted into immunodeficient mice, but also spontaneous cancer models using genetically modified mice and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models using human cancer tissue, which reproduce the cancer microenvironment, are used in the animal facility of the EPOC. Developments of novel surgical and endoscopic instruments using experimental pigs are also conducted in the animal facility. The Section of Experimental Animals supports the animal experiments conducted in the EPOC and the NCCHE.

Our team and what we do

• Health management of experimental animals and maintenance of animal laboratories.
  - Animal-breeding rooms: specific pathogenfree (SPF) rooms (eight rooms for mice and one room for rats), conventional rooms (one room for mice, one room for rats, hamsters, and rabbits, and one room for pigs), and P2 animal laboratory.
• Approval of animal experiments and gene recombinant experiments in accordance with the regulations.
  - In FY2018, 48 studies involving animal experiments and 33 studies with gene recombinant experiments were approved by the Committee of Experimental Animals and Gene Recombination.

Education

 All researchers and doctors who use animal facilities are required to attend a lecture on animal experiments according to the Guideline of Animal Experiments every year. In FY2018, 166 researchers or doctors attended the educational lecture.

Future prospects

 The Section of Experimental Animals will support animal experiments conducted in the EPOC and the NCCHE.

List of papers published in 2018

Journal

1. Tsumura R, Manabe S, Takashima H, Koga Y, Yasunaga M, Matsumura Y. Influence of the dissociation rate constant on the intra-tumor distribution of antibody-drug conjugate against tissue factor. J Control Release, 284:49-56, 2018