TUMOR AND NON-TUMOR LIVER ANGIOGENESIS IS TRACED AND EVALUATED BY HEPATIC ARTERIAL ULTRASOUND IN MURINE MODELS

We studied the relationships between hepatic and mesenteric mean blood-flow velocities (mBFVs) measured by ultrasound imaging and (1) downstream tumor angiogenesis during liver metastasis induced by spleen injection of LS174 human colon cells overexpressing the antiangiogenic Netrin4 (LS174-NT4) or not (LS174-WT) and (2) downstream normal angiogenesis during hepatic regeneration after 50% hepatectomy. Liver volume and mBFVs were measured before and after surgery, at day 30 in the first model and at days 2, 7 and 16 in the second model. LS174-NT-4 vs. LS174-WT mice presented fewer metastases (25% vs. 90%, p < 0.001) and decreased hepatic mBFVs (16.5 +/- 0.8 vs. 21.8 +/- 1.4 cm s(-1), p < 0.01), without difference in mesenteric mBFVs. After partial hepatectomy, hepatic and mesenteric mBFVs increased at day 7, from 12.4 +/- 1.7 and 11.8 +/- 2.6 to 19.1 +/- 1.8 and 17.5 +/- 2.4 cm s(-1), respectively, (p < 0.01) then returned to baseline as liver volume. Duplex Doppler ultrasonography reliably assesses normal or tumor angiogenesis and may provide follow-up functional evaluation. (E-mail: philippe.bonnin@lrb.aphp.fr) (C) 2012 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.