Magnetic Resonance-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Generated Hyperthermia: A Feasible Treatment Method in a Murine Rhabdomyosarcoma Model

Summary

Presented here is a protocol to use controlled hyperthermia, generated by magnetic resonance-guided high intensity focused ultrasound, to trigger drug release from temperature-sensitive liposomes in a rhabdomyosarcoma mouse model.

Abstract

Magnetic resonance-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) is an established method for producing localized hyperthermia. Given the real-time imaging and acoustic energy modulation, this modality enables precise temperature control within a defined area. Many thermal applications are being explored with this noninvasive, nonionizing technology, such as hyperthermia generation, to release drugs from thermosensitive liposomal carriers. These drugs can include chemotherapies such as doxorubicin, for which targeted release is desired due to the dose-limiting systemic side effects, namely cardiotoxicity. Doxorubicin is a mainstay for treating a variety of malignant tumors and is commonly used in relapsed or recurrent rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). RMS is the most common solid soft tissue extracranial tumor in children and young adults. Despite aggressive, multimodal therapy, RMS survival rates have remained the same for the past 30 years. To explore a solution for addressing this unmet need, an experimental protocol was developed to evaluate the release of thermosensitive liposomal doxorubicin (TLD) in an immunocompetent, syngeneic RMS mouse model using MRgHIFU as the source of hyperthermia for drug release.

Introduction

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a skeletal muscle tumor that most commonly occurs in children and young adults¹. Localized disease is often treated with multimodal treatment, including chemotherapy, ionizing radiation, and surgery. The use of multi-drug chemotherapy regimens is more prevalent in pediatric patients, with improved outcomes compared to their adult counterparts²; however, despite ongoing research efforts, the 5-year survival rate remains at around 30% in the most aggressive form of the disease^3,4. The chemotherapy standard of care is a multidrug regimen th....

Protocol

Research was performed in compliance with the animal care committees with approved animal use protocols under a supervising veterinarian at The Centre for Phenogenomics (TCP) and University Health Network (UHN) Animal Resource Centre (ARC) animal research facilities. All procedures, excluding the MRgHIFU, involving the animals were done in a biological safety cabinet (BSC) to minimize animal exposure to external air or susceptible infection.

1. Mouse breeding

NOTE: A total of 65 mice (strain B6.129S2-Trp53tm1Tyj/J) were included in the pilot study (male: n = 23; female: n = 42). Both male and femal....

Results

Using the MRgHIFU-generated hyperthermia protocol, the tumors in the hind limb were able to be consistently heated to the desired set temperature for the duration of the treatment (Figure 4 shows a representative treatment, 10 or 20 min, n = 65). To consider a treatment to be successful, the ROI had to be maintained above 39 °C for the entirety of the treatment, with <6 °C variation throughout the treatment and without heating of off-target tissue. Additionally, the core temperature had t.......

Discussion

The protocol developed herein was used to target hind limb tumors using MRgHIFU for mild HT treatment and release encapsulated drugs from liposomes in vivo. Several critical steps were encountered in this protocol during the pilot study, and optimizing these critical steps accounted for the improved treatment success over the pilot study. First is the complete removal of the hair on the area to be sonicated. Any gas trapping within the fur prevents the ultrasound beam from passing and blocks ultrasound passage i.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
1.5mL Eppendorf tubes	Eppendorf	22363204
1kb plus DNA Ladder	Froggabio	DM015-R500
2x HS-Red Taq (PCR mix)	Wisent	801-200-MM
7 Tesla MRI BioSpec	Bruker	T184931	70/30 BioSpec, Bruker, Ettlingen, Germany
C1000 Thermal cycler	Biorad	1851148
Clippers	Whal Peanut	8655
Compressed ultrasound gel	Aquaflex	HF54-004
Convection heating device	3M Bair Hugger	70200791401
Depiliatory cream	Nair	61700222611	Shopper's Drug Mart
DMEM	Wisent	219-065-LK
DNeasy extraction kit	Qiagen	69504
DPBS	Wisent	311-420-CL
Drug injection system	Harvard Apparatus	PY2 70-2131	PHD 22/2200 MRI compatible Syringe Pump
Eye lubricant	Optixcare	50-218-8442
F10 Media	Wisent	318-050-CL
FBS	Wisent	081-105
Froggarose	FroggaBio	A87
Gel Molecular Imager	BioRad	GelDocXR
Glutamax	Wisent	609-065-EL
Heat Lamp	Morganville Scientific	HL0100	Similar to this product
Intravascular Polyethylene tubing (0.015" ID x 0.043" OD, 20G)	SAI infusion	PE-20-100
Isoflurane	Sigma	792632
M25FV24C Cell line	Gladdy Lab	N/A
Microliter Syringe	Hamilton	01-01-7648
Molecular Imager Gel Doc XR	Biorad	170-8170
Mouse holder	The 3D printing material used was ABS-M30i, and it was printed on FDM Fortus 380mc machine	N/A	Dimensions: length = 43 mm, outer radius = 15 mm, inner width (where the mouse would sit) = 20.7 mm.
MyRun Machine	Cosmo Bio Co Ltd	CBJ-IMR-001-EX
Nanodrop 8000 Spectrophotometer	Thermo Scientific	ND-8000-GL
p53 primers	Eurofins	N/A	Custom Primers
PCR tubes	Diamed	SSI3131-06
Penicillin/Streptomycin	Wisent	450-200-EL
Proteus software	Pichardo lab	N/A
Respiratory monitoring system	SAII	Model 1030	MR-compatible monitoring and gating system for small animals
Small Bore HIFU device, LabFUS	Image Guided Therapy	N/A	LabFUS, Image Guided Therapy, Pessac, France Number of elements 8 frequency 2.5 MHz diameter  25 mm radius of curvature 20 mm Focal spot size 0.6 mm x 0.6 mm x 2.0 mm Motor: axes 2 Generator: Number of channels 8 Maximum electrical power/channel Wel 4 Maximum electrical power Wel 32 Bandwidth 0.5 - 5 MHz Control per channel: Freq., Phase and. amplitude Measurements per channel: Vrms, Irms, cos(theta) Duty Cycle at 100% power % 100% for 1 min. Transducer: Number of elements 8 frequency  2.5 MHz diameter 25 mm radius of curvature 20 mm Focal spot size  0.6 mm x 0.6 mm x 2.0 mm
SYBR Safe	ThermoFisher Scientific	S33102
TAE	Wisent	811-540-FL
Tail vein catheter (27G 0.5" )	Terumo Medical Corp	15253
Thermal probes	Rugged Monitoring	L201-08
Trypan blue	ThermoFisher Scientific	15250061
Trypsin	Wisent	325-052-EL
Ultrasound Gel	Aquasonic	PLI 01-08