Irreversible Electroporation: A Technique for Ablating Pancreatic Tumor in Mouse

- Irreversible electroporation or IRE is a technique for ablating pancreatic tumors by administering short, high-voltage pulses of electrical current to the tumor, causing permanent damage to the tumor cells. IRE has high selectivity and accessibility for the target tumor area. It does not cause heat-induced damage to the nearby healthy cells, making it a promising anti-tumor therapy.

Begin by placing an anesthetized mouse on the side and dissect its abdominal cavity to locate the tumor on the surface of the pancreas. Next, use the electrodes, bracketing the tumor site, and administer targeted pulses of electric current for the desired time duration. The electric current beyond a certain threshold, causes permanent pores in the cell membrane of tumor cells, preventing the cell from returning to the state of homeostasis.

These pores cause the cell's intracellular contents to come outside, therefore leading to gradual cell death by apoptosis. Now, close the abdominal cavity and leave the mouse to recover in the home cage. Finally, monitor the pancreas for the reduction in the size of the tumor, post-electroporation. In the following protocol, we will demonstrate a method for performi