Introduction: Astrocytic gliomas are the most common intracranial central nervous system neoplasias, accounting for about 60% of all primary central nervous system tumors. Despite advances in the treatment of gliomas, no effective therapeutic approach is yet available; hence, the search for a more realistic model to generate more effective therapies is essential.
Objective: To develop an experimental malignant astrocytoma model with the characteristics of the human tumor.
Method: Primary cells from subcutaneous xenograft tumors produced with malignant astrocytoma U87MG cells were inoculated intracerebrally by stereotaxis into immunosuppressed (athymic) Rowett rats.
Results: All four injected animals developed non-infiltrative tumors, although other glioblastoma characteristics, such as necrosis, pseudopalisading cells and intense mitotic activity, were observed.
Conclusion: A malignant astrocytoma intracerebral xenograft model with poorly invasive behavior was achieved in athymic Rowett rats. Tumor invasiveness in an experimental animal model may depend on a combination of several factors, including the cell line used to induce tumor formation, the rat strains and the status of the animal's immune system.
Keywords: Athymic Rowett rats; Brain tumor; Experimental model; U87MG cells.