Results
Optimization of environmental temperatures. In laboratory
environments, zebrafish embryos commonly are raised at 28.5°C , whereas
human cells are maintained at 37°C . To enable engraftment of RMS
xenotransplants in zebrafish embryos, it was necessary to establish a
temperature level that allows for normal development of both zebrafish
embryos and human tumor cells. To determine optimal environmental
conditions, zebrafish embryos were exposed to different temperatures.
The percentage of surviving embryos at 120 hpf was significantly lower
at 35°C compared to the control group maintained at 28.5°C (Fig.1A,p =0.0016). This is consistent with previously published
observations . Considering the higher mortality rate at 35°C, we tested
a gentler two-step approach using temperatures of 33°C from 3 hpf to 48
hpf, followed by a temperature rise to 35°C until 120 hpf, which did not
have a negative impact on the survival rates of the zebrafish embryos
compared to those in the control group (Fig.1A, p =0.6244). Next,
these temperature settings were applied to RMS cells in culture, to
examine possible differences in cell proliferation at 1, 48, 96 and 120
hours after plating. Lower temperatures did not affect RD cell
growth, and the number of RD cells kept at 37°C did not differ
significantly 120 hours after plating (Fig.1B, 4750 cells/well at 37°C
vs. 5000 cells/well at 33/35°C, p =0.6753). In contrast,
proliferation of Rh30 cells slowed down significantly at lower
temperatures compared to the control cells maintained at 37°C (Fig.1C,
8750 cells/well at 37°C vs. 3438 cells/well at 33/35°C,p <0.0001).
Induction of RMS xenografts in zebrafish embryos. To analyze
the development of Rh30 and RD cells in vivo , DiI-labeled RMS
cells were transplanted into zebrafish embryos at the 1000-cell stadium
(Fig.2). Images of the transplants were taken, and cross-sectional areas
were measured at 24, 72 and 120 hpf (Fig.3A-C). RD xenografts showed
stable growth from 24 hpf until 120 hpf (Fig. 3D), whereas the
cross-sectional areas of Rh30 xenografts decreased during the
observation period (Fig. 3D). Histology sections from 72-120 hours-old,
successfully transplanted embryos were prepared and stained with
hematoxylin and eosin. The presence of tumor cell nests confirmed
successful engraftment of xenotransplants (Fig. 3E).
Toxicity screening. Possible toxic effects of the candidate
anti-RMS drugs on embryonal and larval development were explored until
120 hpf. Vincristine significantly reduced the proportion of surviving
embryos starting at drug concentrations higher than 20 µM (Fig. 4A, 94%
surviving embryos in E3 vs. 69% surviving embryos in E3 medium with
25µM vincristine, p <0.0001). Dactinomycin treatment
also led to significantly lower survival rates starting at
concentrations exceeding 1 µM (Fig. 4B, 88% surviving embryos in E3 vs.
73% surviving embryos in E3 medium with 2µM dactinomycin,p =0.0398). The mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)
inhibitor trametinib negatively affected the embryos starting at
drug-concentrations higher than 50 nM (Fig. 4C, 88% surviving embryos
in E3 vs. 67% surviving embryos in E3 medium with 100nM trametinib,p =0.0007).
Testing the effects of candidate drugs on RMS xenografts in
zebrafish embryos. Successfully transplanted embryos were exposed to
selected drugs to assess their effect on RD-xenotransplants in
vivo . Vincristine concentrations of 2 and 20 µM reduced the
standardized cross-sectional area (SCSA) to 39% (Fig 5A;p <0.0001) and 15% (Fig. 5A;p <0.0001), respectively, compared to vehicle-treated
RMS xenotransplants. A statistically significant, dose-dependent effect
of vincristine at 2 and 20 µM could also be observed (Fig. 5A;p <0.0001), further supporting the observation that
vincristine has antitumoral effects in zebrafish RMS-xenotransplants.
Dactinomycin showed an analogous inhibitory effect on RMS xenografts in
zebrafish with a reduction to 52% of the SCSA of non-treated
xenotransplants (Fig. 5B; p <0.0001) at a concentration
of 0.1 µM, and to 24% of the SCSA of non-treated xenotransplants (Fig.
5B; p <0.0001) at concentrations of 1µM dactinomycin.
2µM vincristine and 0.1µM dactinomycin in combination showed stronger
inhibitory effects compared to 0.1µM dactinomycin monotherapy therapy
(Fig. 5C; reduction to 28% of the SCSA of untreated xenografts by 2µM
vincristine and 0.1µM dactinomycin in combination vs. 52% by 0.1µM
dactinomycin alone; p =0.0055). There were no significant
differences in the efficacy of the combination treatment compared to
exposure to 2µM vincristine alone (Fig. 5C; p=0.4265). Given that RD
cells carry an NRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (NRAS)Q61H- variant resulting in activation of mitogen-activated protein
kinase (MAPK) signaling, the MEK-inhibitor trametinib was also tested
for inhibitory effects on RMS xenotransplants in zebrafish embryos. At
trametinib concentrations of 5 and 50 nM, we observed a reduction of the
SCSA to 57% (p <0.0001) and 21%
(p <0.0001) of the SCSA of non-treated
RMS-xenotransplants, respectively (Fig. 5D).