Swarm chondrosarcoma: a continued resource for chondroblastic-like extracellular matrix and chondrosarcoma biology research

Abstract

Since its first description over four decades ago, the Swarm chondrosarcoma (Swarm rat chondrosarcoma, SRC) remains a valuable tool for studies of chondroblastic-like extracellular matrix (ECM) biology and as an animal model of human chondrosarcoma of histological grades I–III. Moreover, articular joints and skeletal anomalies such as arthritis as well as cartilage regeneration, skeletal development, tissue engineering, hard tissue tumorigenesis and space flight physiology are advanced through studies in hyaline cartilage-like models. With more than 500 articles published since the first report on the characteristics of mucopolysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans) of the tumor in 1971, several transplantable tumor and cell lines have been developed by multiple laboratories worldwide. This review describes the characterization of SRC tumors and cell lines, including the use of SRC lines as a resource for isolation and characterization of several ECM elements that have become vital for the advancement of our understanding of cartilage biology. Also presented is the importance of pertubation of ECM components and the influence of the tumor microenvironment on disease progression. Therapeutic failure and currently pursued avenues of intervention utilizing the SRC lines in treatment of chondrosarcoma are also discussed.

• Extracellular matrix
• chondrocyte-like
• rat chondrosarcoma
• proteoglycan therapeutics

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Kristina W Thiel for editing the manuscript.

Notes

*In part previously published in “The Rat in Cancer Research: A Crucial Tool for all Aspects of Translational Studies”, 2013 Research Signpost, Editor: Daniel L. Pouliquen.

†Dedicated to James H. Kimura for putting the SRC on the map as a viable model for chondroblastic-like cell research.