To begin, prepare an immunodeficient mouse.
Using an assembly with a bent needle tip, inject a lung cancer cell suspension into the thoracic cavity.
The cancer cells reach the pleura containing a small amount of pleural fluid.
These cancer cells' receptors bind to specific ECM polysaccharides produced by the mesothelial cells lining the pleura, facilitating cell attachment to the pleural surface.
The cancer cells process these polysaccharides, causing increased cancer cell migration toward the surface. They also release proteolytic enzymes and autocrine growth factors.
Proteolytic enzymes degrade the ECM proteins, promoting cancer cell invasion.
The absence of a functional immune system and the presence of autocrine growth factors, allow the unrestricted proliferation of the cancer cells, forming tumor nodules.
Over time, tumor nodules grow and disseminate within the pleural cavity, disrupting the normal physiological fluid balance.
This results in fluid accumulation in the pleural cavity, a condition known as pleural effusion.
