CMT-93 Syngeneic Model Service for Colon Cancer

The CMT-93 syngeneic model of colon cancer engrafts a chemically induced murine rectal carcinoma in fully immunocompetent C57BL/6 hosts, and uniquely among colorectal lines it reproducibly generates liver metastases with authentic colorectal histology after portal-route inoculation. Alfa Cytology delivers the complete CMT-93 workflow—authenticated cell banking, subcutaneous flank or portal-route implantation, burden-balanced randomization, scheduled dosing and metastasis-inclusive endpoint analysis—giving sponsors decision-ready preclinical datasets shaped to their program, strictly within a preclinical scope.

Overview of CMT-93 Syngeneic Model for Colon Cancer

CMT-93 carries the fingerprints of the institute that created it—the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, echoed in its donor strain name, C57BL/ICRF. In 1978, Franks and Hemming described the line: a 19-month-old male mouse had received weekly intraperitoneal methylazoxymethanol acetate for eighteen months before a rectal carcinoma arose, and the fourth in vivo transplant generation of that tumor yielded an explant culture that became CMT-93. The cells are conspicuously epithelial: they grow in adherent clumps, assemble acini and junctional complexes, and under the electron microscope display microvilli with glycoprotein strands and desmosomes—a partial retention of normal rectal architecture that later proved consequential. Cytogenetically they are hyperdiploid with a modal number near 50, bearing complex rearrangements of chromosomes 2, 5, 8 and X with occasional polyploid cells; molecularly they are microsatellite-stable and, importantly, only weakly immunogenic—a profile shared with a large fraction of human colorectal cancers.

Fig 1. The CMT-93 orthotopic rectal syngeneic model in male C57BL/6J mice — retrograde PRV-mRFP viral tracing maps the polysynaptic circuit from the CMT-93 rectal tumor through the lumbosacral spinal cord to lateral hypothalamus and lateral septum neurons. (Li, Ying, et al., 2025)

In vivo, the line performs two distinct jobs. Subcutaneously, five million cells in the flank grow steadily—measurable by day five, progressive thereafter—and seed the draining lymph nodes, providing a routine efficacy and nodal-metastasis format. Its second, rarer talent is hepatic: after splenic or portal-vein inoculation of one million cells, CMT-93 colonizes the liver within about four weeks, and a systematic comparison of candidate models found the CMT-93/C57BL/6 pairing to be the only combination that produced reproducible liver metastases displaying genuine colorectal histology in immunocompetent mice—whereas the CT-26/BALB/c liver lesions mesenchymally dedifferentiated and an APC-driven line failed to grow at all. The metastatic niche is well characterized: CCL15 signaling through CCR1 recruits CD34⁺ Gr-1⁻ immature myeloid cells into liver lesions, MMP-2, MMP-7 and MMP-9 support colonization, and transcriptomes of cultured cells versus liver metastases diverge by thousands of genes. The model also has an immunotherapy pedigree—MCP-3 chemokine transfection slowed growth, boosted leukocyte infiltration and abolished metastasis in the published setting. Caveats are equally clear: nude-mouse work demands large inocula, the low immunogenicity tempers single-agent checkpoint responses, and the C57BL/ICRF-versus-C57BL/6 substrain relationship deserves a nod when designing strict syngeneic work.

Cell Line Information: CMT-93

Key characteristics of CMT-93 and its documented derivatives are summarized below.

Our Services

With in vivo oncology specialists guiding each stage and pathology, bioluminescence imaging and immune-profiling capabilities in-house, Alfa Cytology molds every CMT-93 engagement around the sponsor’s question—selecting the flank or portal route to match the metastatic endpoint, calibrating inoculum and schedule, and pairing dosing with histology, immunohistochemistry and myeloid profiling for clean, decision-grade preclinical data.

Workflow of CMT-93 Syngeneic Model Construction

Construction of the CMT-93 syngeneic model is an implantation workflow whose quality rests on verified microsatellite-stable stocks, vigorous C57BL/6 recipients, route-matched technique and a disciplined measurement cadence. A standard engagement proceeds as follows:

1. Source and qualify cells: CMT-93 stocks are cleared by mycoplasma PCR and authenticated against the published STR profile; MSS status is documented, and luciferase labeling (documented in the literature) is titrated in vitro with D-luciferin where imaging readouts are required.
2. Prepare recipients: C57BL/6 mice (typically 6–8 weeks old) complete acclimation and health screening and are individually marked before implantation.
3. Prepare the inoculum: log-phase cells are harvested, washed, counted and resuspended in PBS; the working concentration is set by route—commonly 5 × 10⁶ cells in 100 µL for flank implantation, or 1 × 10⁶ cells in a small volume for the splenic/portal format.
4. Implant: for the flank format, cells are injected subcutaneously with a fine needle at a fixed anatomical site; for the liver-dissemination format, cells are injected into the spleen followed by immediate splenectomy (or via the portal vein) under anesthesia, with aseptic technique throughout.
5. Randomize: flank-format animals are grouped when tumors become palpable, balanced by tumor volume and body weight; portal-format animals are randomized within the first days after surgery.
6. Dose and follow: test articles are administered on schedule; flank tumors are measured with calipers two to three times weekly (volume typically π/6 × length × width × height), while portal-format cohorts are followed by body weight and clinical status, with bioluminescence substituted for labeled cohorts.
7. Terminate and analyze: flank tumors are resected and weighed with draining lymph nodes inspected; portal-format livers are examined for metastatic burden and counted histologically; tissues then enter histopathology, immunohistochemistry (including myeloid markers), flow-cytometric immune profiling and molecular analysis.

Fig 2. CMT-93 Syngeneic Model construction workflow.

Case Study-CMT-93 Syngeneic Model Development

Alfa Cytology keeps an active file of preclinical case studies on the CMT-93 platform: establishment-phase optimization of inoculum and route, in vivo growth tracking by caliper or bioluminescence, combination-therapy and myeloid-targeting intervention studies, and systematic lymph-node and liver metastasis quantification with matched histological and immune-phenotyping readouts. Representative growth curves, imaging series and endpoint summaries can be shared upon request and will be updated as new programs conclude.

Why Choose Alfa Cytology?

CMT-93’s dual format—routine flank efficacy plus a genuinely reproducible immunocompetent liver-metastasis route—rewards teams that can execute both, and that is where Alfa Cytology invests:

• Route-flexible execution spanning flank implantation and the splenic/portal liver-dissemination surgery.
• Authenticated CMT-93 banks with published STR comparison and documented MSS status.
• Reproducible liver metastases with authentic colorectal histology—the model’s signature capability.
• Myeloid-aware endpoint design reflecting the documented CCL15–CCR1 / MMP biology of its lesions.
• An MSS, low-immunogenicity tumor that mirrors a major fraction of human colorectal disease.
• Dosing calendars tuned to two distinct growth tempos—brisk flank, slower hepatic.
• One accountable project contact with milestone-by-milestone visibility.
• A strictly preclinical scope—every study is planned, executed and reported as non-clinical research.

Contact Us

Interested in the CMT-93 syngeneic colon cancer model for your next preclinical program? Reach out to us with your agent, timeline and endpoint wish-list, and the Alfa Cytology team will respond with a customized plan covering model setup, dosing strategy and analysis workflow—contact us today and move your program forward with confidence.

For research use only. Not intended for any clinical use.