Co-cultivation of human macrophages with breast cancer tumoroids
2024
Université Lille, Lille, France
3D tumoroids have revolutionized in vitro/ex vivo cancer biology by recapitulating the complex diversity of tumors. While tumoroids provide new insights into cancer development and treatment response, several limitations remain. As the tumor microenvironment, especially the immune system, strongly influences tumor development, the absence of immune cells in tumoroids may lead to inappropriate conclusions. Macrophages, key players in tumor progression, are particularly challenging to integrate into the tumoroids. In this study, three optimized and standardized methods for co-culturing human macrophages with breast cancer tumoroids were established: a semi-liquid model and two matrix-embedded models tailored for specific applications. Interactions and macrophage infiltration were tracked in these systems using flow cytometry and light sheet microscopy. It was shown that macrophages influenced not only tumoroid molecular profiles but also chemotherapy response. This underscores the importance of increasing the complexity of 3D models to more accurately reflect in vivo conditions.
A co-culture system of macrophages with breast cancer tumoroids to study cell interactions and therapeutic responses
Michel Salzet, Marie Duhamel
Added on: 07-01-2024
[1] https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-methods/fulltext/S2667-2375(24)00148-6