New 3D multicellular tumor-on-chip model for breast cancer
November 2016
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Napoli, Italy
Tumor stroma activation has a key role in tumor progression. However, up to date, this is a feature of metastasis that has not yet been replicated in vitro. Thus, there is a need to generate new models that include the activation of tumor stroma to better understand the mechanisms underlying tumor epithelial invasion. Here, a novel model of breast cancer is proposed using a 3D multicellular tumor-on-chip with human breast cancer cells and a stroma compartment composed of a cell-assembled extracellular matrix. The results showed that it was possible to replicate a stromal activation both at the cellular and extracellular matrix levels, including the overexpression of key proteins during extracellular matrix remodelling. Furthermore, the stroma compartment allowed online monitoring with real-time multiphoton microscopy of different cellular processes occurring during stroma activation. Overall, the researchers propose a new 3D multicellular tumor-on-chip model that replicates stroma activation and that can be used to decipher the key mechanisms involved in tumor epithelial invasion in breast cancer.
An engineered breast cancer model on a chip to replicate ECM-activation in vitro during tumor progression
Giorgia Imparato
Added on: 10-03-2021
[1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.201600772[2] https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset/ffebe454-ed9a-47cf-8a33-8cf70c1b7d38
