Chips to study the effects of extracellular matrix architecture
October 2017
Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands
One of the most important elements of the tumour microenvironment is the extracellular matrix. However, how it influences cell invasion remains elusive due to difficulties in identifying individual contributors in current models. Thus, it is necessary to find new strategies that allow the investigation of the interplay between tumours and the extracellular matrix. In this study, a new microfabrication method is used to integrate layers that mimic extracellular matrix between two microfluidic channels to resolve the influence of matrix architecture on human breast cancer cell invasion. It was possible to integrate two biofabricated matrices with different fibre sizes in one chip. The results showed that the diameter of fibres composing the extracellular matrix had no effects on cell morphology or invasion distance, but smaller fibre sizes did induce more and longer protrusions. The researchers propose a new microfluidic system that allows elucidating the role of individual elements of the tumour microenvironment and that could potentially be used to investigate other biological processes in cell culture setups.
A novel method to understand tumor cell invasion: integrating extracellular matrix mimicking layers in microfluidic chips by “selective curing”
J M J den Toonder
Added on: 10-11-2021
[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10544-017-0234-8[2] https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset/ffebe454-ed9a-47cf-8a33-8cf70c1b7d38
