Microfluidic three-dimensional biomimetic tumor model for studying breast cancer cell migration and invasion in the presence of interstitial flow

Publication date: Available online 22 February 2019Source: Chinese Chemical LettersAuthor(s): Chao Song, Dan Gao, Tianying Yuan, Yongli Chen, Liping Liu, Xiaowu Chen, Yuyang JiangAbstractCell migration and invasion are critical steps in cancer metastasis, which are the major cause of death in cancer patients. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and interstitial flow (IF) are two important biochemical and biomechanical cues in tumor microenvironment, play essential roles in tumor progression. However, their combined effects on tumor cell migration and invasion as well as molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. In this work, we developed a microfluidic-based 3D breast cancer model by co-culturing tumor aggregates, macrophages, monocytes and endothelial cells within 3D extracellular matrix in the presence of IF to study tumor cell migration and invasion. On the established platform, we can precisely control the parameters related to tumor microenvironment and observe cellular responses and interactions in real-time. When co-culture of U937 with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) or MDA-MB-231 cells and tri-culture of U937 with HUVECs and MDA-MB-231 cells, we found that mesenchymal-like MDA-MB-231 aggregates activated the monocytes to TAM-like phenotype macrophages. MDA-MB-231 cells and IF simultaneously enhanced the macrophages activation by the stimulation of colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1). The activated macrophages and IF further promoted vascular sprout...

Source: Chinese Chemical Letters - February 22, 2019 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research