Cancers, Vol. 13, Pages 5955: Anti-Cancer Activity Profiling of Chemotherapeutic Agents in 3D Co-Cultures of Pancreatic Tumor Spheroids with Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and Macrophages

Cancers, Vol. 13, Pages 5955: Anti-Cancer Activity Profiling of Chemotherapeutic Agents in 3D Co-Cultures of Pancreatic Tumor Spheroids with Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and Macrophages Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers13235955 Authors: So-Dam Jang Jeeyeun Song Hyun-Ah Kim Chang-Nim Im Iftikhar Ali Khawar Jong Kook Park Hyo-Jeong Kuh Activated pancreatic stellate cells (aPSCs) and M2 macrophages modulate tumor progression and therapeutic efficacy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) via epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, our aim was to analyze the anti-invasion effects of anti-cancer agents where EMT-inducing cancer-stroma interaction occurs under three-dimensional (3D) culture conditions. We used microfluidic channel chips to co-culture pancreatic tumor spheroids (TSs) with aPSCs and THP-1-derived M2 macrophages (M2 THP-1 cells) embedded in type I collagen. Under stromal cell co-culture conditions, PANC-1 TSs displayed elevated expression of EMT-related proteins and increased invasion and migration. When PANC-1 TSs were exposed to gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, or paclitaxel, 30–50% cells were found unaffected, with no significant changes in the dose-response profiles under stromal cell co-culture conditions. This indicated intrinsic resistance to these drugs and no further induction of drug resistance by stromal cells. Paclitaxel had a significant anti-invasion effect; in contrast, oxaliplatin did not show such effe...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research