1
|
Kim H, Kim B, Kim SJ, Choi Y, Kim IHR, Han J, Park YG, Han YM, Park JK. Reconfigurable Hanging Drop Microarray Platform for On-Demand Preparation and Analysis of Spheroid Array. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2400501. [PMID: 38817106 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202400501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
In response to the increasing demand for spheroid-based cancer research, the importance of developing integrated platforms that can simultaneously facilitate high-throughput spheroid production and multiplexed analysis is emphasized. In addition, the understanding of how the size and cellular composition of tumors directly influence their internal structures and functionalities underlines the critical need to produce spheroids of diverse sizes and compositions on a large scale. To address this rising demand, this work presents a configurable and linkable in vitro three-dimensional (3D) cell culture kit (CLiCK) for spheroids, termed CLiCK-Spheroid. This platform consists of three primary components: a hanging drop microarray (HDMA), a concave pillar microarray (CPMA), and gradient blocks. The HDMA alone produces a homogeneous spheroid array, while its combination with the gradient block enables one-step generation of a size-gradient spheroid array. Using the size-gradient spheroid arrays, the occurrence of necrotic cores based on spheroid size is demonstrated. Additionally, spheroids in a single batch can be conveniently compartmentalized and regrouped using a CPMA, enhancing the versatility of spheroid arrays and enabling multiplexed drug treatments. By combining the different assembly methods, this work has achieved high-throughput production of cell composition-gradient spheroid arrays, with noticeable variations in morphology and vascularization based on cell compositions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hwisoo Kim
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Bumsoo Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo Jee Kim
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Yejin Choi
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Irene Hae-Rim Kim
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jieun Han
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Gyun Park
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong-Mahn Han
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Je-Kyun Park
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
- KI for Health Science and Technology, KAIST Institutes (KI), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
- KI for NanoCentury, KAIST Institutes (KI), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Giannitelli SM, Peluzzi V, Raniolo S, Roscilli G, Trombetta M, Mozetic P, Rainer A. On-chip recapitulation of the tumor microenvironment: A decade of progress. Biomaterials 2024; 306:122482. [PMID: 38301325 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2024.122482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
One of the hurdles to the development of new anticancer therapies is the lack of in vitro models which faithfully reproduce the in vivo tumor microenvironment (TME). Understanding the dynamic relationships between the components of the TME in a controllable, scalable, and reliable setting would indeed support the discovery of biological targets impacting cancer diagnosis and therapy. Cancer research is increasingly shifting from traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture toward three-dimensional (3D) culture models, which have been demonstrated to increase the significance and predictive value of in vitro data. In this scenario, microphysiological systems (also known as organs-on-chip) have emerged as a relevant technological platform enabling more predictive investigation of cell-cell and cell-ECM interplay in cancer, attracting a significant research effort in the last years. This review illustrates one decade of progress in the field of tumor-microenvironment-on-chip (TMOC) approaches, exploiting either cell-laden microfluidic chambers or microfluidic confined tumor spheroids to model the TME. TMOCs have been designed to recapitulate several aspects of the TME, including tumor cells, the tumor-associated stroma, the immune system, and the vascular component. Significantly, the last aspect has emerged for its pivotal role in orchestrating cellular interactions and modulating drug pharmacokinetics on-chip. A further advancement has been represented by integration of TMOCs into multi-organ microphysiological systems, with the final aim to follow the metastatic cascade to target organs and to study the effects of chemotherapies at a systemic level. We highlight that the increased degree of complexity achieved by the most advanced TMOC models has enabled scientists to shed new light on the role of microenvironmental factors in tumor progression, metastatic cascade, and response to drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S M Giannitelli
- Department of Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and One Health, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Álvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| | - V Peluzzi
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| | - S Raniolo
- Department of Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and One Health, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Álvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| | - G Roscilli
- Takis s.r.l., Via di Castel Romano 100, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| | - M Trombetta
- Department of Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and One Health, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Álvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| | - P Mozetic
- Institute of Nanotechnology (NANOTEC), National Research Council, via Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy.
| | - A Rainer
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yin X, Liu X, Xiao X, Yi K, Chen W, Han C, Wang L, Li Y, Liu J. Human neural stem cells repress glioma cell progression in a paracrine manner by downregulating the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway. FEBS Open Bio 2023; 13:1772-1788. [PMID: 37410396 PMCID: PMC10476570 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural stem cells (NSCs) play crucial roles in neurological disorders and tissue injury repair through exerting paracrine effects. However, the effects of NSC-derived factors on glioma progression remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of human NSC-conditioned medium (NSC-CM) on the behaviour of glioma cells using an in vitro co-culture system. Cell counting kit-8 and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine assays revealed that NSC-CM inhibited glioma cell proliferation and growth in a fetal bovine serum (FBS)-independent manner. In addition, our wound-healing assay demonstrated that NSC-CM repressed glioma cell migration, while results from transwell and 3D spheroid invasion assays indicated that NSC-CM also reduced the invasion capacity of glioma cells. Flow cytometry showed that NSC-CM prevented cell cycle progression from the G1 to S phase and promoted apoptosis. Western blotting was used to show that the expression of Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related proteins, including β-catenin, c-Myc, cyclin D1, CD44 and Met, was remarkably decreased in NSC-CM-treated glioma cells. Furthermore, the addition of a Wnt/β-catenin pathway activator, CHIR99021, significantly induced the expression of β-catenin and Met and increased the proliferative and invasive capabilities of control medium-treated glioma cells but not those of NSC-CM-treated glioma cells. The use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) revealed the secretion of some antitumour factors in human and rat NSCs, including interferon-α and dickkopf-1. Our data suggest that NSC-CM partially inhibits glioma cell progression by downregulating Wnt/β-catenin signalling. This study may serve as a basis for developing future antiglioma therapies based on NSC derivatives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Yin
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| | - Xiumei Liu
- Dalian Innovation Institute of Stem Cell and Precision MedicineChina
| | - Xiangyi Xiao
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| | - Kaiyu Yi
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| | - Weigong Chen
- Dalian Innovation Institute of Stem Cell and Precision MedicineChina
| | - Chao Han
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| | - Liang Wang
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| | - Ying Li
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| | - Jing Liu
- Stem Cell Clinical Research Center, National Joint Engineering Laboratory, Regenerative Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical UniversityDalian Medical UniversityChina
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wanigasekara J, Cullen PJ, Bourke P, Tiwari B, Curtin JF. Advances in 3D culture systems for therapeutic discovery and development in brain cancer. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103426. [PMID: 36332834 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.103426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This review focuses on recent advances in 3D culture systems that promise more accurate therapeutic models of the glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor microenvironment (TME), such as the unique anatomical, cellular, and molecular features evident in human GBM. The key components of a GBM TME are outlined, including microbiomes, vasculature, extracellular matrix (ECM), infiltrating parenchymal and peripheral immune cells and molecules, and chemical gradients. 3D culture systems are evaluated against 2D culture systems and in vivo animal models. The main 3D culture techniques available are compared, with an emphasis on identifying key gaps in knowledge for the development of suitable platforms to accurately model the intricate components of the GBM TME.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janith Wanigasekara
- BioPlasma Research Group, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI), Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Department of Food Biosciences, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin, Ireland; FOCAS Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Patrick J Cullen
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Paula Bourke
- School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Brijesh Tiwari
- Department of Food Biosciences, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin, Ireland
| | - James F Curtin
- BioPlasma Research Group, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI), Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; FOCAS Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Johnson A, Reimer S, Childres R, Cupp G, Kohs TCL, McCarty OJT, Kang Y(A. The Applications and Challenges of the Development of In Vitro Tumor Microenvironment Chips. Cell Mol Bioeng 2023; 16:3-21. [PMID: 36660587 PMCID: PMC9842840 DOI: 10.1007/s12195-022-00755-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical, yet mechanistically elusive role in tumor development and progression, as well as drug resistance. To better understand the pathophysiology of the complex TME, a reductionist approach has been employed to create in vitro microfluidic models called "tumor chips". Herein, we review the fabrication processes, applications, and limitations of the tumor chips currently under development for use in cancer research. Tumor chips afford capabilities for real-time observation, precise control of microenvironment factors (e.g. stromal and cellular components), and application of physiologically relevant fluid shear stresses and perturbations. Applications for tumor chips include drug screening and toxicity testing, assessment of drug delivery modalities, and studies of transport and interactions of immune cells and circulating tumor cells with primary tumor sites. The utility of tumor chips is currently limited by the ability to recapitulate the nuances of tumor physiology, including extracellular matrix composition and stiffness, heterogeneity of cellular components, hypoxic gradients, and inclusion of blood cells and the coagulome in the blood microenvironment. Overcoming these challenges and improving the physiological relevance of in vitro tumor models could provide powerful testing platforms in cancer research and decrease the need for animal and clinical studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Annika Johnson
- Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Biomedical Engineering, George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian Street, #6088, Newberg, OR 97132 USA
| | - Samuel Reimer
- Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Biomedical Engineering, George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian Street, #6088, Newberg, OR 97132 USA
| | - Ryan Childres
- Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Biomedical Engineering, George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian Street, #6088, Newberg, OR 97132 USA
| | - Grace Cupp
- Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Biomedical Engineering, George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian Street, #6088, Newberg, OR 97132 USA
| | - Tia C. L. Kohs
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239 USA
| | - Owen J. T. McCarty
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239 USA
- Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201 USA
| | - Youngbok (Abraham) Kang
- Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Biomedical Engineering, George Fox University, 414 N. Meridian Street, #6088, Newberg, OR 97132 USA
| |
Collapse
|