Publication Date
6-1-2020
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume
21
Issue
12
DOI
10.3390/ijms21124413
First Page
1
Last Page
16
Abstract
Traditionally, two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell culture models have been used to study in vitro conditions for their ease of use, simplicity and low cost. However, recently, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models have been heavily investigated as they provide better physiological relevance for studying various disease behaviors, cellular activity and pharmaceutical interactions. Typically, small-sized tumor spheroid models (100–500 µm) are used to study various biological and physicochemical activities. Larger, millimetric spheroid models are becoming more desirable for simulating native tumor microenvironments (TMEs). Here, we assess the use of ultra-large spheroid models (~2000 µm) generated from scaffolds made from a nozzle-free, ultra-high resolution printer; these models are explored for assessing chemotherapeutic responses with molecular doxorubicin (DOX) and two analogues of Doxil® (Dox-NP®, Doxoves™ ) on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. To provide a comparative baseline, small spheroid models (~500 µm) were developed using a self-aggregation method of MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines, and underwent similar drug treatments. Analysis of both large and small MCF-7 spheroids revealed that Dox-NP tends to have the highest level of inhibition, followed by molecular doxorubicin and then Doxoves. The experimental advantages and drawbacks of using these types of ultra-large spheroids for cancer research are discussed.
Funding Sponsor
San José State University
Keywords
Breast cancer, Chemotherapeutics, Doxil, Doxorubicin, Nanoparticles, Spheroids, Triple negative breast cancer, Tumor microenvironment, Ultra-large spheroids
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Recommended Citation
Austin R. Holub, Anderson Huo, Kavil Patel, Vishal Thakore, Pranav Chhibber, and Folarin Erogbogbo. "Assessing advantages and drawbacks of rapidly generated ultra-large 3d breast cancer spheroids: Studies with chemotherapeutics and nanoparticles" International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2020): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21124413
Comments
This is the Version of Record and can also be read online here.