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Hwangbo H, Chae S, Kim W, Jo S, Kim GH. Tumor-on-a-chip models combined with mini-tissues or organoids for engineering tumor tissues. Theranostics 2024; 14:33-55. [PMID: 38164155 PMCID: PMC10750204 DOI: 10.7150/thno.90093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The integration of tumor-on-a-chip technology with mini-tissues or organoids has emerged as a powerful approach in cancer research and drug development. This review provides an extensive examination of the diverse biofabrication methods employed to create mini-tissues, including 3D bioprinting, spheroids, microfluidic systems, and self-assembly techniques using cell-laden hydrogels. Furthermore, it explores various approaches for fabricating organ-on-a-chip platforms. This paper highlights the synergistic potential of combining these technologies to create tumor-on-a-chip models that mimic the complex tumor microenvironment and offer unique insights into cancer biology and therapeutic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Geun Hyung Kim
- Department of Precision Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine (SKKU-SOM) Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
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Miller CP, Fung M, Jaeger-Ruckstuhl CA, Xu Y, Warren EH, Akilesh S, Tykodi SS. Therapeutic targeting of tumor spheroids in a 3D microphysiological renal cell carcinoma-on-a-chip system. Neoplasia 2023; 46:100948. [PMID: 37944353 PMCID: PMC10663960 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2023.100948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains an incurable disease for most patients highlighting an urgent need for new treatments. However, the preclinical investigation of new therapies is limited by traditional two-dimensional (2D) cultures which do not recapitulate the properties of tumor cells within a collagen extracellular matrix (ECM), while human tumor xenografts are time-consuming, expensive and lack adaptive immune cells. We report a rapid and economical human microphysiological system ("RCC-on-a-chip") to investigate therapies targeting RCC spheroids in a 3D collagen ECM. We first demonstrate that culture of RCC cell lines A498 and RCC4 in a 3D collagen ECM more faithfully reproduces the gene expression program of primary RCC tumors compared to 2D culture. We next used bortezomib as a cytotoxin to develop automated quantification of dose-dependent tumor spheroid killing. We observed that viable RCC spheroids exhibited collective migration within the ECM and demonstrated that our 3D system can be used to identify compounds that inhibit spheroid collective migration without inducing cell death. Finally, we demonstrate the RCC-on-a-chip as a platform to model the trafficking of tumor-reactive T cells into the ECM and observed antigen-specific A498 spheroid killing by engineered human CD8+ T cells expressing an ROR1-specific chimeric antigen receptor. In summary, the phenotypic differences between the 3D versus 2D environments, rapid imaging-based readout, and the ability to carefully study the impact of individual variables with quantitative rigor will encourage adoption of the RCC-on-a-chip system for testing a wide range of emerging therapies for RCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris P Miller
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.
| | - Megan Fung
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Carla A Jaeger-Ruckstuhl
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Yuexin Xu
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Edus H Warren
- Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Shreeram Akilesh
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Kidney Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Scott S Tykodi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States
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Zhou L, Liu L, Chang MA, Ma C, Chen W, Chen P. Spatiotemporal dissection of tumor microenvironment via in situ sensing and monitoring in tumor-on-a-chip. Biosens Bioelectron 2023; 225:115064. [PMID: 36680970 PMCID: PMC9918721 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2022] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Real-time monitoring in the tumor microenvironment provides critical insights of cancer progression and mechanistic understanding of responses to cancer treatments. However, clinical challenges and significant questions remain regarding assessment of limited clinical tissue samples, establishment of validated, controllable pre-clinical cancer models, monitoring of static versus dynamic markers, and the translation of insights gained from in vitro tumor microenvironments to systematic investigation and understanding in clinical practice. State-of-art tumor-on-a-chip strategies will be reviewed herein, and emerging real-time sensing and monitoring platforms for on-chip analysis of tumor microenvironment will also be examined. The integration of the sensors with tumor-on-a-chip platforms to provide spatiotemporal information of the tumor microenvironment and the associated challenges will be further evaluated. Though optimal integrated systems for in situ monitoring are still in evolution, great promises lie ahead that will open new paradigm for rapid, comprehensive analysis of cancer development and assist clinicians with powerful tools to guide the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment course in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lang Zhou
- Materials Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - Lunan Liu
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
| | - Muammar Ali Chang
- Materials Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
| | - Weiqiang Chen
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
| | - Pengyu Chen
- Materials Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
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Xu H, Cheng C, Le W. Recent research advances of the biomimetic tumor microenvironment and regulatory factors on microfluidic devices: A systematic review. Electrophoresis 2022; 43:839-847. [PMID: 35179796 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202100360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Tumor microenvironment is a multicomponent system consisting of tumor cells, noncancer cells, extracellular matrix, and signaling molecules, which hosts tumor cells with integrated biophysical and biochemical elements. Because of its critical involvement in tumor genesis, invasion, metastasis, and resistance, the tumor microenvironment is emerging as a hot topic of tumor biology and a prospective therapeutic target. Unfortunately, the complex of microenvironment modeling in vitro is technically challenging and does not effectively generalize the local tumor tissue milieu. Recently, significant advances in microfluidic technologies have provided us with an approach to imitate physiological systems that can be utilized to mimic the characterization of tumor responses with pathophysiological relevance in vitro. In this review, we highlight the recent progress and innovations in microfluidic technology that facilitates the tumor microenvironment study. We also discuss the progress and future perspective of microfluidic bionic approaches with high efficiency for the study of tumor microenvironment and the challenges encountered in cancer research, drug discovery, and personalized therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Xu
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory for Research on the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, P. R. China
| | - Cheng Cheng
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory for Research on the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, P. R. China
| | - Weidong Le
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory for Research on the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, P. R. China.,Institute of Neurology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences-Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, P. R. China
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Ao Z, Cai H, Wu Z, Hu L, Li X, Kaurich C, Gu M, Cheng L, Lu X, Guo F. Evaluation of cancer immunotherapy using mini-tumor chips. Am J Cancer Res 2022; 12:3628-3636. [PMID: 35664082 PMCID: PMC9131272 DOI: 10.7150/thno.71761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Predicting tumor responses to adjuvant therapies can potentially help guide treatment decisions and improve patient survival. Currently, tumor pathology, histology, and molecular profiles are being integrated into personalized profiles to guide therapeutic decisions. However, it remains a grand challenge to evaluate tumor responses to immunotherapy for personalized medicine. Methods: We present a microfluidics-based mini-tumor chip approach to predict tumor responses to cancer immunotherapy in a preclinical model. By uniformly infusing dissociated tumor cells into isolated microfluidic well-arrays, 960 mini-tumors could be uniformly generated on-chip, with each well representing the ex vivo tumor niche that preserves the original tumor cell composition and dynamic cell-cell interactions and autocrine/paracrine cytokines. Results: By incorporating time-lapse live-cell imaging, our mini-tumor chip allows the investigation of dynamic immune-tumor interactions as well as their responses to cancer immunotherapy (e.g., anti-PD1 treatment) in parallel within 36 hours. Additionally, by establishing orthotopic breast tumor models with constitutive differential PD-L1 expression levels, we showed that the on-chip interrogation of the primary tumor's responses to anti-PD1 as early as 10 days post tumor inoculation could predict the in vivo tumors' responses to anti-PD1 at the endpoint of day 24. We also demonstrated the application of this mini-tumor chip to interrogate on-chip responses of primary tumor cells isolated from primary human breast and renal tumor tissues. Conclusions: Our approach provides a simple, quick-turnaround solution to measure tumor responses to cancer immunotherapy.
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DePalma TJ, Sivakumar H, Skardal A. Strategies for developing complex multi-component in vitro tumor models: Highlights in glioblastoma. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2022; 180:114067. [PMID: 34822927 PMCID: PMC10560581 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2021.114067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, many research groups have begun to utilize bioengineered in vitro models of cancer to study mechanisms of disease progression, test drug candidates, and develop platforms to advance personalized drug treatment options. Due to advances in cell and tissue engineering over the last few decades, there are now a myriad of tools that can be used to create such in vitro systems. In this review, we describe the considerations one must take when developing model systems that accurately mimic the in vivo tumor microenvironment (TME) and can be used to answer specific scientific questions. We will summarize the importance of cell sourcing in models with one or multiple cell types and outline the importance of choosing biomaterials that accurately mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM) of the tumor or tissue that is being modeled. We then provide examples of how these two components can be used in concert in a variety of model form factors and conclude by discussing how biofabrication techniques such as bioprinting and organ-on-a-chip fabrication can be used to create highly reproducible complex in vitro models. Since this topic has a broad range of applications, we use the final section of the review to dive deeper into one type of cancer, glioblastoma, to illustrate how these components come together to further our knowledge of cancer biology and move us closer to developing novel drugs and systems that improve patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J DePalma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Hemamylammal Sivakumar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Aleksander Skardal
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; The Ohio State University and Arthur G. James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Sankar S, Mehta V, Ravi S, Sharma CS, Rath SN. A novel design of microfluidic platform for metronomic combinatorial chemotherapy drug screening based on 3D tumor spheroid model. Biomed Microdevices 2021; 23:50. [PMID: 34596764 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-021-00593-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
For treating cancer at various stages, chemotherapy drugs administered in combination provide better treatment results with lower side effects compared to single-drug therapy. However, finding the potential drug combinations has been challenging due to the large numbers of possible combinations from approved drugs and the failure of in vitro 2D well plate-based cancer models. 3D spheroid-based high-throughput microfluidic platforms recapitulate some of the important features of native tumor tissue and offer a promising alternative to evaluate the combinatory effects of the drugs. This study develops a novel polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microfluidic design with a dynamic environment and strategically placed U-shaped wells for testing all seven possible combinations (three single-drug treatments, three pairwise combinations, treatment with all three drugs) of three chemotherapy drugs (Paclitaxel, Vinorelbine, and Etoposide) on lung tumor spheroids. The design of U-shaped wells has been validated with computational results. Firstly, we test all combinations of drugs on the conventional well plate in static conditions with 3D tumor spheroids. Based on static drug testing results, we show a proof-of-concept by testing the most effective drug combination on the microfluidic device in a dynamic environment. The concentration of the drugs used in combination falls below the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the individual drugs, towards low dose metronomic (LDM) chemotherapy. LDM combinatorial chemotherapy identified in this study can potentially lower toxicity and provide better treatment results in cancer patients. The device can be further used to culture patient-specific tumor spheroids and identify synergistic drug combinations for personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharanya Sankar
- Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Laboratory (RMS), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Viraj Mehta
- Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Laboratory (RMS), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Subhashini Ravi
- Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Laboratory (RMS), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Chandra Shekhar Sharma
- Creative & Advanced Research Based On Nanomaterials (CARBON) Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Subha Narayan Rath
- Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Laboratory (RMS), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
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Abreu TR, Biscaia M, Gonçalves N, Fonseca NA, Moreira JN. In Vitro and In Vivo Tumor Models for the Evaluation of Anticancer Nanoparticles. Adv Exp Med Biol 2021; 1295:271-299. [PMID: 33543464 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-58174-9_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Multiple studies about tumor biology have revealed the determinant role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression, resulting from the dynamic interactions between tumor cells and surrounding stromal cells within the extracellular matrix. This malignant microenvironment highly impacts the efficacy of anticancer nanoparticles by displaying drug resistance mechanisms, as well as intrinsic physical and biochemical barriers, which hamper their intratumoral accumulation and biological activity.Currently, two-dimensional cell cultures are used as the initial screening method in vitro for testing cytotoxic nanocarriers. However, this fails to mimic the tumor heterogeneity, as well as the three-dimensional tumor architecture and pathophysiological barriers, leading to an inaccurate pharmacological evaluation.Biomimetic 3D in vitro tumor models, on the other hand, are emerging as promising tools for more accurately assessing nanoparticle activity, owing to their ability to recapitulate certain features of the tumor microenvironment and thus provide mechanistic insights into nanocarrier intratumoral penetration and diffusion rates.Notwithstanding, in vivo validation of nanomedicines remains irreplaceable at the preclinical stage, and a vast variety of more advanced in vivo tumor models is currently available. Such complex animal models (e.g., genetically engineered mice and patient-derived xenografts) are capable of better predicting nanocarrier clinical efficiency, as they closely resemble the heterogeneity of the human tumor microenvironment.Herein, the development of physiologically more relevant in vitro and in vivo tumor models for the preclinical evaluation of anticancer nanoparticles will be discussed, as well as the current limitations and future challenges in clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa R Abreu
- CNC - Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, Faculty of Medicine (Polo 1), Rua Larga, Coimbra, Portugal.,UC - University of Coimbra, CIBB, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pólo das Ciências da Saúde, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Mariana Biscaia
- CNC - Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, Faculty of Medicine (Polo 1), Rua Larga, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Nélio Gonçalves
- CNC - Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, Faculty of Medicine (Polo 1), Rua Larga, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Nuno A Fonseca
- CNC - Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, Faculty of Medicine (Polo 1), Rua Larga, Coimbra, Portugal.,TREAT U, SA, Parque Industrial de Taveiro, Lote 44, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João Nuno Moreira
- CNC - Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, Faculty of Medicine (Polo 1), Rua Larga, Coimbra, Portugal. .,UC - University of Coimbra, CIBB, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pólo das Ciências da Saúde, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Coimbra, Portugal.
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Kwak TJ, Lee E. Rapid multilayer microfabrication for modeling organotropic metastasis in breast cancer. Biofabrication 2020; 13. [PMID: 32998119 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/abbd28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most insidious forms of breast cancer with high rates of metastasis, resulting in major mortalities in breast cancer patients. To better understand and treat TNBC metastasis, investigation of TNBC interactions with blood vasculatures is crucial. Among multiple metastatic processes, a step of TNBC exit from the blood vessels ('extravasation') in the pre-metastatic organs determines the final site of the metastasis. Here, we present a rapid multilayer microfabrication method of transferring a three-dimensional (3D) overhang pattern to a substrate with a sacrificial layer to reconstitute a 3D blood vessel surrounded by the extracellular matrix containing organ-specific parenchymal cells. Bones and lungs are the most common sites of breast cancer metastasis. We modeled organotropic bone and lung metastasis in TNBC by introducing subpopulations of TNBC metastases into a vessel lumen surrounded by osteoblasts, bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells, and lung fibroblasts. We found that bone-like microenviroment with osteoblasts and mesenchymal stem cells promoted extravasation of the bone-tropic TNBC cells, whereas the lung-like microenviroment promoted extravasation of the lung-tropic TNBC cells. Given that these organ-specific parenchymal cells do not impact vascular permeability, our results suggest that the parenchymal cells dictate selective extravasation of the bone-tropic or lung-tropic TNBC cells in our system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae Joon Kwak
- Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, 309A Weill hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, Ithaca, New York, 14853, UNITED STATES
| | - Esak Lee
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853-0001, UNITED STATES
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Palacio-Castañeda V, Kooijman L, Venzac B, Verdurmen WPR, Le Gac S. Metabolic Switching of Tumor Cells under Hypoxic Conditions in a Tumor-on-a-chip Model. Micromachines (Basel) 2020; 11:E382. [PMID: 32260396 DOI: 10.3390/mi11040382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Hypoxia switches the metabolism of tumor cells and induces drug resistance. Currently, no therapeutic exists that effectively and specifically targets hypoxic cells in tumors. Development of such therapeutics critically depends on the availability of in vitro models that accurately recapitulate hypoxia as found in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we report on the design and validation of an easy-to-fabricate tumor-on-a-chip microfluidic platform that robustly emulates the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. The tumor-on-a-chip model consists of a central chamber for 3D tumor cell culture and two side channels for medium perfusion. The microfluidic device is fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and oxygen diffusion in the device is blocked by an embedded sheet of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Hypoxia was confirmed using oxygen-sensitive probes and the effect on the 3D tumor cell culture investigated by a pH-sensitive dual-labeled fluorescent dextran and a fluorescently labeled glucose analogue. In contrast to control devices without PMMA, PMMA-containing devices gave rise to decreases in oxygen and pH levels as well as an increased consumption of glucose after two days of culture, indicating a rapid metabolic switch of the tumor cells under hypoxic conditions towards increased glycolysis. This platform will open new avenues for testing anti-cancer therapies targeting hypoxic areas.
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Azadi S, Aboulkheyr Es H, Kulasinghe A, Bordhan P, Ebrahimi Warkiani M. Application of microfluidic technology in cancer research and therapy. Adv Clin Chem 2020; 99:193-235. [PMID: 32951637 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acc.2020.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Cancer is a heterogeneous disease that requires a multimodal approach to diagnose, manage and treat. A better understanding of the disease biology can lead to identification of novel diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and the discovery of the novel therapeutics with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Employing advanced technologies can facilitate this, enabling better diagnostic and treatment for cancer patients. In this regard, microfluidic technology has emerged as a promising tool in the studies of cancer, including single cancer cell analysis, modeling angiogenesis and metastasis, drug screening and liquid biopsy. Microfluidic technologies have opened new ways to study tumors in the preclinical and clinical settings. In this chapter, we highlight novel application of this technology in area of fundamental, translational and clinical cancer research.
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Abstract
Microfluidic devices enable precise quantification of the interactions between anti-cancer bacteria and tumor tissue. Direct observation of bacterial movement and gene expression in tissue is difficult with either monolayers of cells or tumor-bearing mice. Quantification of these interactions is necessary to understand the inherent mechanisms of bacterial targeting and to develop modified organisms with enhanced therapeutic properties. Here we describe the procedures for designing, printing, and assembling microfluidic tumor-on-a-chip devices. We also describe the procedures for inserting three-dimensional tumor-cell masses, exposure to bacteria, and analyzing the resultant images.
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