Until recently, ovarian cancer research has mainly focused on the tumor cells themselves ignoring for the most part the surrounding tumor environment which includes malignant peritoneal effusions. However, one of the ...Until recently, ovarian cancer research has mainly focused on the tumor cells themselves ignoring for the most part the surrounding tumor environment which includes malignant peritoneal effusions. However, one of the major conceptual advances in oncology over the last few years has been the appreciation that cancer progression cannot be explained by aberrations in cancer cells themselves and is strongly influenced by the surrounding tumor environment. The mechanisms of ovarian cancer progression differ from that of other solid tumors because ovarian cancer cells primarily disseminate within the peritoneal cavity.Malignant peritoneal effusion accumulates in the peritoneal cavity during ovarian cancer progression. These exudative fluids act as a unique tumor environment providing a framework that orchestrates cellular and molecular changes contributing to aggressiveness and disease progression. The composition of ascites, which includes cellular and acellular components, constantly adapts during the course of the disease in response to various cellular cues originating from both tumor and stromal cells. The tumor environment that represents peritoneal effusions closely constitute an ecosystem, with specific cell types and signaling molecules increasing and decreasing during the course of the disease progression creating a single complex network. Although recent advances aiming to understand the ovarian tumor environment have focused one at a time on components, the net impact of the whole environment cannot be understood simply from its parts or outside is environmental context.展开更多
Surface modification may have important influences on the penetration behavior of nanoscale drug delivery system. In the present study, we mainly focused on whether cell targeting or cell penetration could affect pene...Surface modification may have important influences on the penetration behavior of nanoscale drug delivery system. In the present study, we mainly focused on whether cell targeting or cell penetration could affect penetration abilities of nanostructured lipid carriers(NLC). Real--time penetration of folate--or cell penetrating peptide(CPP)-modified NLC was evaluated using a multicellular tumor spheroid(MTS) established by stacking culture method as an in vitro testing platform. The results suggested that CPP modification had a better penetration behavior both on penetration depth and intensity compared with folate-modified NLC at the early stage of penetration process.展开更多
Recapitulating the tumor microenvironment is a major challenge in the development of in vitro tumor model for the study of cancer biology and therapeutic treatments. 3D multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) have been u...Recapitulating the tumor microenvironment is a major challenge in the development of in vitro tumor model for the study of cancer biology and therapeutic treatments. 3D multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) have been used as reliable models of mimicking in vivo solid tumors. Macrophages and extracellular matrix (ECM), regarded as two key factors of the tumor microenvironment, play significant roles in tumor progression and drug resistance. In order to investigate their effects on tumor cell migration, a microfluidic chip-based 3D breast cancer model was developed by co-culturing monodisperse MCTS with monocytes in 3 D collagen matrix. A reversible bonding technique was employed for the fabrication of the microfluidic chip, which made it easier for MCTS formation and tailoring the MCTS co-culture conditions. When co-culturing monocytes with low invasive T47D spheroids or high invasive MD-MBA-231 spheroids, we found that T47 D cells with the stimulation of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and MD-MBA-231 cells could polarize monocytes into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). The increased stiffness via increasing collagen concentration decreased tumor cell migration, whereas the presence of TAMs enhanced the migration ability of cells.Moreover, M-CSF-activated TAMs promoted the migration of T47 D tumor cells via the regulation of TGFβ1. Overall, this 3D co-culture microfluidic model may be useful for studying tumor progress and may offer a reliable and low-cost method for evaluation of drug efficiency.展开更多
文摘Until recently, ovarian cancer research has mainly focused on the tumor cells themselves ignoring for the most part the surrounding tumor environment which includes malignant peritoneal effusions. However, one of the major conceptual advances in oncology over the last few years has been the appreciation that cancer progression cannot be explained by aberrations in cancer cells themselves and is strongly influenced by the surrounding tumor environment. The mechanisms of ovarian cancer progression differ from that of other solid tumors because ovarian cancer cells primarily disseminate within the peritoneal cavity.Malignant peritoneal effusion accumulates in the peritoneal cavity during ovarian cancer progression. These exudative fluids act as a unique tumor environment providing a framework that orchestrates cellular and molecular changes contributing to aggressiveness and disease progression. The composition of ascites, which includes cellular and acellular components, constantly adapts during the course of the disease in response to various cellular cues originating from both tumor and stromal cells. The tumor environment that represents peritoneal effusions closely constitute an ecosystem, with specific cell types and signaling molecules increasing and decreasing during the course of the disease progression creating a single complex network. Although recent advances aiming to understand the ovarian tumor environment have focused one at a time on components, the net impact of the whole environment cannot be understood simply from its parts or outside is environmental context.
基金National key Basic Research Program(Grant No.2013CB932501)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.81273454 and 81473156)+1 种基金Beijing National Science Foundation(Grant No.7132113)Doctoral Foundation of the Ministry of Education(Grant No.20130001110055)
文摘Surface modification may have important influences on the penetration behavior of nanoscale drug delivery system. In the present study, we mainly focused on whether cell targeting or cell penetration could affect penetration abilities of nanostructured lipid carriers(NLC). Real--time penetration of folate--or cell penetrating peptide(CPP)-modified NLC was evaluated using a multicellular tumor spheroid(MTS) established by stacking culture method as an in vitro testing platform. The results suggested that CPP modification had a better penetration behavior both on penetration depth and intensity compared with folate-modified NLC at the early stage of penetration process.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21675096 and 21475073)Youth Scientific Research Funds from Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University (No. QN20160002)
文摘Recapitulating the tumor microenvironment is a major challenge in the development of in vitro tumor model for the study of cancer biology and therapeutic treatments. 3D multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) have been used as reliable models of mimicking in vivo solid tumors. Macrophages and extracellular matrix (ECM), regarded as two key factors of the tumor microenvironment, play significant roles in tumor progression and drug resistance. In order to investigate their effects on tumor cell migration, a microfluidic chip-based 3D breast cancer model was developed by co-culturing monodisperse MCTS with monocytes in 3 D collagen matrix. A reversible bonding technique was employed for the fabrication of the microfluidic chip, which made it easier for MCTS formation and tailoring the MCTS co-culture conditions. When co-culturing monocytes with low invasive T47D spheroids or high invasive MD-MBA-231 spheroids, we found that T47 D cells with the stimulation of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and MD-MBA-231 cells could polarize monocytes into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). The increased stiffness via increasing collagen concentration decreased tumor cell migration, whereas the presence of TAMs enhanced the migration ability of cells.Moreover, M-CSF-activated TAMs promoted the migration of T47 D tumor cells via the regulation of TGFβ1. Overall, this 3D co-culture microfluidic model may be useful for studying tumor progress and may offer a reliable and low-cost method for evaluation of drug efficiency.