Prostate Cancer Spheroids: A Three-Dimensional Model for Studying Tumor Heterogeneity

• Published in: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) Vol. 2174; p. 13
• Main Authors: Rodríguez-Dorantes, Mauricio, Cruz-Hernandez, Carlos David, Cortés-Ramírez, Sergio Alberto, Cruz-Burgos, Jenie Marian, Reyes-Grajeda, Juan Pablo, Peralta-Zaragoza, Oscar, Losada-Garcia, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2021
• Subjects: Cell Line, Tumor; Humans; Male; PC-3 Cells; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Spheroids, Cellular - pathology; Tumor heterogeneity; Tumor; 3D spheroid culture; Prostate cancer; Spheroids
• ISSN: 1940-6029
• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0759-6_2

Prostate cancer is one of the main causes of cancer and the sixth cause of death among men worldwide. One of the major challenges in prostate cancer research is cell heterogeneity defined as the different genomic and phenotypic characteristics in each individual cell making more difficult to assess the proper prostate cancer diagnosis and therapy. Tumor 3D spatial arrangement allow a strong interaction between the different cellular lineages and components which modulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and morphology. Prostate cancer spheroids are a cellular model which is capable to mimic the mechanical tensions of tumor tissue, providing a more representative pathophysiological model than the use of conventional 2D culture. Here, we describe a protocol to develop a 3D model of spheroids using prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, PC3, VCaP) which can be used to improve research considering tumoral heterogeneity role in cancer development, prognosis, and therapy.