A bladder cancer microenvironment simulation system based on a microfluidic co-culture model

• Published in: Oncotarget Vol. 6; no. 35; pp. 37695 - 37705
• Main Authors: Liu, Peng-fei, Cao, Yan-wei, Zhang, Shu-dong, Zhao, Yang, Liu, Xiao-guang, Shi, Hao-qing, Hu, Ke-yao, Zhu, Guan-qun, Ma, Bo, Niu, Hai-tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Impact Journals LLC 10.11.2015
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Communication; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Cells, Cultured; Coculture Techniques - methods; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Fibroblasts - cytology; Fibroblasts - drug effects; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells - cytology; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells - drug effects; Humans; Macrophages - cytology; Macrophages - drug effects; Microfluidics - methods; Research Paper; Stromal Cells - cytology; Stromal Cells - drug effects; Tumor Microenvironment - drug effects; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - drug therapy; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - pathology; microenvironment; three-dimensional culture; drug sensitivity; microfluidic device; co-culture; bladder cancer
• ISSN: 1949-2553
• DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.6070

A tumor microenvironment may promote tumor metastasis and progression through the dynamic interplay between neoplastic cells and stromal cells. In this work, the most representative and significant stromal cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages were used as vital component elements and combined with bladder cancer cells to construct a bladder cancer microenvironment simulation system. This is the first report to explore bladder cancer microenvironments based on 4 types of cells co-cultured simultaneously. This simulation system comprises perfusion equipment, matrigel channel units, a medium channel and four indirect contact culture chambers, allowing four types of cells to simultaneously interact through soluble biological factors and metabolites. With this system, bladder cancer cells (T24) with a tendency to form a 'reticular' structure under 3 dimensional culture conditions were observed in real time. The microenvironment characteristics of paracrine interactions and cell motility were successfully simulated in this system. The phenotype change process in stromal cells was successfully reproduced in this system by testing the macrophage effector molecule Arg-1. Arg-1 was highly expressed in the simulated tumor microenvironment group. To develop "precision medicine" in bladder cancer therapy, bladder cancer cells were treated with different clinical 'neo-adjuvant' chemotherapy schemes in this system, and their sensitivity differences were fully reflected. This work provides a preliminary foundation for neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in bladder cancer, a theoretical foundation for tumor microenvironment simulation and promotes individual therapy in bladder cancer patients.