Cancer research has considerably progressed with the improvement of in vitro study models, helping to understand the key role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer development and progression. Over the last few years, complex 3D human cell culture systems have gained much popularity over in vivo models, as they accurately mimic the tumor microenvironment and allow high-throughput drug screening. Of particular interest, in vitrohuman 3D tissue constructs, produced by the self-assembly method of tissue engineering, have been successfully used to model the tumor microenvironment and now represent a very promising approach to further develop diverse cancer models. In this review, we describe the importance of the tumor microenvironment and present the existing in vitro cancer models generated through the self-assembly method of tissue engineering. Lastly, we highlight the relevance of this approach to mimic various and complex tumors, including basal cell carcinoma, cutaneous neurofibroma, skin melanoma, bladder cancer, and uveal melanoma.
Urologic and gynaecologic patients often manifest congenital and/or acquired tissue and organ dysfunctions that require surgical reconstruction to recreate the normal genitourinary system functions. Such reconstruction is still a challenge due to the limited availability of suitable tissues, especially for severe urethral and vaginal replacement. Traditional intervention methods have varying degrees of donor site morbidity or inherent side effects. Interestingly, tissue engineering is a growing field that aims to replace or regenerate these dysfunctional tissues and organs with autologous cells, biomaterials, or a combination of both. Experience gained from tissue engineering suggests that the use of acellular matrices alone is not successful in supporting tissue growth over large surfaces. Cellular constituents need to be isolated, cultured and grown in vitro on scaffolds, then transplanted in vivo, in order to achieve successful three-dimensional tissue regeneration. Biomaterials are the backbone for cell-seeded reconstruction of the genitourinary tissues. Several research teams have explored a different cell culture approach based on self-assembly. This innovative technique relies on the capacity of cells cultured in the presence of ascorbate to secrete and deposit their own extracellular matrix forming a tissue-like substance. The mechanical and physical strength properties of these reconstructed tissues are similar to that of natural native tissues in certain models. Tissue engineered substitutes for urethral and vaginal mucosa were produced and subcutaneously grafted with success opening the way to new therapeutic strategies to correct genitourinary defects.
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