Multi compartmental 3D breast cancer disease model–recapitulating tumor complexity in in-vitro

Programming temporal stiffness cues within extracellular matrix hydrogels for modelling cancer niches

“…For disease modelling in vitro , it is now commonly accepted that two-dimensional (2D) models are not suitable for replicating the ECM, cell-cell interactions or the spatiotemporal complexity of diseased microenvironments (e.g., ECM arrangement, oxygen and growth factor gradients) and therefore three-dimensional (3D) models are under rapid development [ 15 , 16 ]. To reproduce simplified disease microenvironments, contemporary models have focused on the encapsulation of cells within a hydrated polymeric matrix, mimicking the 3D environment and structure of native ECM, allowing for the establishment of typical cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] ].…”

“…To reproduce simplified disease microenvironments, contemporary models have focused on the encapsulation of cells within a hydrated polymeric matrix, mimicking the 3D environment and structure of native ECM, allowing for the establishment of typical cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] ]. Hydrogel models are particularly appealing as they provide not only the structural template, but the physicochemical cues (e.g., nutrient, metabolite and oxygen gradients) and mechanical cues which drive physiological phenotypes [ 16 ]. For example, compared with traditional 2D models, breast cancer cells grown in hypoxic 3D hydrogels demonstrate a similar upregulation of estrogen receptor alpha as seen in native tumours [ 24 ].…”