Microporous cellulosic scaffold as a spheroid culture system modulates chemotherapeutic responses and stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma. Issue 4 (9th October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Guoyi; Zhan, Shanshan; Rui, Chen; Sho, Eiketsu; Shi, Xiaolei; Ding, Yitao
• Is Part Of: Journal of cellular biochemistry. Volume 120:Issue 4(2019)
• Page Start: 5244
• Page End: 5255
• Publication Date: 2018-10-09
• Subjects: cancer stem cell -- cellulosic scaffold -- drug resistance -- hepatocellular carcinoma -- migration; Cytochemistry -- Periodicals; 572
• DOI: 10.1002/jcb.27799
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0730-2312

Abstract

Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatments are evaluated by two‐dimensional (2D) in vitro culture systems, despite their limited ability to predict drug efficacy. The three‐dimensional (3D) microporous scaffold provides the possibility of generating more reliable preclinical models to increase the efficacy of cancer treatments. The physical properties of a microporous cellulosic scaffold were evaluated. The cellulosic scaffold was biocompatible and had a highly porous network with appropriate pore size, swelling rate, and stiffness of cancer cell cultures. Cellulosic scaffolds were compared with 2D polystyrene for the culture of HepG2 and Huh7 human HCC cells. Cellulosic scaffolds promoted tumor spheroid formation. Cells cultured on scaffolds were more resistant to chemotherapy drugs and showed upregulation of EpCAM and Oct4. The migration ability of HCC cells cultured on scaffolds was significantly greater than that of cells grown in 2D cultures as evidenced by the downregulation of E‐cadherin. In addition, the proportion of CD44+/CD133+ HCC cancer stem cells (CSCs) was significantly greater in cells cultured on scaffolds than in those grown in 2D cultures. These findings suggest that cellulosic scaffolds effectively mimic the in vivo tumor behavior and may serve as a platform for the study of anticancer therapeutics and liver CSCs. Abstract : The development and characterization of a three‐dimensional (3D) culture system consisting of a microporous cellulosic scaffold were shown in this study. Comparison of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines grown on cellulosic scaffolds and in two‐dimensional (2D) culture systems, scaffold promoted the formation of tumor spheroids. Cells cultured on cellulosic scaffolds were more resistant to chemotherapy drugs, showed a significantly greater migration ability, and a significantly greater proportion of HCC cancer stem cells (CSCs) than those grown in 2D cultures. These results indicated that the cellulose scaffold effectively mimics the in vivo tumor microenvironment and suggest that this model system could serve as a platform for the study of anticancer therapeutics and CSCs.