Dynamic cell culture modulates colon cancer cell migration in a novel 3D cell culture system

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 18851 - 14
• Main Authors: Mohamadian Namaqi, M., Moll, F., Wiedemeier, S., Grodrian, A., Lemke, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14-08-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/1647; 631/61; 631/67; Cancer; Cancer cell migration; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell culture; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Cell Culture Techniques, Three Dimensional - methods; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell migration; Cell Movement; Collagen (type I); Colon cancer; Colonic Neoplasms - metabolism; Colonic Neoplasms - pathology; Colorectal cancer; Dynamic 3D cell culture; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Extravasation; Fluid flow; Fluorescence microscopy; Histology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Metastases; Metastasis; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spheroids; Spheroids, Cellular - pathology; Dynamic 3D cell culture; Cancer cell migration; Colon cancer
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69261-2

The progression of cancer cell migration, invasion and subsequent metastasis is the main cause of mortality in cancer patients. Through creating more accurate cancer models, we can achieve more precise results, which will lead to a better understanding of the invasion process. This holds promise for more effective prevention and treatment strategies. Although numerous 2D and 3D cell culture systems have been developed, they poorly reflect the in vivo situation and many questions have remained unanswered. This work describes a novel dynamic 3D cell culture system aimed at advancing our comprehension of cancer cell migration. With the newly designed cultivation chamber, 3D tumor spheroids were cultivated within a collagen I matrix in the presence of fluid flow to study the migration of cancer cells from spheroids in the matrix. Using light sheet microscopy and histology, we demonstrated that the morphology of spheroids is influenced by dynamic culture and that, in contrast to static culture, spheroids in dynamic culture are characterized by the absence of a large necrotic core. Additionally, this influence extends to an increase in the size of migration area, coupled with an increase in expression of some genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The results here highlight the importance of dynamic culture in cancer research. Although the dynamic 3D cell culture system in this study was used to investigate migration of one cell type into a matrix, it has the potential to be further developed and used for more complex models consisting of different cell types or to analyze other steps of metastasis development such as transendothelial migration or extravasation.