Collagen-Based Tumor Spheroid Model for Investigating Tumor-Macrophage Interactions through Extracellular Matrix Remodeling.

ABSTRACT: Macrophages in the tumor microenvironment (TME) can constitute up to 50% of tumor mass and play a critical role in cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. While their contribution to extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation through matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has been explored, the role of other macrophage-derived factors in ECM remodeling and their impacts beyond degradation remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the development of a 3D collagen-based tumor spheroid model to investigate the impact of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-derived macrophages on cancer cell-ECM and cancer cell-macrophage interactions within the TME. We observed that cancer cells stimulated PBMC-derived macrophages into an M2-like phenotype and that tumor spheroid conditioned macropha

SUBMITTER: Zhang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12621681 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature