Stem-Like Cancer Cells in a Dynamic 3D Culture System: A Model to Study Metastatic Cell Adhesion and Anti-Cancer Drugs.

ABSTRACT: Metastatic spread is mainly sustained by cancer stem cells (CSC), a subpopulation of cancer cells that displays stemness features. CSC are thought to be derived from cancer cells that undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), thus acquiring resistance to anoikis and anti-cancer drugs. After detachment from the primary tumor mass, CSC reach the blood and lymphatic flow, and disseminate to the target tissue. This process is by nature dynamic and in vitro models are quite far from the in vivo situation. In this study, we have tried to reproduce the adhesion process of CSC to a target tissue by using a 3D dynamic cell culture system. We isolated two populations of 3D tumor spheroids displaying CSC-like features from breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and lung carcinoma (A549) cell lines. Human

SUBMITTER: Paolillo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6912649 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature