Journal
CANCERS
Volume 14, Issue 15, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153810
Keywords
3D tumor models; engineered tumor microenvironment; matrix stiffness; ECM remodeling; cancer-associated fibroblasts; EMT; cell contractility; mechanotransduction; bladder cancer
Categories
Funding
- Fondation de l'Universite Laval
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant [258229]
- Bladder Cancer Canada/CUOG Grant
- Ferring Innovation Grant
- Fondation du CHU de Quebec-Universite Laval Doctoral Research Award
- FRQS Doctoral Research Award
- FRQS Scholarship
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A study on the physical properties of tumors demonstrates that a 3D self-assembly bladder model constructed with cancer-associated fibroblasts can effectively recapitulate the biological and mechanical features of tumors. The model exhibited increased extracellular matrix content, remodeling, and stiffness in the stroma assembled by cancer-associated fibroblasts. Additionally, normal urothelial cells seeded on the tumor model displayed tumor-like responses, including increased cell proliferation, cell infiltration, and features of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
Simple Summary The physical properties of a tumor, such as stiffness, are important drivers of tumor progression. However, current in vitro tumor models fail to recapitulate the full range of physical properties observed in solid tumors. Here, we proposed a 3D self-assembly engineered bladder model using cancer-associated fibroblasts in which stromal cells produce their extracellular matrix. We then proceeded to assess how our model recapitulates biological and mechanical features found in tumors. We confirmed that stroma assembled by cancer-associated fibroblasts have increased extracellular matrix content and display increased remodeling and higher stiffness. Moreover, normal urothelial cells seeded on the tumor model displayed a mechanotransduction response, increased cell proliferation, cell infiltration within stroma, and displayed features of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Altogether, we demonstrated that our cancer-associated fibroblast-derived tumor stroma recapitulates several biological and physical features expected from a tumor-like environment and, thus, provides the basis for more accurate cancer models. A tumor microenvironment is characterized by its altered mechanical properties. However, most models remain unable to faithfully recreate the mechanical properties of a tumor. Engineered models based on the self-assembly method have the potential to better recapitulate the stroma architecture and composition. Here, we used the self-assembly method based on a bladder tissue model to engineer a tumor-like environment. The tissue-engineered tumor models were reconstituted from stroma-derived healthy primary fibroblasts (HFs) induced into cancer-associated fibroblast cells (iCAFs) along with an urothelium overlay. The iCAFs-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) composition was found to be stiffer, with increased ECM deposition and remodeling. The urothelial cells overlaid on the iCAFs-derived ECM were more contractile, as measured by quantitative polarization microscopy, and displayed increased YAP nuclear translocation. We further showed that the proliferation and expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker in the urothelial cells correlate with the increased stiffness of the iCAFs-derived ECM. Our data showed an increased expression of EMT markers within the urothelium on the iCAFs-derived ECM. Together, our results demonstrate that our tissue-engineered tumor model can achieve stiffness levels comparable to that of a bladder tumor, while triggering a tumor-like response from the urothelium.
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