Biomimetic core-shell breast cancer models using alginate, gelatin, and collagen I: simulating the tumor matrix for drug evaluation. (PubMed, Int J Biol Macromol)
Breast cancer cells proliferated in the core of all prototypes designed, forming spheroids and cell aggregates with a high resistance to doxorubicin. The addition of Collagen I to the developed model enabled the upregulation of malignancy markers (Col1A1, Ki67, FOXC2, SNAI1, NFKB1, WWTR1), invasion markers (WASL, ACTA1, MYO1E, TPM4, PODXL, ITGA2, ITGA5, MENA, EGFR, CDC42), and drug resistance markers (ABCG2, CYP1A1, BAX, HSP90AA1) occurring in vivo. The developed 3D in vitro model can clarify the contribution of the extracellular matrix to the tumor outcome and drug efficacy by replicating some key characteristics of breast tumors, establishing a novel tool for chemotherapeutic agents and drug screening.