TY - JOUR
T1 - Mechanical studies of the third dimension in cancer
T2 - From 2D to 3D model
AU - Paradiso, Francesca
AU - Serpelloni, Stefano
AU - Francis, Lewis W.
AU - Taraballi, Francesca
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: Celtic Advanced Life Science Innovation Network, an Ireland Wales 2014–2020 programme part funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - From the development of self-aggregating, scaffold-free multicellular spheroids to the inclusion of scaffold systems, 3D models have progressively increased in complexity to better mimic native tissues. The inclusion of a third dimension in cancer models allows researchers to zoom out from a significant but limited cancer cell research approach to a wider investigation of the tumor microenvironment. This model can include multiple cell types and many elements from the extracellular matrix (ECM), which provides mechanical support for the tissue, mediates cell-microenvironment interactions, and plays a key role in cancer cell invasion. Both biochemical and biophysical signals from the extracellular space strongly influence cell fate, the epigenetic landscape, and gene expression. Specifically, a detailed mechanistic understanding of tumor cell-ECM interactions, especially during cancer invasion, is lacking. In this review, we focus on the latest achievements in the study of ECM biomechanics and mechanosensing in cancer on 3D scaffold-based and scaffold-free models, focusing on each platform’s level of complexity, up-to-date mechanical tests performed, limitations, and potential for further improvements.
AB - From the development of self-aggregating, scaffold-free multicellular spheroids to the inclusion of scaffold systems, 3D models have progressively increased in complexity to better mimic native tissues. The inclusion of a third dimension in cancer models allows researchers to zoom out from a significant but limited cancer cell research approach to a wider investigation of the tumor microenvironment. This model can include multiple cell types and many elements from the extracellular matrix (ECM), which provides mechanical support for the tissue, mediates cell-microenvironment interactions, and plays a key role in cancer cell invasion. Both biochemical and biophysical signals from the extracellular space strongly influence cell fate, the epigenetic landscape, and gene expression. Specifically, a detailed mechanistic understanding of tumor cell-ECM interactions, especially during cancer invasion, is lacking. In this review, we focus on the latest achievements in the study of ECM biomechanics and mechanosensing in cancer on 3D scaffold-based and scaffold-free models, focusing on each platform’s level of complexity, up-to-date mechanical tests performed, limitations, and potential for further improvements.
KW - 3D model
KW - Biomaterials
KW - Cancer
KW - Mechanics
KW - Mechanosensing
KW - Microenvironment
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U2 - 10.3390/ijms221810098
DO - 10.3390/ijms221810098
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34576261
AN - SCOPUS:85115095645
VL - 22
JO - International journal of molecular sciences
JF - International journal of molecular sciences
SN - 1422-0067
IS - 18
M1 - 10098
ER -