Recapitulating Tumor Microenvironment Using AXTEX-4DTM for Accelerating Cancer Research and Drug Screening.

OBJECTIVE: The formation of three-dimensional spheroid tumor model using the scaffold-based platforms has been demonstrated over many years now. 3D tumor models are generated mainly in non-scalable culture systems, using synthetic and biological scaffolds. Many of these models fail to reflect the complex tumor microenvironment and do not allow long-term monitoring of tumor progression. This has resulted in inconsistent data in drug testing assays during preclinical and clinical studies. METHODS: To overcome these limitations, we have developed 3D tissueoids model by using novel AXTEX-4D platform. RESULTS: Cancer 3D tissueoids demonstrated the basic features of 3D cell culture with rapid attachment, proliferation, and longevity with contiguous cytoskeleton and hypoxic core. This study also demonstrated greater drug resistance in 3D-MCF-7 tissueoids in comparison to 2D monolayer cell culture. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, 3D-tissueoids are more responsive than 2D-cultured cells in simulating important tumor characteristics, anti-apoptotic features, and their resulting drug resistance.