ArticleScientific reports2016
Microenvironment complexity and matrix stiffness regulate breast cancer cell activity in a 3D in vitro model.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
94 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- 3DACS biomaterials science & engineering · 2023Pooled it
- Decoupling Mechanical Confinement and Fibrotic Extracellular Matrix Signaling in Vestibular Schwannoma Using Tunable 3D Hydrogels.Cellular and molecular bioengineering · 2026Article
- Using biomaterial-based 3D in vitro cancer models to solve current clinical problems.British journal of cancer · 2026Review
- Review
- Mechanical Stimuli-Induced Manipulation of Malignant Behavior in Bioprinted Cancer Microtissues via PI3K/NF-κB Activation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Exosome-derived Menin from cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes gastric cancer progression by activating the HSPA6/JNK/JunD pathway and inducing EMT.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Navigating Cancer Treatment: A Journey from 2D to 3D Cancer Models and Nanoscale Therapies.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Review
- Development and characterisation of a novel 3D in vitro model of obesity-associated breast cancer as a tool for drug testing.NPJ breast cancer · 2025Article
- Core-Shell Hydrogels with Tunable Stiffness for Breast Cancer Tissue Modelling in an Organ-on-Chip System.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Cost-reduction strategy to culture patient derived bladder tumor organoids.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Mechanically induced development and maturation of 3DFrontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- A hybrid computational model of cancer spheroid growth with ribose-induced collagen stiffening.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Mesenchymal stem cell origin contributes to the antitumor effect of oncolytic virus carriers.Molecular therapy. Oncology · 2024Article
- Three-dimensional matrix stiffness modulates mechanosensitive and phenotypic alterations in oral squamous cell carcinoma spheroids.APL bioengineering · 2024Article
- Biomimetic Hydrogel Strategies for Cancer Therapy.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Cell Membrane Fragment-Wrapped Parenteral Nanoemulsions: A New Drug Delivery Tool to Target Gliomas.Cells · 2024Article
- Scaffold-based 3D cell culture models in cancer research.Journal of biomedical science · 2024Review
- Integrating conductive electrodes into hydrogel-based microfluidic chips for real-time monitoring of cell response.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Deep learning-assisted concentration gradient generation for the study of 3D cell cultures in hydrogel beads of varying stiffness.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2024Article
- A comprehensive review on 3D tissue models: Biofabrication technologies and preclinical applications.Biomaterials · 2024Review
34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures represent fundamental tools for the comprehension of cellular phenomena both in normal and in pathological conditions. In particular, mechanical and chemical stimuli play a relevant role on cell fate, cancer onset and malignant evolution. Here, we use mechanically-tuned alginate hydrogels to study the role of substrate elasticity on breast adenocarcinoma cell activity. The hydrogel elastic modulus (E) was measured via atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a remarkable range (150-4000 kPa) was obtained. A breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, was seeded within the 3D gels, on standard Petri and alginate-coated dishes (2D controls). Cells showed dramatic morphological differences when cultured in 3D versus 2D, exhibiting a flat shape in both 2D conditions, while maintaining a circular, spheroid-organized (cluster) conformation within the gels, similar to those in vivo. Moreover, we observed a strict correlation between cell viability and substrate elasticity; in particular, the number of MCF-7 cells decreased constantly with increasing hydrogel elasticity. Remarkably, the highest cellular proliferation rate, associated with the formation of cell clusters, occurred at two weeks only in the softest hydrogels (E = 150-200 kPa), highlighting the need to adopt more realistic and a priori defined models for in vitro cancer studies.
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